charger sleeve through garage wall

[Davidboco]

Hi - My wife's leaf has to live in the driveway now that the garage got usurped by my new sprinter camper. Our charger is in the garage. I want to install some sort of sleeve through the garage wall so we can access the charger outside without opening the garage door. Anyone have a slick idea to accomplish this? I've thought of a small pet door and a PVC pipe with a cap on it that goes through the wall. I don't want to see the charger hanging through the door - I want to be able to slide it back into the garage once we're done charging Thanks

 

[LeftieBiker]

First, a bit of pedantic lecturing on terms: the "charger" is actually built into the car. What you are talking about is either the 'smart charging cable' - the actual term is "EVSE" - that came with the car, or a home charging station, also called an EVSE. These provide the onboard charger with house current to convert to high voltage DC to charge the pack.

I'm considering doing something similar. Although my present 120 volt charging station is mounted on the outside garage wall, I'd like the new 240 volt station to be inside, with a removable "hatch" with a cutout that will let me run the cable through a hole just slightly larger than it, rather than having to make the hole large enough for the charging plug as well. I'd then leave the cable outside unless I needed to unplug and move the whole station. If you want to be able to run the whole cable inside when not in use, then a short length of plastic pipe sounds like a good idea. Just make sure that the plug end of the charging cable will fit *easily* through it, or you will find yourself cursing it every time it's used. Even then, unless you add a cable retractor of some sort, it will be a PITA to move it in and out of the garage wall...

 

[asimba2]

Here is my setup.

OpenEVSE on the inside of the garage...

the J1772 cord passes through the wall to the outside. Imagine a piece of plastic electrical conduit that passes through the wall with a LB fitting on either side.

All of my utilities come into the house at that point, so I just merely added to the intense clutter.

 

[LeftieBiker]

I don't think a code inspector would like the proximity to water lines and a spigot.

 

[smkettner]

I don't like it. I would move the electric connection and EVSE to the exterior.

 

[Valdemar]

Just an FYI, running flexible cable through a wall is a code violation.

 

[otbiker]

4" PVC pipe with a screw cap on the outside.

 

[powersurge]

First, a bit of pedantic lecturing on terms: the "charger" is actually built into the car. What you are talking about is either the 'smart charging cable' - the actual term is "EVSE" - that came with the car, or a home charging station, also called an EVSE. These provide the onboard charger with house current to convert to high voltage DC to charge the pack.

I would like to make a motion for the "old timer" posters to stop correcting posters about every "technically inaccurate" statement they make. Posters do not need to be corrected in their "speech" if you can get the idea of what they are saying in their posts. Would you correct a person's sentences when you are face to face with them?

So, I for one, will always call my charging station "MY CHARGER", and my main battery will always be my 24KW battery. If those individuals don't like it, they can suck it up and correct their wives at home.

 

[asimba2]

I don't think a code inspector would like the proximity to water lines and a spigot.

There is no code that extends beyond the 240V outlet installation.

 

[OakLeaf]

Hi,

While looking for ways to best do our L2 EVSE install in the garage, I saw a clever setup posted by tps that might address your needs:

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=822&hilit=garage&start=370#p159479

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=822&hilit=garage&start=380#p176842

http://www.amazon.com/JR-Products-5...-20&/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326653951&sr=8-1


The discussion in that thread may also help answer some of your other questions as well - it helped me quite a bit!

 

[sub3marathonman]

I don't think a code inspector would like the proximity to water lines and a spigot.

There is no code that extends beyond the 240V outlet installation.

Oh really? It's more is there anything the NEC doesn't cover?

NEC 400.8 prohibits this explicitly. Part of the reason is heat buildup that the manufacturer hasn't calculated for in that situation, part is because of physical harm to the wiring, and I'm sure many other reasons too.

It is a bit off-topic, but if you've run the wires behind the wall to your TV, unless you have the correctly rated wiring and done it properly, you are probably in violation there too.

And the problem isn't that it will immediately burst into flames consuming everything within a 200' radius, it is if there is a problem someday, and either the fire department determines that this was the cause, or if they can't determine the cause but can see it was a violation, the ability to collect on any insurance claim can be jeopardized.

And really, the rules were put in for a reason, and while some have attempted to change rules, in most cases the rules have stayed as-written. An inspector told me a story of a roofer who was electrocuted while working on a roof, and the reason was that the homeowner wired his water heater incorrectly. So another guy lost his life because of it. Obviously extreme, a very different situation, but thus it is not unheard of or impossible that a code violation leads to extreme consequences.

 

[asimba2]

It would be helpful to the readers of this thread to know how to make an installation of this type legitimate.

I can't (and won't) move the outlet to the outside of the home as I need to be able to use my EVSE both inside and out of the garage.

 

[sub3marathonman]

It would be helpful to the readers of this thread to know how to make an installation of this type legitimate.

Unfortunately I'm not a licensed electrician, so they won't let me post on the Mike Holt forum, despite the fact that years ago I was able to demonstrate an arguably greater knowledge of NEC Section 690 than many (but definitely not all) of the licensed people there, (as I single handedly was able to do my 4.7kw PV project from conception through completion and passing inspection and only using a licensed electrician to comply with Florida rules), and in fact they spitefully went back and erased the considerable amount of information a person, including an electrician, could gain from reading the long conversation because I refused to lie and stated I wasn't a licensed electrician to the moderators.

My guess is that if the hole in the garage wall is only a temporary pass-through, with no mounting mechanism for the EVSE plug outside the garage, it could be argued that it is only to temporarily charge the car for a few hours. Having an outside locking cover for the hole might also add a bit of legitimacy and security.

 

[LeftieBiker]

I would like to make a motion for the "old timer" posters to stop correcting posters about every "technically inaccurate" statement they make. Posters do not need to be corrected in their "speech" if you can get the idea of what they are saying in their posts. Would you correct a person's sentences when you are face to face with them?

I would correct something like this face to face, yes, politely. None of us correct "every technically inaccurate statement" made. We just try to keep the jargon clear where it matters. In this case there is in a fact a charger built into the car, and the speed with which it operates is often discussed. That makes it helpful to know which part is the charger and which part is the power supply line for the charger. If you object to this, at least you can rest secure in the knowledge that your "side" is winning here, and the language is becoming more like text-speak every day. Soon everyone will have to guess, from whatever context is available, at what everyone else is saying, in the interest of not having to learn anything new, or contradict the auto-correct on their phones. My only hope is that at some point the phones themselves will acquire a good grasp of the language, and users will be able to simply grunt at them to find out and explain to them what they need to know. I look forward to that day.

 

[DaveEV]

4" PVC pipe with a screw cap on the outside.

This would probably work. Might even be able to get away with 3" PVC. My only concern would be about giving rodents easy access to your garage when you are running the plug through the hole.

I don't think a code inspector would like the proximity to water lines and a spigot.

There is no code that extends beyond the 240V outlet installation.

That cord appears to be permanently mounted in that location. The inspector doesn't necessarily need to cite "code" all they have to do is say "that doesn't look right, move it 2-3 ft" - they have a lot of leeway in making judgement calls.

Personally, I would be less worried about the proximity of the water spigot and more worried about the proximity to the high-pressure gas inlet, though I'm not sure what the code might say about this specifically. I do know that service panels can't be that close to the gas meter, though older homes often have them that close.

 

[asimba2]

I do know that service panels can't be that close to the gas meter, though older homes often have them that close.

My house was constructed in 1997 and the electrical service panel is located 2'3" away from the gas main. All utilities (water, gas, electric, cable) are located one stud bay from each other. That's why I wasn't at all concerned about this.

Just to add to this, I have two charging options. There is a 2' lead that comes out of my EVSE that has a 50-amp Anderson Pole connector on it. When I need to charge outside, I use the setup you saw in the photos. When I need to charge in my garage, I unplug the 32-amp EVSE cord that goes outside and plug in a separate 20' 32-amp EVSE cord (via the 50-amp Anderson Power Pole) to charge. I am limited to 24 amp charging even though my circuit itself is rated at 50 amps.

 

[ElectricEddy]

I do know that service panels can't be that close to the gas meter, though older homes often have them that close.

My house was constructed in 1997 and the electrical service panel is located 2'3" away from the gas main. All utilities (water, gas, electric, cable) are located one stud bay from each other. That's why I wasn't at all concerned about this.

Just to add to this, I have two charging options. There is a 2' lead that comes out of my EVSE that has a 50-amp Anderson Pole connector on it. When I need to charge outside, I use the setup you saw in the photos. When I need to charge in my garage, I unplug the 32-amp EVSE cord that goes outside and plug in a separate 20' 32-amp EVSE cord (via the 50-amp Anderson Power Pole) to charge. I am limited to 24 amp charging even though my circuit itself is rated at 50 amps.

Its the proximity to the overpresure vent that's the issue, mind you the water spigot would come in handy in case of mishap.
My interpretation of CEC The flexible cord from the load side of then EVSE c/w the j1772 connector should have the capability of being drawn thru the hole without disconnection and bushed for mechanical protection.
Four inch conduit with a cap would definitely be adequate to provide for the above mentioned conditions.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Its the proximity to the overpresure vent that's the issue, mind you the water spigot would come in handy in case of mishap.

I sincerely hope that this was a joke!

 

[TimLee]

... So, I for one, will always call my charging station "MY CHARGER", and my main battery will always be my 24KW battery.

Always amazing how enthusiastic some people are about being wrong

Similar to those who throw trash out of their cars on the streets and dump their trash on vacant lots.

 

[asimba2]

Its the proximity to the overpresure vent that's the issue, mind you the water spigot would come in handy in case of mishap.

Your theory, that somehow the middle section of my J1772 cord is going to spark and cause an explosion, is ridiculous. If you don't like what I did, then go ahead and pass your cord under the garage door and risk the metal door closing on it causing an actual short. That practice is exactly why I rerouted my cord a different way.