Retractable J1772 Cord?

Has anyone seen a home EVSE unit (aka charging station) with a retractable cord? Ideally, I would like the J1772 plug hanging down from the ceiling in my garage, so that I could just reach up, pull it down, and plug it in. Then when I am done with it, have it retract back up to a spot where it is out of the way but still reachable (~7 feet off the ground).

I ask this, because in the few charging stations that I have seen the J1772 cord has not been well managed. I (and I assume many other people) are not going to take the time to neatly wind up the cord each morning as I race off 10 minutes late for work. This means that the cord will be left out where it could be damaged or ran over.

I have seen some auto shops that have compressed air cords hanging down for all the various pneumatic tools that they use. A modification of that type of reel system could work.

I think you're on the right track.. it would be a generic spring-wound cord with a hoop over the middle of your J1772.
When you let go, the middle of the cord gets retracted upward toward the ceiling, leaving the J1772 plug dangling just within reach.

I would think this is pretty common gear.. Harbor Freight, maybe?

If the e-cord is long enough, one pulley roughly over the nose of the car, and another near the wall, would get the e-hose where you want it. Finding a "side-loading" pulley, will be the problem, since the cord has the nozzle on the end and one cannot just run the cord through the pulley. A large diameter wheel should be used, at least 6" diameter, but 8" or larger would be better.

Then, attaching a small weight to the cord between the EVSE and the first pulley should make the e-hose "retract" upwards.

Google:
Rustproof clothesline pulley 8" wheel

See the lehmans.com listing for a pulley that MIGHT be suitable, IF the e-cord will fit into the groove on the pulley's wheel, AND the pulley can be dis-assembled to get the e-hose onto the wheel.

This example has a ball-bearing hub.

I like the idea. But for me I would prefer a flush recessed mount evse with a five foot cord so there would be nothing to coil.
Just snap it onto the car or onto the evse same as a gas station.

smkettner said:

I like the idea. But for me I would prefer a flush recessed mount evse with a five foot cord so there would be nothing to coil.
Just snap it onto the car or onto the evse same as a gas station.

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I guess it depends on where the vehicle's charge port is. The garage wall to one side will be at LEAST 5 feet from the centerline of the car (where the LEAF port is). Bear in mind the gas station hoses are like 10-15' feet typically.

But having a gas-station style setup is an interesting idea. The connection point for the cord is actually up high (~7') and it loops to just above the floor and back up to doorknob height. This should give you pretty good reach without coiling, though there might be some additional (minor) stress on the connection at the vehicle.
=Smidge=

Thanks for all the ideas. Looking into this I found a few things:
1) NEC 625.17 requires any J1772 connector/cable-set over 25 feet in length to use a UL-listed cable management/retraction system. Although most home systems will have a cable far shorter than 25 ft.
2) A 2009 CARB report of lessons learned from EV of the late 1990s, said that cable management should be included to avoid tripping hazards. http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/zevprog/infrastructure/0909meeting/ornelas.pdf
3) An April 2010 report from eTec said that retractors should be used for public systems to reduce vandalism. http://www.theevproject.com/downloads/documents/Tucson%20EV%20Deployment%20Guidelines%20R3.1.pdf
4) An overhead retractable system is already designed by a company http://thegreenpump.com/?page_id=20
I don't know anything about this company or if this is a good product. I could not find a price or where to order it from their site. Has anyone seen or tried this one?

I think I am going to try something home-brewed. I might just have the cord hanging down to where the car needs it and then have a hook on the wall to hold it off to the side when not in use. This is not as cool as a retracting system but it should be simple and effective.

Smidge204 said:

I guess it depends on where the vehicle's charge port is. The garage wall to one side will be at LEAST 5 feet from the centerline of the car (where the LEAF port is). Bear in mind the gas station hoses are like 10-15' feet typically.

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My Leaf will nose right up to the wall and evse. I probably will get the Leviton 16a and may get a short cord as that is all I need. I just want what works and not try for every possible contingency.

I kinda like the Voltec with the self retracting coiled cord.

I wanted an e-cord long enough to charge in the driveway, if needed, for example when the car's spot in the garage is being used for a project of some sort.

So, 25-feet for me, with the excess just coiled on the wall when the car is nearby.

patrick0101 said:

Has anyone seen a home EVSE unit (aka charging station) with a retractable cord?

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One thing to keep in mind is that a cord with significant current will get hotter when coiled up, as there is less surrounding air to dissipate the heat. For example, I understand many extension cord reels say to only use the extension cord when fully played out, and if you use them at full current when wound up for an extended period of time, you can damage them. So that may be why current EVSE offerings have avoided coiling.

Of course, since the LEAF draws only 15A, if your EVSE is rated 30A or higher, it won't be a problem to coil the cord.

Cheers, Wayne

This post made me realize that dealing with my cord may be more of a pain that I realized...

One thing that would be easy if you have a long enough EVSE cord (I got the 25' one, just in case) is you can route the cord up the wall to the ceiling over the spot where the cord would be plugged into the car. Then, xx feet away, use a ratcheting cord retractor, like for electrical cords, to pull it up out of the way with just a cord hanging down.
Like these: http://www.harborfreight.com/30-ft-retractable-cord-reel-66832.html
(can you buy them cheaper anywhere?)
Edit: Sears cheaper than Harbor Freight? What's this world coming to?
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_03483928000P

This way you're not complicating the EVSE electrical cord at all and reducing safety.

Instead of running the EVSE cord through pulleys or retractors, why not attach a collar to the base of the "nozzle", with a wire cable from there to the retractor system? This would be exactly analogous to a gas pump.

The retractor to lift the cable and J connector when in use would reduce the trip hazard.

planet4ever said:

Instead of running the EVSE cord through pulleys or retractors, why not attach a collar to the base of the "nozzle", with a wire cable from there to the retractor system? This would be exactly analogous to a gas pump.

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Yes, this is what I was trying to describe. Thanks.

Here is another possible method:

Works, however against code in places to have EVSE over 48" off ground. So is the flex, rigid conduit is needed.

EVDRIVER said:

So is the flex, rigid conduit is needed.

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Reference?

Thanks, Wayne

EVDRIVER said:

Works, however against code in places to have EVSE over 48" off ground. So is the flex, rigid conduit is needed.

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Since we're raggin' on the guy his shirt is very misleading, too with the Volt being rated at 93 MPGe and 37 MPG.

wwhitney said:

EVDRIVER said:

So is the flex, rigid conduit is needed.

Click to expand...

Reference?

Thanks, Wayne

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In SF you need solid conduit on runs that long in a garage. The elevations vary in different areas, one of the reasons is for easy access to the controls. My solar inverter could not be mounted above the counter in my garage because you must have clear space in front to reach the cut off on the inverter. Stupid because it can still be reached. The rules for the DC cut off are even more restrictive. In SF, Romex is ok in walls and crawl spaces, rigid in basements. In some areas of the peninsula flex must be used IN the walls! In parts of LA conduit is required for LV wires, that would include a doorbell. Many of these rules keep certain unions busy. My business does quite a bit of wiring and rules vary form reasonable to insane.

Lucky guy. He has a two story garage. However, it wouldn't work for me. I could not reach the buttons on the front of the AV EVSE.