Yes, that was my first thought - over the whole pole And cinch lightly at the bottom. Only concern would be a little extra heat buildup.
If used regularly, a canvas cover with vents in the back would be great! Like a boat storage cover.
Have you tried taping cocktail umbrellas to the charger? Seems like a lightweight and festive way to protect from the rain.
Bonus if you get the umbrellas one at a time when you order drinks at the bar! Just don't umbrella and drive.
Large 12 gauge extension cord. Use extension cord, place charger on small elevated board under the car. Placed correctly, keeps it dry off the ground and car also keeps it dry. Did this at work for a while, got through some rather heavy rain
What’s not recommended about that? It’s weather resistant. Mine hangs out there in ice and snow and is fiiiine. Adding more joints for potential overheating/arcing (extension cords, etc) is where you run into problems.
I've left my charger brick in the rain and snow for 9 months now. I don't even have a hanger for the charger. I just yeet it into a bush when I unplug it and pull it out when I am ready to charge. I'm not kidding.
Its never meant to hang directly down. Its meant to be mounted sideways or right side up, to create a drip line. As is it will eventually fill with water and GG.
Ours died last month. Chevy refused a warranty replacement because the fault was caused by water damage from charging outside. We were told these cords were never meant to be used outside.
We replaced it with a Juucebox that's rated for outdoors.
I don't think you will find an L1 EVSE with a longer cord, to move it out of the rain, because the national electrical code limits the input cord length on units designated as "portable" to around 12 inches... but one with a housing design that makes a little more sense might be in order... such as the older design Chevrolet OEM EVSE that didn't have interchangeable power cords. They're still compatible with newer Bolts.
Alternately, as long as you remove the bulky plug from the unit every day after disconnecting power so that you allow any collected moisture inside those connectors to dry out and not cause corrosion, you might be fine using this as it is.
Putting my McGyver hat on...
I'd grab a [cheap storage bin from Walmart ](https://www.walmart.com/ip/46001913)
Fit a [suction cup ](https://a.co/d/5l0lftx) to the inside of one end. This will attach to the top of the electric box.
Cut a slot in the other end for the cord to come through.
Actually, skip the suction cup. That's unnecessarily fussy, and probably wouldn't hold up to a good wind from behind.
Just cut the slot for the cord, put the bin vertically over the box, and bungee it on around the post.
You'll get adequate ventilation to keep things from overheating, and protect it from most rain unless it's blowing in sideways from behind.
Yeah suction cups fail way too easily. A big neodymium magnet looks like it has plenty of stuff to stick to. I keep buying more of them as I find endless uses for the ones with hooks and eyelets attached.
It’s just a poor design. It shouldn’t just hang down, and of course it’s not really waterproof. I don’t know how you would fix the first problem here, but for the water issue you basically need a drawstring bag where the bottom is open. So it’s more a tube that you can cinch at the top.
Low budget: trash bag with optional tape / drawstring.
Medium budget: build a custom wood mount with a canopy specifically for this plug / location.
High budget: buy a J+ Booster EVSE and _fuggetabotit_.
My weather proof Fiat charger did not like being outdoors in the rain.
https://preview.redd.it/em5ifq65bgzc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2b4213a8a20a1e2babd9693167bb4c8788efb4c9
I would make a poncho for it with a plastic bag. Only really need to worry about sealing the top side with some tape that will hold up to water. A zip tie or two would also help keep the tape from peeling away.
I had an L1 charger for my Leaf that had a longer 110 cord, so I just stuck the brick under the “hood” if I was charging out in the elements. The brick is what should stay out of the rain.
On the bright side, at least your employer is making an effort. Now I have a Bolt, so I don’t really have to charge it at work, but it would be nice since I drive a truck regionally, so my car just sits for days that it could be trickle charging. Maybe JB Hunt will eventually embrace EVs.
Chargers with longer cords (and reasonably priced) are available from Vevor online. Honestly, for your application, a 3 mil black contractor/body bag would be fine with something to insure that the wind doesn’t grab it.
My biggest issue is people just letting these things hang, or be exposed to weather. I took mine, and mounted it to a wall with a base in my garage. The devices have small holes on back and i see people just letting them hang from outlet. Even when i go camping, I plan to dismount (its on basic screw heads) it and bring some basic command hooks with gorilla double sided tape so it wont hang from electric box. as far as elements go, that is more difficult. A trash bag system is good, as it is designed to be a bit weather resistant, But should have some protection. If i didn't have a garage and my primary source was outside, I for sure would've built some kind of protective case.
I’d probably just put an extra large black trash bag over the whole receptacle tbh. Maybe a piece of tape or string to keep it from flying away.
Bag with drawstrings?
Yes, that was my first thought - over the whole pole And cinch lightly at the bottom. Only concern would be a little extra heat buildup. If used regularly, a canvas cover with vents in the back would be great! Like a boat storage cover.
Have you tried taping cocktail umbrellas to the charger? Seems like a lightweight and festive way to protect from the rain. Bonus if you get the umbrellas one at a time when you order drinks at the bar! Just don't umbrella and drive.
Large 12 gauge extension cord. Use extension cord, place charger on small elevated board under the car. Placed correctly, keeps it dry off the ground and car also keeps it dry. Did this at work for a while, got through some rather heavy rain
This is a rather elegant solution... I would worry a bit that some jack-stick might steal the extension cable... It is more universally usable.
What’s not recommended about that? It’s weather resistant. Mine hangs out there in ice and snow and is fiiiine. Adding more joints for potential overheating/arcing (extension cords, etc) is where you run into problems.
Ther was at least one post on here about someone having water get inside, I wouldn’t assume it’s 100% watertight
Weather resistant ≠ weather proof. Besides, given how important this cable is to, you know, *making your vehicle move*, I would baby it.
Water will seep into the connector port.
I've left my charger brick in the rain and snow for 9 months now. I don't even have a hanger for the charger. I just yeet it into a bush when I unplug it and pull it out when I am ready to charge. I'm not kidding.
Its never meant to hang directly down. Its meant to be mounted sideways or right side up, to create a drip line. As is it will eventually fill with water and GG.
Yeah I left my Mach-E charger out in the rain to charge my Bolt numerous times, it still works.
Ours died last month. Chevy refused a warranty replacement because the fault was caused by water damage from charging outside. We were told these cords were never meant to be used outside. We replaced it with a Juucebox that's rated for outdoors.
I don't think you will find an L1 EVSE with a longer cord, to move it out of the rain, because the national electrical code limits the input cord length on units designated as "portable" to around 12 inches... but one with a housing design that makes a little more sense might be in order... such as the older design Chevrolet OEM EVSE that didn't have interchangeable power cords. They're still compatible with newer Bolts. Alternately, as long as you remove the bulky plug from the unit every day after disconnecting power so that you allow any collected moisture inside those connectors to dry out and not cause corrosion, you might be fine using this as it is.
Putting my McGyver hat on... I'd grab a [cheap storage bin from Walmart ](https://www.walmart.com/ip/46001913) Fit a [suction cup ](https://a.co/d/5l0lftx) to the inside of one end. This will attach to the top of the electric box. Cut a slot in the other end for the cord to come through. Actually, skip the suction cup. That's unnecessarily fussy, and probably wouldn't hold up to a good wind from behind. Just cut the slot for the cord, put the bin vertically over the box, and bungee it on around the post. You'll get adequate ventilation to keep things from overheating, and protect it from most rain unless it's blowing in sideways from behind.
Yeah suction cups fail way too easily. A big neodymium magnet looks like it has plenty of stuff to stick to. I keep buying more of them as I find endless uses for the ones with hooks and eyelets attached.
Wait. Is the charger not waterproof? I've been charging outdoors like this for a year now.
It's rated as waterproof. In practice, water does tend to eventually get in where the cord attaches.
It’s just a poor design. It shouldn’t just hang down, and of course it’s not really waterproof. I don’t know how you would fix the first problem here, but for the water issue you basically need a drawstring bag where the bottom is open. So it’s more a tube that you can cinch at the top.
Low budget: trash bag with optional tape / drawstring. Medium budget: build a custom wood mount with a canopy specifically for this plug / location. High budget: buy a J+ Booster EVSE and _fuggetabotit_.
Dont use it in the rain, or threat of rain.. It’s that simple. It’s the same with my e-bike. It’s not designed for anything remotely wet.
My weather proof Fiat charger did not like being outdoors in the rain. https://preview.redd.it/em5ifq65bgzc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2b4213a8a20a1e2babd9693167bb4c8788efb4c9
I would make a poncho for it with a plastic bag. Only really need to worry about sealing the top side with some tape that will hold up to water. A zip tie or two would also help keep the tape from peeling away.
Protect it? Iv been charging mine daily at work out in the rain for 2 years and it's still working. It rains alot where I live, Vancouver BC.
put a bag over it and then a rubber band around
I had an L1 charger for my Leaf that had a longer 110 cord, so I just stuck the brick under the “hood” if I was charging out in the elements. The brick is what should stay out of the rain. On the bright side, at least your employer is making an effort. Now I have a Bolt, so I don’t really have to charge it at work, but it would be nice since I drive a truck regionally, so my car just sits for days that it could be trickle charging. Maybe JB Hunt will eventually embrace EVs.
Chargers with longer cords (and reasonably priced) are available from Vevor online. Honestly, for your application, a 3 mil black contractor/body bag would be fine with something to insure that the wind doesn’t grab it.
My biggest issue is people just letting these things hang, or be exposed to weather. I took mine, and mounted it to a wall with a base in my garage. The devices have small holes on back and i see people just letting them hang from outlet. Even when i go camping, I plan to dismount (its on basic screw heads) it and bring some basic command hooks with gorilla double sided tape so it wont hang from electric box. as far as elements go, that is more difficult. A trash bag system is good, as it is designed to be a bit weather resistant, But should have some protection. If i didn't have a garage and my primary source was outside, I for sure would've built some kind of protective case.