Charging outside in rain

[bbwex]

So far, I have been at home and able to charge my Fusion in my garage.  Not so unfortunately, we are going to our summer home in Maine, and my car will be sitting outside.  I am planning to get a waterproof housing for the base part of the charging cable, but I presume that plugging in in the outdoors does not pose a problem should it rain overnight, etc.

[SteveEnergi]

No problem as long as the outlet is grounded.  I take it you're going to charge via a 110 in Maine?  Maybe bring a test light with you to make sure the exterior outlet is grounded, especially if it's an older cabin/house.

[Rexracer]

I charge in Oregon outside all the time (more then enough rain), no issues charging in the rain. But as Steve said, grounded outlet.

When I go to plug in i often shake the plug out to get "most" of the water out of it.

[Fat Fusion]

No issues at all in the rain.

 

[shaggy314]

It depends on which end is getting the rain. The car end will be fine as I've occasionally charged while raining. The outlet end is where you should be concerned as you likely don't have a rubber seal around the 110 outlet and water could get in causing a short (that would not bother the car as it should stop charging without issue, but the outlet may pop it's fuse/breaker. So get an external outlet designed for outside, maybe with a small cover so all but driving rain goes around it.

 

I've covered (not enclosed) the charger itself (110) by the car itself or a bag so it didn't get direct rain on it.

[rbort]

Another option it to just leave the charger inside the car.  Use a heavy duty short extension cable long enough to reach inside the car, put the charger in there and run the charging cord back outside to the car's plug.  The wires will pass through the rubber seals under the doors, I've done this several times, not due to rain but when charging at hotels and such so avoid the charger being taken in the middle of the night.

 

-=>Raja.

[Rexracer]

Another option it to just leave the charger inside the car.  Use a heavy duty short extension cable long enough to reach inside the car, put the charger in there and run the charging cord back outside to the car's plug.  The wires will pass through the rubber seals under the doors, I've done this several times, not due to rain but when charging at hotels and such so avoid the charger being taken in the middle of the night.

 

-=>Raja.

 

Well your not "suppose" to use any type of extension cord with the charger, but I do it every day without issue (using heavy duty cord).

How hard is it to close the door with the cords going through the seals? I guess the factory cord isn't real thick, but I would not want to do this every day for fear of damaging/deforming the door seals, the cord, and the added stress on the door (from pressure from the door). But on an occasional basis as you describe (charging at hotel) its a great idea, keeps your charger safe from theft.

[Kybuck]

Sorry, but being an electrical engineer I can't help but cringe at the thought of closing the door over the charging cable and extension cable.

 

A full charge is roughly a half gallon of gas.  Just run in hybrid mode on gas if you're concerned about the charger being stolen.  The $2 savings over the half gallon of gas just isn't worth the potential damage to the charging cable.  That's the advantage of a PHEV over a pure EV... a plug isn't required to keep driving.

Edited June 28, 2014 at 03:12 PM by Kybuck

[wazer]

What about getting a lock? It prevents the button from being pressed on the charging coupler, therefore preventing removal from the vehicle. 

 

From the owners manual:

Locking the Charging Coupler

Note: You will need a padlock or a

combination lock with a shackle diameter

of 0.2 (5 mm) or less and the straight

portion of the shackle of 1.0 (25.4 mm) of

length or more.

1. Insert the lock through the hole in the

charging coupler button.

2. Lock the padlock or combination lock.

[Rexracer]

Sorry, but being an electrical engineer I can't help but cringe at the thought of closing the door over the charging cable and extension cable.

 

A full charge is roughly a half tank of gas.  Just run in hybrid mode on gas if you're concerned about the charger being stolen.  The $2 savings over the half gallon of gas just isn't worth the potential damage to the charging cable.  That's the advantage of a PHEV over a pure EV... a plug isn't required to keep driving.

 

I assume you meant to say a full charge is roughly half a gallon of gas...

 

While you are 100% right, it does go against our "desire" to go everywhere on electric alone! Good reminder though, its only $2 in gas..

[Kybuck]

Oops, yes, half a gallon.  Edited it above.

 

Maybe it's because I can only go ~50% of my commute on electric every day, but as much as I love the technology and ability to drive on electric, I'm not driving myself crazy about using EV at every last opportunity.  For example, I've yet to use a public charger (the costs typically are higher than the gas savings).

[bbwex]

I appreciate all of the replies.  I thought that the car end of the system could handle the rain, and I am going to get a waterproof housing for the main part of the charge cord -- part that plugs into the extension (yes, heavy duty) and the electronics.  On the 110 system that comes with the car, that does not appear to be waterproof.  I did have a outdoor, rain protected socket installed and wired to a separate fuse. 

[snedecr]

Don't be concerned about shocking yourself.  The plug that you are taking out to the car initially only has very low DC voltage on one of the sensing pins. The ground connection is first to mate, and last to break. Once the car and the charging station sense each other and that they are securely connected, they negotiate how much power they can supply/receive.  Only then is power supplied to the one or two 110/220V pins.  When you remove the connector, even during charging, the charger senses the disconnection and disconnects the power before the ground connection is broken.  The design of the system makes it pretty safe!

 

From Wikipedia: 

 

Safety

The J1772 standard includes several levels of shock protection, ensuring the safety of charging even in wet conditions. Physically, the connection pins are isolated on the interior of the connector when mated, ensuring no physical access to those pins. When not mated, J1772 connectors have no voltage at the pins,^[19] and charging power does not flow until commanded by the vehicle.^[17]

The power pins are of the first-make, last-break variety. If the plug is in the charging port of the vehicle and charging, and it is removed, the control pilot and proximity detection pins will break first so that the Power Pin Relay in the charging station will be shut off and no current will flow.

[Doug0716]

Also I think most (but not all) chargers have a GFCI circuit detection in them (kinda like the plug in a bathroom/kitchen) that would detect a short and cut off power (in the case of a frayed wire or something that doesn't benefit from the plug's safety features)