[Norm Harris]

I have always charged in my garage. Now I have moved to a condo with access to an outdoor plug. Is there any problem plugging into this plug that is fully exposed to the weather(plastic cover that flips up)?

Thanks.

 

[ChuckB]

No problem... been doing that at an outside outlet at my job for 5+ years in my 2012 Volt with the stock charger.

 

[voganni]

I wouldn't trust it. Mine sat out in a snowstorm one day and got water in it. It quit working when a drop of the internal water fell on the circuit board. I took it apart and dried it out, then sealed it better with some silicone. Now if it's gonna rain or snow I put a medium garbage bag around it. It has been modified to be 120-240 volt, but I think the leak was in the gasket on top, the handle end.

 

[Joe67]

I have always charged in my garage. Now I have moved to a condo with access to an outdoor plug. Is there any problem plugging into this plug that is fully exposed to the weather(plastic cover that flips up)?

Thanks.

Not waterproof. I would not submerge it or leave it in a puddle.
You are able to keep it out in the rain/snow however.

 

[llninja]

Not waterproof. I would not submerge it or leave it in a puddle.
You are able to keep it out in the rain/snow however.

So, we'll call it weather resistant, but not waterproof.

 

[Raymondjram]

So, we'll call it weather resistant, but not waterproof.

The only weatherproof and truly watertight EVSE I know is the EMW JuiceBox, which I have from a kit. When the famous "Ice Water Challenge" was in the news, EMW did their own "challenge", dunking a live powered Level 2 JuiceBox in a barrel of ice water, and charging a Nissal Leaf for hours while the entire EVSE and most of the cables were in the barrel. Later they removed the EVSE, unpowered it, then opened it to prove that it was watertight.

My JuiceBox kit is also watertight because I built it that way. I posted the construction info in a past 2014 post here on the forums. The latest JuiceBox is more sophisticated, but still watertight, so if you live where the weather is bad (in my case I get heavy showers and tropical storms), get a EMW Juicebox EVSE. BTW, they will soon sell a DCFC set for the Chevu Bolt (up to 25 kW).

 

[norcalkrautnit]

I charge my Volt outdoors every night because my kiddies have taken over the garage with their pet stuff (rabbits and cavies) and our house overfloweth with so much junk that there's nowhere else to put it. So, I went to Home Depot, picked up a clear plastic storage bin with blue cover (~28"x18"x5"), cut a ~1/3" slit at the top edge of each end for the power leads (AC mains and the EVSE's cord), snapped the cover in place, and it now withstands seriously heavy rainfall (we've picked up about 18" the past month in NorCal) with no issues whatsoever. Total cost was about $8-$10. Easy-peasy