# Inspired charging solutions



## GTV6 (Apr 26, 2016)

Sighted by my son today in Cambridge, MA. Inspired.


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## Frully (Aug 30, 2018)

That didn't look too bad except for no water shedding on the plug itself. Pluggers gotta plug!


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## JasonF (Oct 26, 2018)

What's funny is, it's _so _close to being safe, but not. If they would steel strap a water resistant 220 volt outlet to the tree; use outdoor rated cord; keep the cord not on the tree up high along the sides of the building; and hang the cord from the mounting hooks by wraps of steel cable instead of going through the hook...a city building inspector could probably walk down that street and not notice it.


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## Frully (Aug 30, 2018)

Agreed, even just adding a loop at the bottom so that water following the cable down sheds before the receptacle would make it 10x better.


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## shareef777 (Mar 10, 2019)

I don’t think that’s safe. The gauge of a wire needs to increase the longer it’s ran. This is a potential fire hazard unless he has it pulling significantly lower than the rating of the cords used in that chain.


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## JWardell (May 9, 2016)

GTV6 said:


> Sighted by my son today in Cambridge, MA. Inspired.


As we say, that is so Cambridge.
But much more impressive is simply getting a parking spot next to your apartment around here. I bet it's rare they get to use this setup, and hopefully they remove the entire cable and don't leave it hanging around. (Where in Cambridge?)



shareef777 said:


> I don't think that's safe. The gauge of a wire needs to increase the longer it's ran. This is a potential fire hazard unless he has it pulling significantly lower than the rating of the cords used in that chain.


Nah. This is about 25 feet. You can go a good 100 or so before needing to bump the gauge. And the car will sense any voltage drop and reduce current automatically anyway.
The only hazards I see are if someone cuts the overhead cable with a sword, or if the plug is left out in a snow storm and mixes with salt. 
I'm hoping they are at least using an outdoor rated cable, otherwise it should be in a conduit, but again I don't think this is in any way permanent and probably only used in the rare case they actually get that spot.

Good for them for not leaving the wire on the sidewalk. This is the one real problem with EVs around here, most people do not have driveways or guaranteed parking spots.


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## shareef777 (Mar 10, 2019)

JWardell said:


> As we say, that is so Cambridge.
> But much more impressive is simply getting a parking spot next to your apartment around here. I bet it's rare they get to use this setup, and hopefully they remove the entire cable and don't leave it hanging around. (Where in Cambridge?)
> 
> Nah. This is about 25 feet. You can go a good 100 or so before needing to bump the gauge. And the car will sense any voltage drop and reduce current automatically anyway.
> ...


That's awesome, didn't know the car would sense a voltage drop to drop draw.


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## JWardell (May 9, 2016)

shareef777 said:


> That's awesome, didn't know the car would sense a voltage drop to drop draw.


Try plugging into an extension cord and a dirty outdoor outlet somethime. Good luck getting 9 amps if you're lucky. It allows for some drop as expected, but will drop from 12a to 9a to 6a or even stop if it isn't happy. The load ramps up somewhat slowly as well so it has time to sense any issues. There are even temperature sensors in each part of the plug to hopefully react to something hot. Tesla really designed an awesome charge adapter, funny that it also happens to be cheaper than everyone else's.


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## PaulK (Oct 2, 2017)

I'd like to hear ideas about when there's no option except to run a wire over the sidewalk, temporarily like if you're visiting a friend. It's a trip hazard, there may be laws prohibiting it. 

Maybe one of those plastic shields that you see over wires at outdoor events would make it safe?


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## JasonF (Oct 26, 2018)

PaulK said:


> Maybe one of those plastic shields that you see over wires at outdoor events would make it safe?


I wouldn't say _safe_, but less hazardous, possibly. I've seen outdoor events use rubber ones (heavier than plastic) and paint them with yellow stripes. The yellow stripes might not be necessary on a sidewalk, but it might make it look more "official" to discourage tampering.


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