Has anyone come up with a lock for the UMC?

[Barry]

I live in a condo building with reserved, numbered parking spots, that are part of the deed. I installed a 14-50 outlet in my spot and have been happily charging for almost 2 years, without incident.

Recently, there was a late night break-in to the building, and the thieves rifled through unlocked cars, stealing items in the cars, and some items near the cars. One neighbor, with a Nissan Leaf, had his trickle charger stolen. Fortunately, my charger was plugged into the car, so it was locked in place.

So now, I'm concerned that someone might steal my UMC, left plugged in, hanging on a hook, while I'm out during the day. Any suggestions on some way to lock the charger to the outlet box or conduit? I'd prefer not to unplug it and carry it with me every time I leave.

 

[brkaus]

Locked NEMA 14-50 Outdoors?

 

[BruceR61]

I just had the outdoor RV NEMA 14-50 installed awaiting my Tesla. I note the UMC has adapters for different outlets. There is probably only 2-2 1/2 inches of clearance when the door is closed. Will the plug and adapters fit in that clearance or does the door need to be left open (negating the waterproof nature of the box and the ability to lock it)?

 

[brkaus]

I just had the outdoor RV NEMA 14-50 installed awaiting my Tesla. I note the UMC has adapters for different outlets. There is probably only 2-2 1/2 inches of clearance when the door is closed. Will the plug and adapters fit in that clearance or does the door need to be left open (negating the waterproof nature of the box and the ability to lock it)?

I believe this one will allow it to close.

Tesla — Corded Mobile Connector - NEMA 14-50

The one with the adapter would not close in my outside mounted RV 14-50 box when I had a demo Tesla at home.

 

[BruceR61]

I believe this one will allow it to close.

Tesla — Corded Mobile Connector - NEMA 14-50

The one with the adapter would not close in my outside mounted RV 14-50 box when I had a demo Tesla at home.

So long as I am buying an additional cable, why not spend $30 more and get the built-in charging station which can work at 60A and give additional speed at charging, keeping the 14-50 as a back-up if it does not work?

 

[Lloyd]

I have seen a simple combination lock used also to secure it to something adjacent like a conduit or pipe or ??. Sorry I do not have a photo.

 

[BruceR61]

I would assume that a padlock that went into the open outdoor box's locking hole and also around the cord itself would secure the cord so that it would have to be cut to be removed altogether. It just defeats the box's ability to keep out moisture.

 

[brkaus]

So long as I am buying an additional cable, why not spend $30 more and get the built-in charging station which can work at 60A and give additional speed at charging, keeping the 14-50 as a back-up if it does not work?

Agree 100%!!

I was going to do 14-50, but found power company will pay 50% (up to some limit) if having a charging station installed.

 

[mknox]

Always thought this was genius:

 

[Barry]

Thanks for the replies gang.

What I wound up doing today is placing a padlock around the cable, between the plug and UMC controller box. Then, I used a 4 ft steel cable bike lock, also within the padlock clasp, then between the wall and the steel conduit housing the wires to the 14-50.

When I want to take it with me, all I need to do is open the padlack, remove the UMC, then close the padloack back up. An extra 5 seconds of work to make me feel more secure.

 

[Tam]

I think fitting yours into a locking box per Dane Jasper is best:

Locked NEMA 14-50 Outdoors?

 

[BerTX]

Thanks for the replies gang.

What I wound up doing today is placing a padlock around the cable, between the plug and UMC controller box. Then, I used a 4 ft steel cable bike lock, also within the padlock clasp, then between the wall and the steel conduit housing the wires to the 14-50.

When I want to take it with me, all I need to do is open the padlack, remove the UMC, then close the padloack back up. An extra 5 seconds of work to make me feel more secure.

That's what I was going to suggest -- you are just worried about someone stealing it, not necessarily unplugging it. Keep it simple.

 

[tcl2000]

I was inspired by this thread as it's going to take me a while to run a 240v to the right part of my house, and I didn't want to make it quite too easy to walk off with my UMC.

I screwed a garden hose rack to my wall, and replaced an outdoor outlet cover with a lockable one. I padlocked it, and ran the other end of the cable through the padlock.

Of course this is hilariously plastic, but it should stop a very casual thief.

 

[BruceR61]

Any way to get the electronics off of the ground? It does rain from time to time in Seattle....

 

[tcl2000]

My theory seems to reset on the UMC being somewhat water resistant, and the garden hose holder seemed to keep most of the rain off it today. We'll see how often the GFCI trips on the outlet.

 

[Rizz]

I live in a condo building with reserved, numbered parking spots, that are part of the deed. I installed a 14-50 outlet in my spot and have been happily charging for almost 2 years, without incident.

Recently, there was a late night break-in to the building, and the thieves rifled through unlocked cars, stealing items in the cars, and some items near the cars. One neighbor, with a Nissan Leaf, had his trickle charger stolen. Fortunately, my charger was plugged into the car, so it was locked in place.

So now, I'm concerned that someone might steal my UMC, left plugged in, hanging on a hook, while I'm out during the day. Any suggestions on some way to lock the charger to the outlet box or conduit? I'd prefer not to unplug it and carry it with me every time I leave.

very low-tech solution would fix this by having some vin registration mechanism onboard of the charger. Any non registered vin would not be able to charge

 

[Boeingpilot]

If you look carefully (at least on the ver2 of the UMC) there is a slot for a Kensington Lock (like for a laptop)