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Locked NEMA 14-50 Outdoors?

pbleic

Member
Feb 4, 2014
230
8
Boston
I am going to be putting an outdoor NEMA 14-50 in a location that is open and unsupervised. Does anyone have experience with locking up access of this type? Can someone post photos and specs of how to do this?
 

mitch672

Active Member
Jul 1, 2012
1,861
13
Stoughton, MA
The RV Park box I have is lockable, but it's rather large, since it has circuit breakers in it, and a 14-50, TT-30 and a 120V 20A GFCI outlet in it. There are holes on the lower left and right of the cover/body to insert a rod or locks.

image.jpg
 

buzzbar

Member
Feb 7, 2014
7
0
Seattle area
The RV Park box I have is lockable, but it's rather large, since it has circuit breakers in it, and a 14-50, TT-30 and a 120V 20A GFCI outlet in it. There are holes on the lower left and right of the cover/body to insert a rod or locks.

View attachment 42997
Here's a link for a similar model, much smaller, and it is lockable:

Eaton, 50 Amp 1-Space 1-Circuit Temporary RV Power Outlet Box, CHU1S at The Home Depot - Tablet

By the way, I'm an electrical contractor with nearly 30 years experience in Washington state. Feel free to ask me any electrical questions.


Good luck!

Andy
 

Princeton96

Member
Dec 15, 2011
60
0
Lafayette, CA
Are you looking to secure it when you're not using it or also when you're using it? I used to live in a townhouse complex with carports. I had a weatherproof box installed with a Nema 14-50 plug. When you're not using it, the box closes and you can attach a small padlock to keep it closed. When you're using it, it gets a bit trickier because the cover doesn't close all the way.

Here's a link to my solution. It's at the bottom of page 1. It worked pretty well. I usually just kept the UMC plugged in all the time and locked to the box.

Will the UMC fit when the cover is closed?
 

Lloyd

Well-Known Member
Jan 12, 2011
6,252
2,039
San Luis Obispo, CA
Here is a much smaller installation, with a locking slot on the lower right I did at my house.

IMG_0435.JPG
IMG_0436.JPG


Sorry they oriented sideways.
 
Last edited:

Max*

Charging
Apr 8, 2015
6,670
3,719
NoVa
Many outdoor NEMA boxes have locking options.

20150827_183539.jpg


(I don't have one where the cover is closed, but you see the metal loop protruding, that enters the slit in the cover, and you can place a lock over it)
 

brucet999

Active Member
Mar 12, 2015
2,671
1,482
Huntington Beach, CA

Grease Monkey

New Member
Apr 10, 2016
3
1
Miami, FL
You might be required to put an additional means of disconnect, like this within line of sight, since you are defeating the regular means of disconnect (the plug). The locks are supposed to remain open when in use if no other means of disconnect are within line of sight. The locks on boxes are mostly meant to protect people servicing the circuits. This prevents someone from being electrocuted because someone else energized the circuit. More info here.​
 

brucet999

Active Member
Mar 12, 2015
2,671
1,482
Huntington Beach, CA
You might be required to put an additional means of disconnect, like this within line of sight, since you are defeating the regular means of disconnect (the plug). The locks are supposed to remain open when in use if no other means of disconnect are within line of sight. The locks on boxes are mostly meant to protect people servicing the circuits. This prevents someone from being electrocuted because someone else energized the circuit. More info here.​

No way a Tesla 14-50 adapter fits under that lid when it is locked.

14-50 is not much different from a dryer plug, so unlikely to need a separate shutoff other than circuit breaker. I wouldn't/didn't even pull a permit for such a thing.
 

FlasherZ

Sig Model S + Sig Model X + Model 3 Resv
Jun 21, 2012
7,024
1,013
You might be required to put an additional means of disconnect, like this within line of sight, since you are defeating the regular means of disconnect (the plug). The locks are supposed to remain open when in use if no other means of disconnect are within line of sight. The locks on boxes are mostly meant to protect people servicing the circuits. This prevents someone from being electrocuted because someone else energized the circuit. More info here.​

Disconnect is only required for > 60A (625.42).
 

FlasherZ

Sig Model S + Sig Model X + Model 3 Resv
Jun 21, 2012
7,024
1,013
No way a Tesla 14-50 adapter fits under that lid when it is locked.

14-50 is not much different from a dryer plug, so unlikely to need a separate shutoff other than circuit breaker. I wouldn't/didn't even pull a permit for such a thing.

Most jurisdictions require a permit for anything short of a direct replacement of an existing device. Any new circuit or circuit extension generally requires a permit pull in those jurisdictions where separate electrical permits are required.
 

Rocketship

New Member
Jun 24, 2018
3
2
Seattle, WA
Just joined this forum but have been lurking/researching for an EV solution for my office but didn't know what would work as it's exposed and outdoors. Obviously, was worried about theft / security but was able to come up with a solution based on a lot of what I saw here.

Just wanted to give back to future users to see what can be created.

I came up with the following solution which has been working great. Box is 24in x 24in. Locks easily.



Photos attached:

EV Charger Box Open.JPG
EV Charger Exterior Locked.JPG
 
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ucmndd

Well-Known Member
Mar 10, 2016
6,213
11,599
California
That’s a pretty interesting setup. I’ve come across dozens of HPWCs mounted in public locations at this point and never thought of putting one in a giant metal box.
 

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