My two Tesla overhead charging solution

My wife got tired of me draping the charging cord over her Model Y, so I devised this overhead charging solution. I wanted the get the "EV Hover" product but they discontinued the 9' version and the 6' version they sell is too short for my needs. So I devised my own. The arm is a dock light arm - used for lighting up the inside of a truck at a loading dock. I got it here. I then just modified it a little by adding the hook for the cable. Works well. Just pull it out for the Model 3 and keep it against the wall to charge the Model Y. The arm has a lot of leverage on it when it is fully extended, so the mounting plate has to be very well secured. Two of the bolts are lag bolts going right into a stud.

Now my wife can come and go in the Y while the 3 charges.

 

[CaliCowboy]

Wow that looks great. I think you can do a little more wire management at the side but it's a cool idea

 

[THEbuz]

My wife got tired of me draping the charging cord over her Model Y, so I devised this overhead charging solution. I wanted the get the "EV Hover" product but they discontinued the 9' version and the 6' version they sell is too short for my needs. So I devised my own. The arm is a dock light arm - used for lighting up the inside of a truck at a loading dock. I got it here. I then just modified it a little by adding the hook for the cable. Works well. Just pull it out for the Model 3 and keep it against the wall to charge the Model Y. The arm has a lot of leverage on it when it is fully extended, so the mounting plate has to be very well secured. Two of the bolts are lag bolts going right into a stud.

Now my wife can come and go in the Y while the 3 charges.

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I’ve actually thought a lot about an overhead charge cord solution prior to getting my first TESLA. I now own a 2023 Model Y.

Why don’t you buy one of those air hose auto-retractable overhead coils from Harbor Freight and retrofit it, removing the air hose to make it work with the 25ft TESLA Wall Connector cord? You could have your electrician hard wire the power source to the ceiling in your garage from your Wall Connector base.

 

[Dave EV]

I’ve actually thought a lot about an overhead charge cord solution prior to getting my first TESLA. I now own a 2023 Model Y.

Why don’t you buy one of those air hose auto-retractable overhead coils from Harbor Freight and retrofit it, removing the air hose to make it work with the 25ft TESLA Wall Connector cord? You could have your electrician hard wire the power source to the ceiling in your garage from your Wall Connector base.

Tightly coiling the cable (or any extension cord) is a no-no as this can cause the cord to overheat and melt/catch-fire due to a lack of airflow around the cable.

I suspect it would be OK if you ran well under the rating of the cable and kept voltage drop (and thus power dissipation) in the cable to a minimum, but I wouldn't recommend it...

 

[THEbuz]

Tightly coiling the cable (or any extension cord) is a no-no as this can cause the cord to overheat and melt/catch-fire due to a lack of airflow around the cable.

I suspect it would be OK if you ran well under the rating of the cable and kept voltage drop (and thus power dissipation) in the cable to a minimum, but I wouldn't recommend it...

Fair points. I hadn’t considered that.