Routing Interior Wall Connector Cable Outside?

[PoitNarf]

So my wall connector is finally mounted in my garage. Not wired yet, electrician needs to come back again to finish up a few things. But at the very least I was able to test how far the 24 foot cable will reach. My wall connector is mounted on an interior wall in the garage just a few feet from the garage door. The cable is long enough to reach to my driveway as well. My garage door is not able to close with the cable going under it, so I think I may have come up with a solution to allow me to charge from my driveway and keep my garage door closed.

I’m considering installing a dryer vent in the wall of my garage so that on the occasions I need to charge in my driveway I just need to pop open the vent cover and pass the wall connector cable through it. Has anyone done this or something similar?

 

[Derek Kessler]

You could cut out a hold and install an external power outlet cover. They typically close securely, so you'll have a better seal versus a vent.

 

[doubleohwhat]

Have you tried adjusting the closing force setting on your garage door?

 

[VANative]

If You are going to cut a hole in the garage wall, I recommend something closer to what they do for RV’s. Here is just an example of an electrical cable hatch. Relatively inexpensive, will look nicer than a dryer vent, and can be closed when not in use.

https://www.amazon.com/JR-Products-...sr=8-1-fkmr1&keywords=JR+products+hatch+cover

 

[PoitNarf]

No, I haven’t fiddled with the garage door opener setting yet. I could probably get it to work that way but I don’t like the idea of giving unwanted critters easier access to the inside of my house than they have already.

The electrical cable hatch looks like an interesting solution. I may go with that. Thanks!

 

[NewTMSMan]

This will not make it secure, but you could just pull the emergency release on the opener and let the garage door rest on the cable for the odd times you need to charge in the driveway (assuming it's not frequently). It won't be locked closed, but it will be closed at least. If security was an issue the manual side locks might engage when it is resting on the cable, you will have to try that though.

 

[PoitNarf]

I just ordered this hatch from amazon: JR Products 541-B-2-A Polar White Deluxe Round Electric Cable Hatch https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008O9F9UK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_OL5TAbFFPQGS2

If the wall connector cable is able to fit through the little access door then I plan on ordering a second cable hatch to have one on either side of the wall. I’ll post back with the results.

 

[Asad1087]

I just ordered this hatch from amazon: JR Products 541-B-2-A Polar White Deluxe Round Electric Cable Hatch https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008O9F9UK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_OL5TAbFFPQGS2

If the wall connector cable is able to fit through the little access door then I plan on ordering a second cable hatch to have one on either side of the wall. I’ll post back with the results.

Looking forward to your report. I will be in a similar situation.

 

[PoitNarf]

The cable hatch I ordered arrived today and it is going to work perfectly. Thank you @VANative for the suggestion! I’m ordering a second one so I can have a hatch on either side of the wall. I was worried that the little cable access door would not be large enough for the wall connector cable, but it fits just fine with room to spare. I won’t be installing the hatches until my wall connector is wired up and fully up and running (hopefully my electrician finishes things up this week...). I’ve attached some photos of the hatch for anyone interested in doing something similar.

 

[dapiya]

I put some weatherseal foam strips underneath my garage door then adjusted the garage door up the thickness of the foam and voila. I then cut out a 1 inch section where the cord would go under and attached another 4 inch section of the foam strip so that it is touching the front edges of the long piece I cut a chunk out of to get the cable through. That way when no cable is there, that strip prevents air/bugs from getting in and when the cable is there, it just compresses without compressing the the long strip(now 2 strips). Without that cut out section and extra piece there was a little gap on either side of the cable.

Cost me $5

 

[Rockster]

I just cut an, angled portion off of the bottom edge of my garage door frame and routed the cable between the metal door track and the garage door opening. This way, the cable is actually outside of the door/track seal and is untouched by the door. Granted, it allows a bit of air exchange, but it took only about 10 minutes to do and is entirely reversible, just by replacing the bottom of the frame.

Here's a picture taken before I routed the cable (see red arrow for cable path). The finished project has the cable neatly attached to the bottom edge of the angled door frame so it's not laying on the ground. I hung gecko toes brackets on the outside of the house to hold the cable.

 

[mem_ny]

Can the Wall Connector cable by detached from the unit and re-connected easily? I want to install the unit inside a garage and run the cable through a preinstalled 2" steel conduit through a brick wall. Effectively, only the cable and charging head will be outside. The charging head will not fit through the conduit and I prefer not to drill a new bigger conduit to accommodate the size of the head. This can only be done if I can detach the cable, pass it through the conduit, and reattached inside. Would be very grateful for input.

 

[eprosenx]

Can the Wall Connector cable by detached from the unit and re-connected easily? I want to install the unit inside a garage and run the cable through a preinstalled 2" steel conduit through a brick wall. Effectively, only the cable and charging head will be outside. The charging head will not fit through the conduit and I prefer not to drill a new bigger conduit to accommodate the size of the head. This can only be done if I can detach the cable, pass it through the conduit, and reattached inside. Would be very grateful for input.

FWIW, I would recommend installing the Wall Connector outside in this situation. If you are going to do this in such a permanent manner then there is not much reason to leave the Wall Connector inside is there? The unit is waterproof.

I have my wall connector outside and it works perfectly. It also doubles as a cable holder.

The only reason I see to try running a wall connector cable out of the garage is if you need it to work both inside and outside the garage on occasion. Otherwise I would just install it on the side of the wall you need to use it on.

 

[GLOpro]

The cable hatch I ordered arrived today and it is going to work perfectly. Thank you @VANative for the suggestion! I’m ordering a second one so I can have a hatch on either side of the wall. I was worried that the little cable access door would not be large enough for the wall connector cable, but it fits just fine with room to spare. I won’t be installing the hatches until my wall connector is wired up and fully up and running (hopefully my electrician finishes things up this week...). I’ve attached some photos of the hatch for anyone interested in doing something similar.

View attachment 289668

Hi PoitNarf,

I would love to see and hear how to this set up has worked out for you?
And have you fitted a connector mount outside or do you simply open the garage door to access the connector to feed it through each time you want to charge?

​

 

[PoitNarf]

Hi PoitNarf,

I would love to see and hear how to this set up has worked out for you?
And have you fitted a connector mount outside or do you simply open the garage door to access the connector to feed it through each time you want to charge?

​

Sorry, I never set this up. My garage door is old and odd enough that I’m able to just keep the charging cable under the door when it’s closed, so that’s good enough for my needs.