Hi everyone.
The other day I was staying somewhere in a 5th floor apartment. No charging anywhere nearby so I had to throw an extension lead out the window to charge the car over night. The extension lead didn't get in anyone's way as it went over a tree that my car was parked next to.
The extension lead is just for a normal wall socket, so max capacity is 13amps. The lead is actually on a large box that has a roller where the cord coils into.
Any way.. the box itself is chunky enough that it won't actually fit UNDER the car (at least not at the same time the UMC is plugged in) and it doesnt seem right to leave a box out in the elements where it may possibly get wet. So I ran the cord into the boot (trunk for the Americans here) and the box was just sitting in my boot. I then connected the UMC and ran that out the rear window. Since I knew it wasn't going to rain and the neighborhood is quite safe, I didn't mind leaving my windows slightly open for the 24 or so hours I was parked.
I noticed however the charge port is partially accessible from the inside of the boot. I was wondering about hacking this a little so that I can charge from the inside of the car without having to run the UMC through an open window.
The 13amp extension lead is thin enough that the boot can be closed without crushing the cable, but the UMC cable is far too thick for that. This is obviously not going to be a primary means of charging, but as I will return to that location ,and probably find myself in similar situations many times in the future, it would be nice to have a more discreet way to charge in public when parked for long hours.
The other day I was staying somewhere in a 5th floor apartment. No charging anywhere nearby so I had to throw an extension lead out the window to charge the car over night. The extension lead didn't get in anyone's way as it went over a tree that my car was parked next to.
The extension lead is just for a normal wall socket, so max capacity is 13amps. The lead is actually on a large box that has a roller where the cord coils into.
Any way.. the box itself is chunky enough that it won't actually fit UNDER the car (at least not at the same time the UMC is plugged in) and it doesnt seem right to leave a box out in the elements where it may possibly get wet. So I ran the cord into the boot (trunk for the Americans here) and the box was just sitting in my boot. I then connected the UMC and ran that out the rear window. Since I knew it wasn't going to rain and the neighborhood is quite safe, I didn't mind leaving my windows slightly open for the 24 or so hours I was parked.
I noticed however the charge port is partially accessible from the inside of the boot. I was wondering about hacking this a little so that I can charge from the inside of the car without having to run the UMC through an open window.
The 13amp extension lead is thin enough that the boot can be closed without crushing the cable, but the UMC cable is far too thick for that. This is obviously not going to be a primary means of charging, but as I will return to that location ,and probably find myself in similar situations many times in the future, it would be nice to have a more discreet way to charge in public when parked for long hours.
