Charger advice please.

[MIFD118]

I have quite a unique situation and need some advice please on what charging station to get.
I live on Mackinac island in Michigan. No cars are allowed on the island and I park my car in one of the secured parking lots owned by the ferry companies on the mainland and get a ferry to the island.
I have spoken to the manager of one of the ferry lines who said if I pay for the electricity to be laid from the closest city power line to the parking lot ( about 400 feet ), I can put in my own charging station.
I would need to be able to lock the charger so no one else can plug into it and it would also need to be fine with being plugged in to the car for weeks, months or even the whole winter.
From what I have read it does not need to be a fast charger as it will function as you would at home.
I dont want to be locked into one make of vehicle so it would also need to be suitable for all makes of cars.

 

[bwilson4web]

I use a JuiceBox Pro 40 that has a WiFi link to their servers. I can remotely control operation including disabling charging and monitoring. Is there WiFi at the ferry station?

In my case, I setup a T-Mobil 'hot spot' so I can remotely manage and monitor the two, JuiceBox Pro 40s. One I've loaned to a favorite drug store who provides the power. The other is near my driveway.

I understand ChargePoint has similar units BUT they weren't affordable and available when I needed one.

How I manage my units:

Bob Wilson

 

[MIFD118]

Thank you for the advice.
I checked the website and the pro 40 looks affordable.
I currently park right at the ferry dock in the handicapped parking zone but in order to install a charger the only option I have at the moment is at one of the ferry lines satellite parking lots about a mile away. The closest is a large fenced, dirt, uncovered lot behind some warehouses and no power or wifi is available.
I will need to install a post to mount the charger and a parking post to secure my spot when not there.
Digging and laying electricity cable will be the most expensive step but I am trying to convince the CEO of the ferry company to go half as it is in his benefit to have power there as well.

 

[bwilson4web]

Could you share the longitude/latitude or an address for the ferry parking?

The reason I ask is I would look for parking lot lights. It might be possible to negotiate having an electrician install a tap to the light (assumed 208/240 VAC) for a lockable, NEMA 14-50, with a circuit breaker. If the light is 110/120 VAC, a NEMA 5-20 with a circuit breaker would also work. Either one in an all weather, lockable junction box would work.

You might ask the ferry operator who they use for utility electrical work. That person might have additional insights on how to get utility power to a remote location.

I hesitate to suggest this but it may be possible to fabricate a Harbor Freight trailer with solar cells and 'cheap' batteries to collect sun light and when the cells are charged enough, enable an inverter to drive the J1772 adapter. Of course appropriate security measures would be advised and the batteries and inverter need weather protection and temperature management.

Mounted on a Harbor Freight, trailer, there are two subassemblies:

• battery/inverter - this houses the batteries, a sine-wave inverter, coolant pump, and controller. The controller is designed to maintain safe battery temperatures. In cold weather, any latent heat from the solar array is brought into the battery compartment. It must be air and water tight.
• solar array - holds the solar panels with a proper solar array management controller and copper/aluminum loop holding broad temperature, non-conductive coolant (i.e., alcohol or light oil.) In the winter, waste heat goes to the battery box. In the summer, excess heat is dissipated on the shade side. At a minimum, 113 ft. sq. but larger is possible with folding array(s).

My expectation is enough kWh to sustain the car battery in winter and certainly adding significant mileage in temperate seasons.

Bob Wilson

 

[electriceddy]

Could you share the longitude/latitude or an address for the ferry parking?

The reason I ask is I would look for parking lot lights. It might be possible to negotiate having an electrician install a tap to the light (assumed 208/240 VAC) for a lockable, NEMA 14-50, with a circuit breaker. If the light is 110/120 VAC, a NEMA 5-20 with a circuit breaker would also work. Either one in an all weather, lockable junction box would work.

You might ask the ferry operator who they use for utility electrical work. That person might have additional insights on how to get utility power to a remote location.

I hesitate to suggest this but it may be possible to fabricate a Harbor Freight trailer with solar cells and 'cheap' batteries to collect sun light and when the cells are charged enough, enable an inverter to drive the J1772 adapter. Of course appropriate security measures would be advised and the batteries and inverter need weather protection and temperature management.
View attachment 6055
Mounted on a Harbor Freight, trailer, there are two subassemblies:

• battery/inverter - this houses the batteries, a sine-wave inverter, coolant pump, and controller. The controller is designed to maintain safe battery temperatures. In cold weather, any latent heat from the solar array is brought into the battery compartment. It must be air and water tight.
• solar array - holds the solar panels with a proper solar array management controller and copper/aluminum loop holding broad temperature, non-conductive coolant (i.e., alcohol or light oil.) In the winter, waste heat goes to the battery box. In the summer, excess heat is dissipated on the shade side. At a minimum, 113 ft. sq. but larger is possible with folding array(s).

My expectation is enough kWh to sustain the car battery in winter and certainly adding significant mileage in temperate seasons.

Bob Wilson

From my experience most major commercial light standards are fed 480 or 600 V (line to line off a 3 phase system) so a transformer would be required. Good thought though!

 

[gooki]

For the solar alternative you should be able to skip the batteries by using something like a myenergi zappi charger. They're rated for outdoor use, and dynamically adjust charge current based on solar generation.