Stolen Charger

[offgrid]

- Brilliant -

Park your car on the cable or secure it to a wheel with a padlock.

 

[DebbieOutlander]

Some great ideas here, is there any specific brands of locks to use? I assume i could use any weatherproof lock.

 

[michael8554]

I tried looking online for one.
I figured a 5mm shackle, lots of 6mm ones which might fit.
But then couldn't tell if the inside width of the shackle was wide enough to accept the cable when the shackle is open and at 90 degrees to the padlock body, if you get what I mean.
I'll have to go to Screwfix or B&Q with the cable and try some.

 

[ThudnBlundr]

Parking on the cable will eventually damage it. You could look at getting something like these which would do the same job: https://www.ebay.com/itm/1-2-5-Channel-Cable-Cord-Protector-Electrical-Wire-Cover-Ramp-PVC-And-Rubber-/322941668644

 

[Craigy]

I just use a Halfords bike lock (cheap cable version with code lock, a tenner) with a shed padlock I had lying about. The padlock is always attached to the bike lock (cable type) and the cable.
Simply lock to the wheel, easy.

 

[DebbieOutlander]

Thanks for the great tips, ive also found a useful blog: https://www.evcableshop.co.uk/how-to-protect-your-ev-charging-cable-from-theft/

 

[STS134]

I use a lock with a 5mm diameter shackle and 16mm shackle length, both for the included EVSE, and for my TeslaTap. Anything larger is too big to fit through, and anything smaller still allows the handle to be removed.

 

[NightPHEVer]

I live in a nice, quiet part of the countryside where we don't seem to have thieves. Having said that I don't think the time has yet come in the UK where the type of people that steal things have realised the value of these cables, and as things stand at the moment there would be very few customers for a stolen cable. Where I live in Scotland I think I might have the only (semi) EV. I work in a main dealership and we've never had any sort of plug-in EV (although I saw one of the mechanics watching a training video on electric cars the other day - so you never know) and even if we did there would be nothing to plug it in to. However as EV's (perhaps, eventually) become more mainstream I've no doubt that cable theft will become more of a problem. They'll probably get stolen just for the copper content. The manufacturers will no doubt have to consider further the theft of cables - just as they've always had to consider the theft of fuel.

I'd agree about not parking on the cable though, I'd say that if this was done repeatedly on the same section of cable internal damage to the wires would occur. My Mitsubishi charging cable - after around one year of fairly regular use - has developed the well documented fractured cable fault where it enters the box part that has the lights on it. I've seen the YouTube video so I'm hoping to fix it. I now have a Rolec on the front of my garage (non-tethered cable) which is a much more robust solution to regular charging.

We recently discovered where I work that industrial power washer hoses don't take kindly to being run-over by cars either.

 

[greendwarf]

There's very little copper in one our charger cables - you would need a lot to make it worth the effort of a trip to the scrap merchant. Given that most cable thieves steal reels of the stuff from BT depots etc or lengths from alongside railways, I would have thought their first target would be the heavier duty public charge point ones - especially the increasing numbers of 150KW super chargers etc. :shock:

 

[twosout]

I don't do anything to secure my cable (outside at home).
What you could do is secure the plugged end inside.
Any thief should see that it's live and think twice about cutting through the flex. (Maybe not if high on drugs.)

 

[KWh]

I've noticed that the type 2 (Mennekes) end of the charging cable is locked in the public chargers until you release it by scanning the charge card.

At home I have a 22KWh Newmotion chargepoint installed with the same type 2 socket. This also locks the cable in the charge point. Only difference is when I pull the cable from the car, the charge point unlocks.

Hope there will be a software update for the home chargers allowing a setting to unlock with charge card only. So if any Newmotion employees are on the forum

 

[Am786]

Try a padlock alarm from eBay:

Something like this

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Alarm-Lock-Siren-Padlock-Motorbike-Anti-Theft-Alarm-Lock-Bike-Shed-Security-New/123809811437?hash=item1cd3a3cbed:g:ipkAAOSww4ZdDGjJ

 

[Bloggsy]

Gary has a nice "solution": https://youtu.be/F9VtYFvxTt4

I'm doing the same on public places, at home I have a fixed wall box and the cable is always locked.

Tried this yesterday and it worked a treat! Unsure how 'at risk' my cable would have been but it did make me feel better! :lol:

I did experiment, at home, with padlocks and chains but I scratched the alloy wheel I was using as an anchor point so quickly binned it!

Cheers

Bloggsy

 

[VillageIdiotDan]

I worry they'll just rip the "petrol" cap off with the cable!

I planned to padlock mine to a u bolt on the wall at home but haven't got round to it

 

[twosout]

Life's too short for worrying.
I'd just let it get tatty and looking 'unloved'. I can't think why they'd bother to nick even a good one (where would they sell it, for how much). Be grateful that they left the car!