Tesla Outdoor Curbside Charging Station almost ready for Model S

With delivery of my multi-coat red P85 a month or so away, I’m putting the finishing touches on a new DYI curbside charging station. As I live in a townhome without a garage, but two dedicated parking spaces perpendicular to the sidewalk in front of the house, a curbside charging station is a necessity.

When the electrician ran the underground line from the breaker box in the house to the curbside connection for the Volt, anticipating that I’d get a Model S I had him install a line with 50amp capacity. The new Tesla charging station will replace the current device I’ve used to charge my Volt. The old one requires me to hang the Volt connector on the side of the station, where it is exposed to weather and possible vandalism. In the new one, the UMC plugs into a 14-50 receptacle, which I integrated into the top of the Hubbell plug inside the bollard behind the lockable door. So the UMC is completely protected.

The new Tesla station is set up to permanently house the Tesla UMC inside a large plastic bollard with a lockable hinged door. When I want to charge, I’ll just back the Model S into the space, pull out enough cable from inside the bollard to plug in the car, then close and lock the door with the cable extending through a hole in the top of the door.

Like the charging station it will replace, the new Tesla station uses a Hubbell plug 3 pole 4 wire plug integrated into the bollard. The whole assembly then plugs into a companion Hubbell pin and sleeve receptacle in the ground. It’s all waterproof and totally safe. When I’m not charging, I can unplug the whole station and move it inside. It has handles for that purpose.

I’ve ordered an extra UMC from Tesla. When it comes the station will be complete. Then all I’ll need is the Model S

Here are some photos of the new Tesla station. I have to put a few finishing touches on it and attend to a few details, but it’s pretty much ready. I added the Tesla logo and red stripes on the top for accents compatible with the multi-coat red.

brianman said:

The T on top looks excellent, artsci. Heck the whole thing looks really nice. What are the metal handles for?

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As it's portable, the handles are to carry it inside when it's not being used, which during the week is most of the day.

Al Sherman said:

What covers the 14-50 receptacle when the bollard is isn't there?

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The 14-50 is inside the bollard behind the door, so it's protected from the elements. The UMC will be inside the bollard with it, permanently plugged in.

The 14-50 is directly wired directly to the Hubbell plug, which looks like this: . The Hubbell plug is permanently built into the bottom of the bollard, so the entire bollard/charging station can be plugged into the matching Hubbell receptacle in the ground. This makes the whole assembly portable. When the Hubbell connections are made, power is provided to the 14-50 and the UMC inside the bollard. The Hubbell connectors are rated for 600 volts and 100 amps and are waterproof.

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Al Sherman said:

What covers the 14-50 receptacle when the bollard is isn't there?

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See my latest post. The 14-50 is not in the ground.

aronth5 said:

Excellent. Could you post a picture of the bollard when the top section is removed? Again awesome job.

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Not sure what you mean by top section as it's all one piece. But here's the Hubbell receptacle in the ground with the cover closed and open. The last photo show the bottom of the bollard with the Hubbell plug that goes into the receptacle. The red notched device is for tightening and loosening the plug/receptacle connection when they're plugged together. This makes the bollard stand erect with no wobble.








As for cooling of the UMC i don't think it will be a problem. There's plenty of open space in the bollard and it has some ventilation/drainage holes in the bottom

montgom626 said:

Who mows the lawn? Is you receptacle in the ground at risk from any lawn mowing equipment????

BTW, once nice installation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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We have a lawn service provided by the community association. The receptacle was there for the entire last season with no problem. They hand trim around it.

montgom626 said:

They do a great job!

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Tell me more about the "LED strip trunk lighting" you have planned.

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That's actually artificial turf in the photos. As the receptacle is mounted in concrete for stability, I couldn't grow grass there, so I added the turf. It's amazingly realistic. It would make a fantastic entire lawn. Of course, given that we're recovering from winter here, it looks a lot better than the real stuff. Nature will blend them together in a few months.

There have been several threads on the LED strip lighting for the hatchback area. I have quite a few LED strips around from other projects so when my S arrives I'm going to add several strips to the frunk and trunk.

Al Sherman said:

Still stunned by what a nice solution this is! What would you estimate the total cost at? There was another thread where someone was debating a 14-50 vs. an HPWC. I told him he could really dress up a 14-50 for less than 1200 dollars. You've definitely demonstrated that. Really nice.


" Never tell a man how to do something. Tell him WHAT to do and let him surprise you with ingenuity." Patton

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Thanks. One of the advantages of the long wait for delivery is that I had plenty of time to plan this and make changes as I went.

Although I've not kept close track, I think I have about $900 in this. That excludes the UMC and the cost of running the electricity curbside, which I had done for the Volt before I even thought about getting a Model S. For those who are curious, the cost of the electric line was about $1,100, and the spare UMC I have on order from Tesla is $500.

The Hubbell pin and sleeve connectors are by far the bulk of the cost, about two-thirds. The plastic bollard cover was about $100 and misc parts another $100 or so. These parts include several acrylic circles that I used to secure the Hubbell device in the bollard, the 14-50m receptacle, some spray paint, red reflective tape, the artificial turf, the lock, various special glues, and the Tesla logo, which I had made in a local shop.

If I had bought a charging station of this kind, it would have been at the very least $2,500 with major additional installation costs. Worse yet, it would have to have been permanently mounted curbside, which would not have pleased my community association.

When my Model S is delivered I'll post some photos of it plugged in.