So I just had an outdoor outlet put in near my new Prime. Problem is, the weatherproof cover won’t close with the charger plugged in—not unless I try to force it, but of course I don’t want to damage the cable by over-bending it. I looked for a right-angle plug adapter rated at least 15 amps but came up short—unless I get one that has a cord. But even if it’s a very short cord (1 foot) that means where it and the charger connect will be outside, exposed to the weather, and I don’t want to risk infiltration. Anyone here with a similar issue who’s found a solution?
Is there a version for a 1-gang box? This wouldn't fit mine. I didn't see anything bigger at Home Depot or Lowes.
Don't know if it's also in the Gen 5 owners manual ( I'd suspect it still is ). And from your pics it looks like the brick is hanging from the plug. The cover is the least of your problems if the brick is hanging and or exposed during rain or other inclement weather.
It would be nice if the cover would close, but how crucial is it? I think your usage is not unusual, a right- angle plug, while esthetically better, is maybe not necessary ; the main intent of that cover being to keep the outlet cleaner over the years. In the picture showing it in use, the partially raised cover looks to still be fairly effective, at sheltering it from rain. Consider the other end of the connection too, at the car; is it even more exposed? Maybe some electricians will weigh in? BTW, is that 240 volt? (revealing my very limited electrical knowledge)
the car end is protected by design, but for those concerned, there are weather resistant covers available. the out end is interesting. idk the code, but i used to plug in outdoors at work. no cover at all, just the flip back sideways hinged outlet cover, and rain and snow never affected anything. that was 120v. op's pic is also 120v. 240v would have a very different plug design.
Yeah we've got an outside wall 120 volt duplex outlet, looks like this: Is this upside down btw, or is there some reason? Typical interior outlet is oriented to have the ground at bottom. I've got an ancient recollection, some electrician explaining the reasoning: if the plug was to weigh enough to start pulling out, the ground prong would stay in the longest, so it was safer.
exactly like that. good question. i think i looked it up once and the ground should be on the bottom iirc, but could be wrong. outside could be different, but sometimes these things are too nuanced. code writers get carried away sometimes, and many licensed contractors have no idea what they are talking about and make it up as they go along. especially if it means correcting something for free.
There's a thought that if a plug worked its way loose, so that it was still in but with space between it and the outlet, something could fall down between the and the outlet. If it fell onto the hot and neutral it could short but if it fell onto the ground it would be OK. I actually had the chance to ask an electrician about this recently, and he said it isn't code anywhere he knows except that it's required in hospitals.
Interesting read, and yeah, makes sense. We had one outlet in the house upside down, out in the garage. I recently “fixed it”…
i can't even look at the upside down ones without going crosseyed. interesting that you might drop a fork in a hospital, but not in any other situation
