It’s Monday and I need to publish a short blog, so I figure I may as well tell you about something I discovered on a BMW i3 forum: The Harry Potter Sorting Hat. People are installing it onto their EVs, and I’d never seen it before. So let’s talk about it.
Obviously, it’s not a literal Harry Potter Sorting Hat I’m talking about. For one, I’m not sure what the Gryffindor house would need a Hyundai Ioniq 5 for; it seems to me that brooms and Hippogriffs are more efficient ways to get around. Two, I’m not sure what Hogwarts’s EV infrastructure looks like. And three — and most importantly — Sorting Hats are fictional.
Still, these EV Charge Port Covers look a lot like the Sorting Hat, and more importantly, I’m using the “sorting hat” analogy because my colleagues told me to call it a condom, and I didn’t want to do that since my mom is reading. I preferred “sock” or “glove,” but they thought that was boring. And so here we are, meeting in the middle, with Harry Potter Sorting Hat.
With that long-winded intro behind us, let’s talk about EV charging in the rain, because this is something many people worried about in the early EV days, and it’s still a common Google serach — “Is charging my electric car in the rain safe?” The answer is yes. Mazda, who doesn’t even make any EVs for the US market (but it does sell PHEVs), has an entire webpage devoted solely to answering this question:
Here’s what the company has to say:
Yes, it is safe to charge an electric car in the rain. Electric vehicle charging equipment is designed to be weatherproof and meet strict battery charging safety standards as outlined by the Code of Federal Regulations and the National Electrical Code so rain or snow should not pose a risk during charging.
Mazda dives a bit deeper, writing;
The NEC, in particular, requires that EV chargers are properly installed and operated safely, including considerations for weather and rain. NEC standards may include requirements for weatherproof enclosures, waterproof connectors, and proper grounding to protect against electrical hazards caused by water exposure.
Compliance with NEC regulations helps to assure EV drivers that they’ll be protected when powering up their vehicles, even when outdoor conditions aren’t ideal.
CHARGING SAFEGUARDS
EV charging stations are engineered with safety in mind, with features like weatherproof enclosures and ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs), the latter of which immediately cut power when water makes close contact with live electricity.
These charging elements are also designed to resist dirt, water, dust, and other environmental factors that can affect an EV’s electrical current and ability to sustain power.
It is recommended that outdoor EV chargers have an ingress protection, or IP rating, such as IP65 or IP66, which means that charging equipment is designed to operate safely in the rain and wet areas. EV charging equipment is also made from high-quality materials that withstand exposure to moisture and adverse weather conditions and are thoroughly tested for durability.
§ 571.305 Standard No. 305; Electric-powered vehicles: electrolyte spillage and electrical shock protection.
The short of it is that the chargers themselves are designed to be water resistant; they will not start sending current to the battery until a “handshake” has taken place indicating that the charger has been inserted into the port; and even if some water gets into it all, the GFCI’s should take care of business. Here’s some more on GFCIs from OSHA:
A ground-fault occurs when there is a break in the low-resistance grounding path from a tool or electrical system. The electrical current may then take an alternative path to the ground through the user, resulting in serious injuries or death. The ground-fault circuit interrupter, or GFCI, is a fast-acting circuit breaker designed to shut off electric power in the event of a ground-fault within as little as 1/40 of a second. It works by comparing the amount of current going to and returning from equipment along the circuit conductors. When the amount going differs from the amount returning by approximately 5 milliamperes, the GFCI interrupts the current.
The GFCI is rated to trip quickly enough to prevent an electrical incident. If it is properly installed and maintained, this will happen as soon as the faulty tool is plugged in. If the grounding conductor is not intact or of low-impedance, the GFCI may not trip until a person provides a path. In this case, the person will receive a shock, but the GFCI should trip so quickly that the shock will not be harmful.
The GFCI will not protect you from line contact hazards (i.e. a person holding two “hot” wires, a hot and a neutral wire in each hand, or contacting an overhead power line). However, it protects against the most common form of electrical shock hazard, the ground-fault. It also protects against fires, overheating, and destruction of wire insulation.
Watch YouTuber “All EV by Steele Auto Group” put all of this to the test (We don’t recommend this):
So with all this safety built into EV charging, what’s with the weird Harry Potter hats? Well, the Amazon seller writes that the charge port cover “blocks rain, snow and ice, particularly preventing the charging port from getting jammed with snow and ice in winter, sparing you the pain of cleaning out in the morning.”
And indeed, the device seems to do this job nicely, per reviewers. Check out what “Alex Thimble” has to say:
You’ll notice that the cover envelopes the entire door itself, so it’s not just the charger handle’s button that you no longer have to get unfrozen, but you don’t have to worry about the door jamming.
The device is pretty simple; it looks like some kind of conical waterproof synthetic fabric with the larger end having a magnet running its circumference. That magnet sticks to the body of the car, closing off the big end, while the smaller opening gets closed against the charging cord via some kind of velcro strap:
The downside to the flexible magnet is that this Sorting Hat will only work for vehicles that have steel body panels. So my BMW i3 and the Chevy Bolt EV won’t work, but the Tesla Model 3 and Bolt EUV and the Hyundai/Kia EVs should.
Here you can see a Tesla Model 3 owner happy with their Sorting Hat:
Here, allow me to use Google to translate that from Swedish:
This has made it so much easier for me now with snow and ice, even when it rained. it should be standard equipment for Tesla that’s how good this product is!
Anyway, I never really knew about these Charge Port covers, nor am I convinced that they’re really necessary in most places. But I guess if you get a lot of snow that could fill your charge port and make closing the door tricky — or if you live somewhere that sees ice-rain, which could make detaching the charging handle from your car hard — I could see the value. Though I’m curious how hard it is to pull this Sorting Hat off the car when it’s iced-on. And I’m curious about a review I read about scratches to the car. Hmm.
Either way, maybe I’ve been living under a rock, but I didn’t know these were a thing. And since you may not have, either, I figured I’d share it with you.
Body images: LZSTEC Store/Amazon; Topshot image: Warner Bros. Pictures
I’m going to bet on Volvo being the first to offer heated charge doors and connector to prevent the need for this product. I’m surprised that it hasn’t been address by a manufacturer yet though.
I am just surprised a pop culture reference came from DT, or will this be a tales from the slack.
As for the item, I can see this my area where snow and ice are real.
To be fair, it is a pretty *old* pop culture reference at this point. It was bound to seep into his consciousness sooner or later.
I had the same thought as well.
Semantics but for accuracy. I have a PHEV and an EVSE to plug it into for charging. The charger itself is built into the car. I believe all AC systems operate that way. If you are talking about DC it’s different, those systems, I’m not sure if it’s all of them or some are able to go directly to the battery of the vehicle for charging. Otherwise what you have in the box at home is basically a fancy extension cord with some electronics inside.
I’ve got one, because I live in Wisconsin and my EV spends its nights charging in the driveway. One week of frozen charging doors is all it took before I found a cover with suction cups (because the Kona doesn’t have any enough for the magnets to catch onto up there).
I’ve driven several plug-in vehicles, and this seems completely unnecessary & looks incredibly stupid.
My charge port faces the prevailing wind and the door mechanism/ latch gets all gunked up with any kind of freezing precipitation. I will 100% be getting one. It’s like three times a winter, but incredibly annoying.
Looks like an air conditioner cover to me. Seems like a good idea but just keeps the moisture in. I charge outside like a good Autopian because my project cars are inside and I’ve had no problems.
The Volvo 240 had a combo condom/catheter that popped out when you opened the fuel door to keep dripping gas off your paint.
That sounds like it may have been an aftermarket- or dealer-supplied item. I’ve owned a bunch of 240s over the last 30+ years, extended family has had another half-dozen 145s, various 240s, and a few 940s, yet I’ve never seen anything like what you’ve described.
Bone stock, sir. Every 240 had it. I owned 50 or more 240s. Here’s a photo I found:
https://photos.classiccars.com/cc-temp/listing/161/3032/32760091-1991-volvo-242-thumb.jpg
Well, shit, that dwarfs my 240 history, so I’ll defer to your 50. Now I’m really curious why mine have all been sans boot.
Darn it, yet another reason I really need a manual 240 wagon in my life. Unrelated: the headrests look like antlers behind your head from a side profile. Another cool feature and reason to have one.
Dammit! I’m ready to charge and I can’t get the package open!
“Larger Size for More EV Models” – nice they even have magnums
A car that runs on electricity?! Witchcraft!
Check out Catweazle: Electrickery!
If it reminds me of anything, it’s Torch’s home-made astronaut pooping bags he devised that one time to see what it was like to take a shit as a spaceman.
I’ve only had my charger get stuck a few times at home, but I would buy a HP sorting-hat-contraption!
I reject the false assertion that Mazda sells no EVs in the US. This is MX-30 erasure!
Mazda started the erasure–it’s no longer listed on the US Mazda website.
Looks like a good way to make sure the electrons can make their way down the charging cable and safely Slitherin.
I live in the south so don’t understand what all the hufflepuff is about but I guess if it makes people happy.
I like how it covers both the port and the Gryffindor.
Unless you have a Cybertruck with a Dumbledore.
I’m concerned about wild animals damaging my charging port. Is this resistant to Ravenclaws?
I mean, I knew that most folks here are dorks, but Christopher Cross on a catamaran…
You all are legit Law & Order NPC’s.
Wow.
I don’t have firsthand experience with these charge ports, but will say that I’m sure these are useful where weather sucks. DT, I know you’re in paradise now, but even with our recent mild winters, ice is still a reality 5 months a year up here.
As for metaphors, this thing clearly is a condom. It protects the thing that’s being inserted into another thing. The sorting hat doesn’t protect anything. But I do enjoy DT’s role as a lone voice for modesty in a slack that’s likely a group of goons chanting “CONDOM, IT’S A CONDOM”. I would be one of those goons, to be clear.
The sorting hat metaphor also serves the purpose of DT proving that he has in fact seen and or read Harry Potter, and therefore does not have this particular cultural blind spot, like when he doesn’t know who Steve Martin is, or whatever else.
I’m not sure this is really a condom either. Those don’t usually have openings on both ends. 😉
I’d call it a gaiter, but I realize that’s a less attention-grabbing term.
This is the first time I’ve realized that the 2 Bolt variants have different body materials. Have I been living under a rock, or did Chevy not advertise this very much?
No, I just learned this whilst researching this article. Wild, right?
It is wild. I had been assuming they were minor variations on the same basic body design. I’m willing to bet most consumers can’t tell the difference between them at a glance. Same name, same marketing, et cetera.
I started down the rabbit hole, trying to figure out how it’s sensible to redesign body panels and create all-new assembly processes to support 2 completely different yet functionally similar bodies on the same platform, which then get sold to very overlapping customer groups.
And then I remembered that this is GM, and all that’s needed to greenlight such a project is a promise of saving four cents per unit. I presume someone found a nickle here?
I’ve had an i3 parked outside for years in northeast Ohio and I’ve never used a charger condom.
We use one of these on our C-MAX Energi because we park it outside and it snows here. It keeps the snow out of the receptacle and makes it easy to close the cover.
The sock on the door means there has been insertion so don’t bother knocking or something like that.
In 6 years of PHEV driving and charging, I’ve only had the plug get stuck 3 times, and every time it’s been rain or sleet followed by a temperature drop. A hair dryer or heat gun took care of it. I guess that doesn’t really help if you are charging at a public location, but I really only charge at home.
I wouldn’t expect most people to have this problem at home since they’re probably charging in a garage. I realize not every EV owner does, but at this point I feel like the majority do.
Depends on the country. In the UK it’s very common to have an outdoor charger at home.
I charged inside about half the time when I had my Volt. Now my wife’s car is the PHEV and she doesn’t like to park in the garage. The garage is pretty full with my tools, projects and the MG anyway, so I’m good with it.
“Still, these EV Charge Port Covers look a lot like the Sorting Hat, and more importantly, I’m using the “sorting hat” analogy because my colleagues told me to call it a condom, and I didn’t want to do that since my mom is reading. I preferred “sock” or “glove,” but they thought that was boring. And so here we are, meeting in the middle, with Harry Potter Sorting Hat.”
Ha, yeah, as good a compromise as any (JKR’s extremely problematic persona notwithstanding.) The Playboy/Penthouse mentality gets old really fast and just gets downright annoying, not to mention actually being singularly unimaginative and uncreative.
Yeah, seems like much of EV charging infrastructure is pretty safe though there’s MuskCo’s alarmingly lackadaisical approach to safety to take into consideration, good grief, but there’s indeed a good case to be made for the vagaries of the weather, with ice storms, a frequent occurrence around here & in many parts of the world, being of particular concern.
The other solution is much more elegant, and works with aluminum cars like the Honda Clarity. It’s a stiff plastic foam port cover that inserts between the plug and the charger. It covers the remaining open part of the charging port.
I really thought when I clicked that hyperlink that it would show an old styrofoam to-go cup with the bottom cut out slid over the charging handle… 🙂
Somewhat disappointed this is being referred to as a “sorting hat”, whatever the hell that means, and not the shifter boot that it clearly resembles.
Damn, you got me good.
This is a so much better response from an editor than “TAKE IT DOWN NOW AND REPOST IT!” and part of why this is the only auto blog I visit daily.
I assumed it had something to do with Elon and J.K. Rowling being insufferable buttholes online, but no! Looks more like a shifter boot to me.
I would have gone with the witch’s skin hat from What We Do in the Shadows
Careful, that thing is cursed!
The cars could have been driven by regular human bartender Jackie Daytona.
Yeah, but does Tuscon, Arizonia see enough ice to require this?
That’s a fair point I’d like to address carefully–BAT!
Yeah, there’s virtually no resemblance to the wizard school hat in the actual product, but if you had a shifter coming out of it. it’d look exactly right.
Not an accordion shifter boot, unfortunately, it’s a saggy ballsack shifter boot.
The first gen volt had a swanky electrically actuated charging door. While cool to look at, it was sort of a nightmare for inclement weather conditions. Second gen has a plastic door you just push to unlatch. Weirdly the fuel door uses an electric lock AND the push to open/close mechanism.
The mysteries and depths of GM parts sharing truly knows no bounds
I think its an anti-theft measure. If I’m putting gas in the Volt, I have to push a big unlock button in the cabin, with which I’ll get a “wait to refuel” message on the screen. When it prompts me that the door is unlocked, I can get out and THEN push the little flap to actually open it. Its weird. I thought maybe its because the fuel filler is capless, but our 2011 escape is also capless, but has a completely unlocked fuel door. It just has an anti-siphon mechanism in the filler neck.
I always thought those “wait to refuel” messages were so tank/filler neck could depressurize so the flap could open easier/safer?