Vincent
Member
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2024
- Messages
- 137
- Reaction score
- 16
- Rivian
- R1T
Early this past summer, I was loking at some charging solutions. Luckily for me, I had a location near the electrical main panel and meter, meaning a short run of wiring to the EVSE from the panel. The downside is that the corner of the house is over 10 feet from the end of the driveway (closer to 12 feet from where an EVSE could be mounted on the home).
I started looking for pedestals, and surprisingly very few generic pedestals are available that are heavy duty while also not having been pre-drilled or attached mounting plates for other chargers (Tesla, Clipper Creek). I did find one that was 48" tall, but as a taller person (6'6") I didn't want to be reaching down for cables, and I determined I needed a 5.5'-6' pedestal.
I decided against using lighter duty pedestals that are designed for card readers, etc., as I knew the daily weight and jostling of heave EVSE cables would take their toll. Eventually I found a vendor, that while they specialize in light poles, also had some EV charging solutions, mainly aimed at commercial installs.
After getting quotes from other vendors, I finally reached out to the team and they were more than happy to give me a custom quote for quantity 1. All of their orders include painted finish from a selection of hundreds of stock colors. Their standard colors are Dark bronze, Black, White, Natural Aluminum Painted, Dark Green, Light Gray or Slate Gray. I ordered a color that would work well with my home (close match).
At this point it was mid August and I thought I had plenty of time to get it delivered and installed, and I wasn't in a rush. I didn't even have an electrician finally chosen at this point. But I placed my order around August 12th and started the wait.
Towards the end of August, due to some maintainance at home, my home wall charger got faulty and I had no charging option with no charging solution in place! I quickly reached out to a licensed electrician recommended by my landscaper (who could work with him on trenching), and got a quote. The electrician came out the same day and installed an outdoor 14-50R to allow me a temporary charging solution while waiting for the pedestal and installation.
My order, being a custom order, took several weeks to fulfill, but they beat their estimate and I had my finished product earlier than quoted. The product came well protected.
The final order description was "54" Tall x 6.0" OD x 0.250" Thick, Square Straight Aluminum, Anchor Base Light Pole". The sturdy aluminum base (good enough to handle tall light poles) is welded in place. It came with a rather plain hard rubber (flexible plastic?) cap that is rather generic and not usually seen on a tall light pole. I will replace it at a later date with a 3D printed cap of my own design.
I failed to take a picture of the pedestal before mounting my Rivian EVSE mounting plate, but here it is at that stage:
You'll notice that a 6" pole will NOT allow for bringing the power in from the BACK of the Rivian charger. If this is your goal, you'll need to go with an 8" pedestal. I worked with my electrician on the design for how to get the power from the pedestal into the charger, and I drilled out my own hole for this using a step-drill.
My landscaper worked with the electrician, and they trenched and put in a very clean and level base for the pedestal. After the concrete had cured, the electrician ran the #6 THHN (also wet rated) through the conduit and the landscaper drilled out bolt holes and used deep anchors for the pedestal.
The pedestal also comes with a base cover, all painted to match.
The 54" height also helps with cable length: If I wanted to coil the cable without it touching the ground, with a 48" pedestal I'd have to more carefully loop the cable to get it in 2 loops. With 54", it's very easy to put away the cable in just 2 loops, with nothing touching the ground.
Overall, I'd say it's a great addition to the home. The pedestal is a significant cost, but I'll tell you, there are not that many choices on the market in the US, and metal prices are NOT cheap. Heavy duty steel and aluminum pedestals are going to cost you, but they will last the lifetime of the home.
I think the color I chose complements the colors of the home (close to the stucco color, complements the stone), and looks well with the black and light gray Rivian Wall Charger as well.
I started looking for pedestals, and surprisingly very few generic pedestals are available that are heavy duty while also not having been pre-drilled or attached mounting plates for other chargers (Tesla, Clipper Creek). I did find one that was 48" tall, but as a taller person (6'6") I didn't want to be reaching down for cables, and I determined I needed a 5.5'-6' pedestal.
I decided against using lighter duty pedestals that are designed for card readers, etc., as I knew the daily weight and jostling of heave EVSE cables would take their toll. Eventually I found a vendor, that while they specialize in light poles, also had some EV charging solutions, mainly aimed at commercial installs.
After getting quotes from other vendors, I finally reached out to the team and they were more than happy to give me a custom quote for quantity 1. All of their orders include painted finish from a selection of hundreds of stock colors. Their standard colors are Dark bronze, Black, White, Natural Aluminum Painted, Dark Green, Light Gray or Slate Gray. I ordered a color that would work well with my home (close match).
At this point it was mid August and I thought I had plenty of time to get it delivered and installed, and I wasn't in a rush. I didn't even have an electrician finally chosen at this point. But I placed my order around August 12th and started the wait.
Towards the end of August, due to some maintainance at home, my home wall charger got faulty and I had no charging option with no charging solution in place! I quickly reached out to a licensed electrician recommended by my landscaper (who could work with him on trenching), and got a quote. The electrician came out the same day and installed an outdoor 14-50R to allow me a temporary charging solution while waiting for the pedestal and installation.
My order, being a custom order, took several weeks to fulfill, but they beat their estimate and I had my finished product earlier than quoted. The product came well protected.
The final order description was "54" Tall x 6.0" OD x 0.250" Thick, Square Straight Aluminum, Anchor Base Light Pole". The sturdy aluminum base (good enough to handle tall light poles) is welded in place. It came with a rather plain hard rubber (flexible plastic?) cap that is rather generic and not usually seen on a tall light pole. I will replace it at a later date with a 3D printed cap of my own design.
I failed to take a picture of the pedestal before mounting my Rivian EVSE mounting plate, but here it is at that stage:
You'll notice that a 6" pole will NOT allow for bringing the power in from the BACK of the Rivian charger. If this is your goal, you'll need to go with an 8" pedestal. I worked with my electrician on the design for how to get the power from the pedestal into the charger, and I drilled out my own hole for this using a step-drill.
My landscaper worked with the electrician, and they trenched and put in a very clean and level base for the pedestal. After the concrete had cured, the electrician ran the #6 THHN (also wet rated) through the conduit and the landscaper drilled out bolt holes and used deep anchors for the pedestal.
The pedestal also comes with a base cover, all painted to match.
The 54" height also helps with cable length: If I wanted to coil the cable without it touching the ground, with a 48" pedestal I'd have to more carefully loop the cable to get it in 2 loops. With 54", it's very easy to put away the cable in just 2 loops, with nothing touching the ground.
Overall, I'd say it's a great addition to the home. The pedestal is a significant cost, but I'll tell you, there are not that many choices on the market in the US, and metal prices are NOT cheap. Heavy duty steel and aluminum pedestals are going to cost you, but they will last the lifetime of the home.
I think the color I chose complements the colors of the home (close to the stucco color, complements the stone), and looks well with the black and light gray Rivian Wall Charger as well.
