[Caevlist] Extension cords

[Trelstad, Brandon]

Hi Bryon,
I didn’t see anyone else chime in, and there is certainly deeper expertise on this list than me, but I have had no trouble charging my Tesla Model 3 with an extension cord.  It’s not a best practice and there is energy loss, but in the kind of situation you describe I would not hesitate to use a good quality cord no longer than you really need.  I’ve done it a handful of times when travelling.  One time I had to use a 100’ cord and everything went fine; got 4 miles/hour of charge.  I think it was only 16 gauge.  (I can hear the cringing of other readers!)

I’m not sure about the Bolt, but I believe the Tesla can drop the amps a little (below the standard 12 A at 120 V) if it sees too much voltage sag so it will only take what the supply can give it.  I think the Bolt can be set for 8 or 12 amps so you might just want to start with 8 to be safe.

Always make sure you have a good ground.  Tesla won’t charge without it, I suspect Bolt too.  Plus, when you have an overpriced Airbnb or something along those lines, it feels good to get a little free charge!
Brandon

From: caevlist-bounces at rdrop.com <caevlist-bounces at rdrop.com> On Behalf Of Bryon Van Fleet
Sent: Thursday, August 15, 2019 10:10 AM
To: caevlist at rdrop.com; gary at whitecape.org
Subject: [Caevlist] Extension cords


To My Fellow EV Car Owners,

     I recently bought a Chevy Bolt that came with a standard 110v level  one charging cord.

I love our new car but unfortunately have hopelessly low skills in electrical engineering, and now I have a question about extension cords.

    In a couple of weeks I’m going to visit a friend down on the southern Coast of Oregon. I will have enough range to get there but not to get home unless I recharge (hopefully at his house.)  I’m staying 3 days and will be parked so that is enough time to fully recharge but here is my issue:  My standard level one is not quite long enough to plug in at his house so my obvious solution is to use an extension cord.

     When we bought the car the salesmen who did the final walk around with us said it was OK to use an extension cord if it was heavy enough BUT  the ownership manual says don’t use an extension cord.   ??



      Let me repeat, I know next to nothing about electrical issues but I am suspicious Chevy is afraid I might use some flimsy indoor extension cord and that could be dangerous.

      How about if I use a heavy (lower gauge) cord?  Is that acceptable?  Are there any rules or guidelines I should follow about gauge of wire and length of cord, or should I just NEVER use an extension cord?



    Any thoughts or comments would be most appreciate by this newbie EV owner.



    Sincerely,

    Bryon Van Fleet

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