parking too far from house - extension cord?

I am hoping to lease/buy my first electric car (Nissan Leaf, 2014 or 15, probably S with charge package) soon, but am stymied by the lack of charging infrastructure at my home/work. I have a short (<20 miles RT) commute, no current charging options at work (though they seem willing to consider installing some in the future), and no electrical outlets at all outside my house, including in the garage.

I rent my home, so am trying to avoid putting too many upgrades at my own expense into someone else's house. The least expensive option would likely be to put a 240V outlet on the outside of the house and either do EVSEUpgrade or the Clipper Creek LCS-25P, EXCEPT the parking area is at least 40 feet (maybe 50 ft...there are bushes in the way) from the home, and the cords on both of those set ups are only ~25 ft.

I could charge at the Nissan Dealership, but that is several miles away and that is too much of a hassle for that to be a regular thing.

I could maybe try parking on the grass nearer the house a few times a week when I charge, allowing me to use the 25ft cable, but this might upset the landlord and/or the other tenant in the building whose porch I'd be parking next to.

I could trench the yard and put a pedestal-mounted 240V outlet next to the driveway, but that seems likely to be quite expensive and/or time-consuming (I'm hoping to get this car bought and operable in the next two weeks or so, as my wife and I are currently sharing one car and it's not ideal.)

Clipper Creek said they couldn't sell me a longer corded model. (EVSEUPgrade seems to be on vacation right now.)

Is it possible/reasonable to safely get a 20-30 ft of super-heavy duty extension cord to extend the reach of my EVSE? Clipper Creek said it was _possible_ but they were not recommending it. This would be outside, so I imagine at the very least I would need some sort of weather-proof housing for the various cord connections.

I am NOT electrically-savvy - I intend to hire an electrician to install the outlet and any additional wiring.

If I can't figure this out, I'll probably end up buying a C-Max energi or something that I don't have to charge, and then hope to get charging eventually figured out at work or my next home, but the leaf is really the car that I want.

Thanks in advice for your help!
Jeff in Somerville, NJ

There is tons of information already on this forum about extension cords. Do a search, and you'll find more than a couple explanations.

That said, quick summary:
Possible, but not recommended. Many cables are not designed to carry high amps needed to charge your car. Heavy duty cables solve that, but not everyone realizes that, and go for the cheaper light duty cables.

Plug overheating is another issue. Some EVSEs detect heat on the plug, but if you use an extension cord, it has no way to know what the temp of that plug or cord is.

In general, if it's an emergency, a heavy duty cable can work. Do not use it for normal charging. A $500 installation of a new outlet is cheaper than a new house caused by a fire.

It's not the cheapest solution in the world, but try one of these. No wiring required.

http://www.tucsonev.com/J1772Extension.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://shop.quickchargepower.com/JLONG-40-Amp-J1772-extension-cable-JL40A.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Some of the EVSEs, like openevse and the Bosch unit, require you to provide the power cord. If it were me, I think the most cost effective route (especially considering this is a rental home) would be to buy an extra long range cord with the plug you need on the end. If you need 40' total and your j1772 cord is 25', then you want a power lead that is around 15-20'. Just oversize it for the length...go 40 or 50 amp for a 30 amp evse.

Your best bet might be a 240 volt RV extension cord. No need to dig a trench if the route is safe and clear, just plug one end into a wall outlet on the house and the other end into the upgraded EVSE. Get the twist-lock plug on both the cord and the EVSE, and of course on the outlet. Not cheap, but probably the best solution for this situation.

I bought a 240 heavy duty cord on amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Camco-55195-Extension-PowerGrip-Handle/dp/B0024ECIP0/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1408047858&sr=1-1&keywords=14-50+extension+cord" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

apvbguy said:

I bought a 240 heavy duty cord on amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Camco-55195-Extension-PowerGrip-Handle/dp/B0024ECIP0/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1408047858&sr=1-1&keywords=14-50+extension+cord" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Click to expand...

#6 conductors, nice.

The issue with a regular extension cord is that you subject yourself to electrical shock safety issues where your EVSE plugs into the extension cord, especially in wet weather.

The J1772 extension cord solves this issue, but you probably will still want a way to keep the connection dry - if it gets too wet it may trigger a ground fault and interrupt charging. A benefit of the extension, though, is that it can be very useful in some situations where an obstacle (like a non-EV) is blocking a public charging station.

Probably the best solution is to retrofit a very long extension cord to whatever EVSE you purchase. Tuscon-EV lists a 30A J1772 plug + 20 ft cord for $140 and extra cord is available at $2.50 / ft. Another 30 ft would cost $75. So for $215 you can have a 50 ft J1772 plug.

I just finished a trip where I had to charge at rv parks, and I have to tell you I got really sick really fast of continually wrapping up the cords. Perhaps you could get yourself a cord reel so you could wrap it up every time. You shouldn't really leave the cord laying out when it is not used.

A proper extension cord with #12 wire or better will work fine. You do need to monitor the outlet to make sure it makes good contact and it does not over heat.

I carry a Costco 50 ft #12 extension cord and I have not had any problems both times I have needed it.

Most people consider the included EVSE a strictly emergency unit. L1 is so slow it is relegated to strictly emergency use. In a pinch it is slightly better than nothing.

Thank you for the tips so far. I recognize that the manuals say not to use extension cords, and that serious hazards can be found if you use the wrong cord, but it seems like a properly sized and connected extension cord should be reasonable.

I like that the J1772 cords appear to have a sturdier, more weatherproof connection - is there any other difference compared to the much cheaper RV-cords? If I still wanted a more weatherproof connection, any suggestions for how to protect the EVSE-J1772 extension cord coupling?

The JLong cord (http://shop.quickchargepower.com/JLONG-40-Amp-J1772-extension-cable-JL40A.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false is a fair bit more expensive than the TucsconEv (http://www.tucsonev.com/J1772Extension.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false, and the only major difference that my non-electrician eyes noticed was 40A versus 30A cord.

Any thought whether that difference is useful for charging either with EVSEUpgrade (on 6.6kw Leaf) or the Clipper Creek LCS-25P?

Thanks
Jeff

Most people consider the included EVSE a strictly emergency unit. L1 is so slow it is relegated to strictly emergency use. In a pinch it is slightly better than nothing.

Click to expand...

You start with a factual (if slightly hyperbolic) statement and with blazing speed drop past "pretty exaggerated" and end up at "wrong." A significant number of people charge daily with L-1, and 5% charge per hour is more than "slightly better than nothing." In a "pinch" it is in fact "welcome."

One final thought: I think if you want to use an extension cord to spend the couple hundred bucks for the evse upgrade EVSE. It comes with an L6-30 connection which is nice because it locks into place and won't come off. Then go to the electrical supply house and buy some 3 wire 10 gauge S**W cord. Get a L6-30R for one end and whatever plug you need on the other. I'd use a L6-30P and buy the adapters. then you can pack the whole set up and charge in other places too. Select whatever current you want to charge at, and use 120 or 240 volts. Might cost more, but you'd end up with a better cord and charging setup. You can put the evse in a water proof box or at least off the ground.

here's more info on cord wire.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_cord" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I would do the J1772 extension. You can buy that right now and then plug it in to the stock EVSE and do 120 charging. If you need 240 later, you can spend more money, but this way you're only out a couple hundred and those extensions are super handy for charging anywhere else as well. If you use a plain old extension cord, you lose almost all the safety features that are the main reason for the EVSE existing in the first place. Then find some way to keep the connection dry (at least mostly) and you've got a pretty good permanent, safe setup. And you haven't spend a penny on anything you can't take with you when you move, or even sell on here.

The EVSE included with the Leaf has a temp. sensor in the plug, so if the outlet has poor connections and overheats, the charge will be stopped to avoid overheating the outlet. If you use an extension cord, the unit will not be able to detect that the outlet is overheating.

I tried an extension cord when I first got my car, and quickly discovered how hot the plug at the outlet was getting, and immediately stopped using an extension cord. (I also replaced the outlet with what is hopefully a higher quality unit, and accelerated my plans to charge from 240 volts instead.)

If you use a 120 volt extension cord, you will have some voltage drop in the cord (about 2 volts for a 50 foot cord with #12 wire).

If you extend the J1772 cord, I would recommend the heavier 40 amp version to reduce voltage drop, especially if you are charging from 120 volts.

You will be charging more often than you think. Remember, the Leaf has the equivalent of about a 2 gallon gas tank, and filling takes several hours. (You probably don't want to quick charge all the time, in order to be nicer to the battery.) It needs to be convenient. You didn't say why you could not just park in the garage, but if it is that the other car is there, some shuffling may be needed.

Relying on the dealer (or others) to give you (free) power is not the way to survive. (I would love free diesel for my other car...)

alanlarson said:

You will be charging more often than you think. Remember, the Leaf has the equivalent of about a 2 gallon gas tank

Click to expand...

Depends on how you look at it.
If you're talking about range, I'd say closer to 4. The average car gets 23MPG, and the Leaf is EPA rated for 85 miles.
If you're talking about energy, it's 7/10 of one. The battery is 24kWh, and a gallon of gas is equal to 34kWh.

The garage is more of a shed at this point, oddly disconnected from the driveway, full of junk (mostly not mine), and has no electrical power. Getting power there would be overwhelmingly expensive.

I have no outlets whatsoever outside (or in the garage) right now, so I will be having an electrician install a new one no matter what, and I'm planning on having a 240V installed, as it seems like the cost will be about the same as for 120V and the outcome is much better. I'm hoping that because this is a new outlet professionally installed for the purpose of charging an EV that it will be suitable for an extension cord as well without overheating, but I will certainly monitor the plug and wire when I try it out (I even have an infrared thermometer to play with!).

At this point, the EVSEUpgrade seems like the best move, and I plan to charge from 240V. Am I correct in thinking the only problem with a voltage drop of 2 volts (50ft cord 12 gauge, as previously quoted...sorry, not sure how to do the in-line quotes here) would be a maybe 1% increase in charge time?

The primary purpose of this vehicle will be ~20 mile RT weekday commutes. I would like to use it as the family car on weekends for short trips around town. Anything more than 40 miles away we'll probably take the old subaru, as quick charging all over town seems like too much of a hassle for my lifestyle.

In case I didn't note before, the cord will be outside, exposed to the elements (at least during charging, likely overnight...I would wrap it up and put it away the rest of the time), and there are both toddlers and dogs that use the area, so any suggestions on cord set-ups that minimize risk to curious critters are appreciated.

Thanks!
Jeff

You might be interested in a post. It will probably add ~$1000 to installation costs, but it's definitely the safest option. This way you won't have to rely on an extension cord, and can place it anywhere.

Something like the HCS-40 from ClipperCreek could work.

Certainly not cheap, but neither are those J1772 extensions.

I don't really recommend an extension cord to be used on a regular basis. Although I have used a 100' extension for extended periods without issue.

I would get an L6-30 installed to match the EVSEUpgrade. Then get a custom L6-30 extension cord made to the length you need.

http://www.stayonline.com/custom_power_cords.aspx

You've received many excellent comments.

One thing that may have been omitted is that there is a National Electric Code paragraph on EVSE and it specifies a maximum cord length. That's why you will never be able to buy a commercial EVSE with a 50' cord. I'm not sure the wisdom of this particular part of the code, but the facts are that you are running very high current for a long amount of time, so the risks of a fire are real.

So whatever you do, don't get cheap on wire or connectors. And every few months, it would be a good idea to check the plug and cable to make sure it isn't getting too warm in use. Outlets will eventually wear out. They are just mechanical things with sliding parts and metal springs.

A check can be as simple as touching the plastic insulation with your hand after the car has been charging for 5 minutes. If there is significant warmth, something is wrong. If you are really safety conscious, you can get a low-cost, non-contact thermometer and use that for an accurate baseline of heating. For example:
http://www.amazon.com/BAFX-Products-TM-Infrared-Thermometer/dp/B006V4WNYU/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Bob