100 foot 120 Volt extension cord?

[ratsbew]

I'm currently shopping for a plug-in electric lawn mower (13 Amp rated) and I am trying to buy a 100 foot extension cord to go with it. A 14 gauge cord is enough for the mower, but I want the cord to be usable to charge my Model 3 from 120V on the road if I'm visiting family. Should I go with a 12 gauge cord so that I can charge my Tesla too? It will be a pain to drag that heavy cord around the lawn, but if I'm spending the money I'd prefer for it to have dual use.

Thoughts? Will Model 3 even work from a 100' cord or will it detect excessive voltage drop?

Edit: the 14 gauge cord might have enough voltage drop to reduce the mower's performance slightly too.

 

[TexasEV]

No! Do NOT try to use a lawm mower cord to charge a Tesla, especially a 100 foot one!
Even for a 50 foot cord you should use a 10 or 12 gauge. I don’t know if anything would work at 100 feet, but if you’re going to try something, try a 10 gauge.
For charging a Tesla use the shortest cord possible. Forget about dual use with the lawnmower.

 

[ratsbew]

Due to overheating of the cord/plug? Can't I lower the charge rate?

 

[essaunders]

I made sure to purchase a 12g 100ft cord for my plug in snow blower. every bit of copper helps... you can, as TexasEV points out, get 10g -- it just takes more $$ and they are a bit less common...
Do what TexasEV says: get the largest gauge, shortest length cord for the EV. Make sure you have a (ideally new) high quality dedicated outlet too!!

 

[mongo]

The cord you want for your mower (light/ flexible) is not the same as you want for your Tesla. Especially if you plug into a 20 Amp outlet for 16Amp charge rate. The mower cord is derated due to intermittent use and only pulling max amps when going through heavy grass. Your car will pull max amps for hours.

If you really need 100 feet of cord, you might consider building your own with heavy duty 20 Amp style ends and SOOW cable of 10 gauge 10/3 SOOW Portable Cord 600V UL/CSA.
0.2 Ohm round trip resistance, 3.2V drop at 16 Amps, 2.7% drop.
Or, you can get a premade 100 foot cord with 15 Amp plug/ socket 10/3 SJTW Yellow Extension Cord, 25ft, 50ft, or 100ft Extension Cord
For my electric rototiller, I have two 10 Gauge 50 foot cords, That gains flexibility at the expense of an extra connection point.

 

[siai47]

Unless you really, really need a "plug in" electric mower I would suggest you try a Li-Ion battery mower. I have had a Lowe's Kobalt 80 volt battery mower for two years. And it actually works. Comes with two batteries and will run a little over 30 minutes per charge. The batteries charge in less than 30 minutes so you can mow continuously (except for the time to swap batteries). If you are like me, and buy a plug in mower first, buy an extra cord. Don't ask me how I know that you will need one .

 

[03DSG]

My EGO batter mower has a 750ah battery. It will cut through tall grass without bogging down ever. Amazing product. Bought the trimmer and blower to go with it with a 250ah. The battery is active cooled on the charger and is filled with 18650’s.

 

[Joshker]

Unless you really, really need a "plug in" electric mower I would suggest you try a Li-Ion battery mower. I have had a Lowe's Kobalt 80 volt battery mower for two years. And it actually works. Comes with two batteries and will run a little over 30 minutes per charge. The batteries charge in less than 30 minutes so you can mow continuously (except for the time to swap batteries). If you are like me, and buy a plug in mower first, buy an extra cord. Don't ask me how I know that you will need one .

I second that, I also have the 80V Kobalt mower and yard tools and they are amazing

 

[ratsbew]

Hmm, I've been worried about buying a battery mower (even though I want on) because I want low total cost of ownership and I've read reviews that the batteries need to be replaced almost yearly due to rapid degradation. I can buy a plug-in mower for $150 plus a $50 extension cord. The extension cord will last me 30+ years for other things too.

 

[Joshker]

My first B&D NICAD 36V mower lasted 6 years before the charger died and I decided to upgrade. I've been using the Kobalt tools for 3+ years now with zero degradation (I have 4 batteries). They are packed with 18650 li-ion cells, are you worried about your Tesla dying soon?

 

[roblab]

No! Do NOT try to use a lawm mower cord to charge a Tesla, especially a 100 foot one!
Even for a 50 foot cord you should use a 10 or 12 gauge. I don’t know if anything would work at 100 feet, but if you’re going to try something, try a 10 gauge.
For charging a Tesla use the shortest cord possible. Forget about dual use with the lawnmower.

Heh. Remember that the house wiring can often be 100', and the 120v outlets start at the circuit breaker running on 12 ga, dropping to 14 perhaps when they spread out in the far bedroom. You go out to plug in your lawn mower maybe at the back of the house, many feet from the breaker box. You're only putting one draw on that wire, so 14 ga is deemed fine.

The Tesla should be set to draw 10 amps from an outlet (adjust on dash). If the mower cord pulls the same amount, why would that not work with slow-charging the car? Just because it's a car doesn't mean you have to use #6 wire for 120 v. It's how much you pull.

Quick visit to Google shows that a 100' lawnmower ext. cord is 14 ga, while heavy duty cord is 12 ga.

 

[TexasEV]

You’re don’t run the lawnmower all night long. That’s the difference. Also if you have to turn down the amps to avoid voltage drop, it’s an even slower charge than the painfully slow 120v charging is already.

 

[Craig-Tx]

My EGO batter mower has a 750ah battery. It will cut through tall grass without bogging down ever. Amazing product. Bought the trimmer and blower to go with it with a 250ah. The battery is active cooled on the charger and is filled with 18650’s.

Love my Ego lawn gear.

 

[beegee]

Hmm, I've been worried about buying a battery mower (even though I want on) because I want low total cost of ownership and I've read reviews that the batteries need to be replaced almost yearly due to rapid degradation. I can buy a plug-in mower for $150 plus a $50 extension cord. The extension cord will last me 30+ years for other things too.

I'm on my 4th season with my Ego mower, and the battery has had little degradation.