Tesla Motors Club
I bought a CAMCO 30' 14-50 Male to Female extension cord on Amazon for $106.44 or so, I was not happy with it for a number of reasons, here is a link to the cord being discussed: Camco RV 55195 50 Amp 30 Extension Cord with Handle : Amazon.com : Automotive
It's way too heavy: since it's for a 14-50, it has an "extra" #6 AWG conductor in it (for the neutral), which is not needed for EV charging. Adds weight and bulk.
Its way too stiff: because of the (3) #6AWG (hot/hot/neutral) and the (1) #8AWG conductors, the cable is almost an inch in diameter, and is very stiff. It does not uncoil well, and it's difficult to get the full length out of it, without a helper to assist stretching it out.
I was unhappy with it, so I returned it to Amazon. Thinking about a solution, I started browsing eBay one day, and came up with a 25' length of 6/3 SOOW cord for $68, best of all this cord weighs 568 pound per thousand feet (or .568 pound per foot), this 25' cordage only weighed a little over 14 pounds. This is about 1/2 the weight of the above 30' 6/3+1/8 14-50 cord from Amazon. Good so far.
I decided to use 6-50 plugs and receptacles, because the UMC has that as an option, also when installing 6-50's in "the wild" at distant friends houses, 6/2 is much more economical to buy than 6/3, we only need 240V + ground, no need for a neutral. So I then bought 6-50 receptacles and plugs from Amazon, along with a 14-50 Male, this so I could make a short "adapter" cable from a 14-50 to a 6-50 receptacle, to use the extension cord, or plug the UMC directly in with the 6-50 adapter attached to it, this is so the cord can be used at RV Parks, if needed.
Here are the links:
25' 6/2 SOOW cordage from eBay, $68 with shipping included:
6 3 SOOW So Cord 25 ft HD USA Portable Outdoor Indoor 600 V Flexible Wire Cable | eBay
I also bought 2' from the same seller for the 14-50 Male to 6-50 Female adapter cord
6 3 SOOW So Cord per Foot USA Portable Outdoor Indoor 600 V Flexible Wire Cable | eBay
Then buy (2) 6-50 Receptaces: $11.65 each
Leviton 5378 50 Amp, 250 Volt, Surface Mounting Receptacle, Straight Blade, Industrial Grade, Grounding, Black - Amazon.com
One 6-50 Plug: $16.55 (Home Depot has it for about $15 as well)
Leviton 931 30/50 Amp, 250 Volt, Plug, Angle, Grounding, Black - Amazon.com
The add in one 14-50 for the adapter (think RV parks, you might need an extension), $14.42
Camco 55255 RV 50 Amp PowerGrip Replacement Plug : Amazon.com : Automotive
Here is the cord, l put together, 14-50 to 6-50 adapter in the 2nd picture. You might not save much money on building this extension cord, but it's lighter and far easier to unroll and use than the CAMCO 14-50 extension cord...
It's way too heavy: since it's for a 14-50, it has an "extra" #6 AWG conductor in it (for the neutral), which is not needed for EV charging. Adds weight and bulk.
Its way too stiff: because of the (3) #6AWG (hot/hot/neutral) and the (1) #8AWG conductors, the cable is almost an inch in diameter, and is very stiff. It does not uncoil well, and it's difficult to get the full length out of it, without a helper to assist stretching it out.
I was unhappy with it, so I returned it to Amazon. Thinking about a solution, I started browsing eBay one day, and came up with a 25' length of 6/3 SOOW cord for $68, best of all this cord weighs 568 pound per thousand feet (or .568 pound per foot), this 25' cordage only weighed a little over 14 pounds. This is about 1/2 the weight of the above 30' 6/3+1/8 14-50 cord from Amazon. Good so far.
I decided to use 6-50 plugs and receptacles, because the UMC has that as an option, also when installing 6-50's in "the wild" at distant friends houses, 6/2 is much more economical to buy than 6/3, we only need 240V + ground, no need for a neutral. So I then bought 6-50 receptacles and plugs from Amazon, along with a 14-50 Male, this so I could make a short "adapter" cable from a 14-50 to a 6-50 receptacle, to use the extension cord, or plug the UMC directly in with the 6-50 adapter attached to it, this is so the cord can be used at RV Parks, if needed.
Here are the links:
25' 6/2 SOOW cordage from eBay, $68 with shipping included:
6 3 SOOW So Cord 25 ft HD USA Portable Outdoor Indoor 600 V Flexible Wire Cable | eBay
I also bought 2' from the same seller for the 14-50 Male to 6-50 Female adapter cord
6 3 SOOW So Cord per Foot USA Portable Outdoor Indoor 600 V Flexible Wire Cable | eBay
Then buy (2) 6-50 Receptaces: $11.65 each
Leviton 5378 50 Amp, 250 Volt, Surface Mounting Receptacle, Straight Blade, Industrial Grade, Grounding, Black - Amazon.com
One 6-50 Plug: $16.55 (Home Depot has it for about $15 as well)
Leviton 931 30/50 Amp, 250 Volt, Plug, Angle, Grounding, Black - Amazon.com
The add in one 14-50 for the adapter (think RV parks, you might need an extension), $14.42
Camco 55255 RV 50 Amp PowerGrip Replacement Plug : Amazon.com : Automotive
Here is the cord, l put together, 14-50 to 6-50 adapter in the 2nd picture. You might not save much money on building this extension cord, but it's lighter and far easier to unroll and use than the CAMCO 14-50 extension cord...