The specs of the UMC says it comes with a 20 feet of cable. How is that 20 feet measured? The outlet in my garage is right around the 20 feet mark from where my charger port will be so I'm wondering if I'll need an extension cord or not. In the attached picture, my guess is that the 20 feet is measured from point B to C, in which case I should have some slack. But if anyone can help me figure out for sure, I'd like to know before my M3 is delivered this Friday. Thanks!
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Length of UMC cable that comes with M3
- Thread starter pdp1
- Start date
eprosenx
Active Member
I highly recommend to all Tesla owners to NOT use extension cords whenever possible. This especially applies at your home primary charging locations. They can be dangerous.
I feel it is worth it to spend the money to "do it right" at home. Have a circuit extended to the right location or add a new one in the right location.
EV's draw huge amounts of current for many hours on end during the night when folks are sleeping. They will find any defects in your electrical system.
I feel it is worth it to spend the money to "do it right" at home. Have a circuit extended to the right location or add a new one in the right location.
EV's draw huge amounts of current for many hours on end during the night when folks are sleeping. They will find any defects in your electrical system.
Turn the car around or switch sides to get it closer.
When 20 feet away, you need about 30 feet of cable. You always want the cable to drop directly to the floor, so that you don't have excess stress on the car or plug.
Extension cords aren't a great idea and for this size are really expensive. You can also look at a Level 2 EVSE that can have some longer cords and then use the J-1772 adapter.
It will be 20ft to the connector body.
It's 20ft _cable_, not cables.
The maximum cable length allowed for J1772 is 25ft from body to plug.
EDIT:
OK, seems like it might just be Tesla-being-Tesla again.
https://www.tesla.com/sites/default...bile_connector_owners_manual_32_amp_en_US.pdf
So, probably slightly under 20 feet full length.Manual said:
Last edited:
I am just reading off the UMC manual which said "20 ft (6 m) with adapter installed". The adapter is D to E on OP's diagram.
Ok, measured it.
A-C= 19'4" cable w/car plug
C-D= 7" UMC body
D-E= 8" Adapter
Total= 20'7"
A-C= 19'4" cable w/car plug
C-D= 7" UMC body
D-E= 8" Adapter
Total= 20'7"
This was exactly what I was looking for, thanks for taking the time to measure this!
Thanks for reminding be about the cable dropping to the floor, I forgot how heavy these thick gauged cables can be. I know extension cords aren't recommended, but I only need about 4-5 extra feet. I found a high quality 10ft extension that seems pretty safe, in some ways safer than running 30-40 more feet of cable along the wall inside conduit. I'm going to mull this over, I'll just park backwards for the time being. Maybe the 24ft cable on the HPWC will be perfect, that would be another option for the future. Anyone have exact length measurements for the cable on the HPWC?
I have mixed feelings on this - on the one hand I recently used an extension cord for my 6-20 outlet because a guest in an RV needed my normal spot. It worked just fine. On the other hand, it isn't the length of the cord that causes problems, its the connectors that invariably fail. Adding an extra plug/socket to a full time circuit is not a good idea. Add to this that the heavy load is usually timed for the middle of the night when no one is looking and the risk factor is increased.
gilscales
Banned
Someone correct me if I'm wrong but isn't another problem is that there is no gfci protection from the extension to the umc?
Electricity is no joke... I think sometimes people take it for granted because you "just plug it in".... but I would remind people to look inside their toaster when they start it and remember that what they are seeing is electricity... heating wires.... hot enough to burn... because they are small wires.
Couple that with the fact that, unless one is careful they could be getting a wire that is not the right gauge (and I believe as the run gets longer the cable is supposed to be thicker?... I am not an electrician), AND the wires are running in walls and such, AND the car makes a draw that is unlike anything else in the house, AND usually everyone is asleep when its happening....
The connection is not something I would skimp on, or circumvent, or add an extension cord on because it fits etc unless it fits within electrical code.
I am not normally one that says one has to "follow every rule".. but in the case of electricity, for something that can pull this much power, I think its not very wise at all to jury rig anything. If the UMC can reach, then use that.. its designed for it. Dont add any extension cords to it, regardless of the fact its "only 4-5 feet". Dont make it so tight that it cant rest comfortably without stress on the socket.
Thats the "best" thing to do, especially when you are dealing with something that could possibly set your home on fire, at least in my opinion.
Couple that with the fact that, unless one is careful they could be getting a wire that is not the right gauge (and I believe as the run gets longer the cable is supposed to be thicker?... I am not an electrician), AND the wires are running in walls and such, AND the car makes a draw that is unlike anything else in the house, AND usually everyone is asleep when its happening....
The connection is not something I would skimp on, or circumvent, or add an extension cord on because it fits etc unless it fits within electrical code.
I am not normally one that says one has to "follow every rule".. but in the case of electricity, for something that can pull this much power, I think its not very wise at all to jury rig anything. If the UMC can reach, then use that.. its designed for it. Dont add any extension cords to it, regardless of the fact its "only 4-5 feet". Dont make it so tight that it cant rest comfortably without stress on the socket.
Thats the "best" thing to do, especially when you are dealing with something that could possibly set your home on fire, at least in my opinion.
eprosenx
Active Member
Most of the risk of an extension cord is adding another connection point and specifically one that is not thermally monitored like the connection from the UMC to whatever it is plugged into (it has a heat sensor in the end of that adapter).
So even though it is a short extension cord, it still adds a lot of risk.
I can not say how happy I am with my Wall Connector. I really wish I had the Wall Connector in exactly the right spot though so I could plug and unplug the car one-handed without having to coil up the cable using two hands.
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