Very cool extension cord to have in case

[scottf200]

Spoke with EVSE Adapters. I like the fact that their 14-50 extension cord is lighter than the Camco, and offers the utility to plug in different plugs without having to mess with additional adapters. They are willing to make a 30' one. I'm waiting to get a price from them.

You can also just see if they can give you a deal on a 2nd 20' one. I've used their website contact interface recently and had good luck getting responses from them. Perhaps some peoples emails are ending up in their spam folder.

 

[jeremyz]

The EVSE adapters are a good deal. If you buy 6/3 SOOW wire from Home Depot, it's about $3 a foot. You might be able to get it at an electrical supply house for like $2 a foot. If you built the cord yourself, it would cost you as much as buying it from EVSE adapters.

 

[Firewired]

You can also just see if they can give you a deal on a 2nd 20' one. I've used their website contact interface recently and had good luck getting responses from them. Perhaps some peoples emails are ending up in their spam folder.

It's weird. I have tried emailing via the interface twice and have left a total of three messages over the last two weeks. I can't get anyone to answer or respond. Each time I have said I just want to put my order for the 30' cord they said they would be able to special order. I am not sure how otherwise how to get hold of them. Overall a lousy potential customer experience just trying to place an order.

 

[DCGOO]

The EVSE adapters are a good deal. If you buy 6/3 SOOW wire from Home Depot, it's about $3 a foot. You might be able to get it at an electrical supply house for like $2 a foot. If you built the cord yourself, it would cost you as much as buying it from EVSE adapters.

If you are building for just the Tesla, you do not need 6/3. Only 6/2 is required. The Neutral is unused. That is why the EVSEadapters cable is smaller, no neutral included. In their case there is not even a pin for it on the plug.

 

[ChrisPDX]

Here's my charging arsenal:

This started when I was considering making my own 40amp extension using SOOW cable. I was at Home Depot and I noticed they had a 30 foot roll of 6/2 NM-B cable on the return rack marked down to $20! Too good of a deal to pass on, I got it and made my own extension cord for about $30. I just have to be careful because it's rated for in-wall. Definitely not for full time use. But for the few times I use it, I just make sure it's well protected. The neutral pin has been removed and labeled on both ends that it's for Tesla charging only. I used it when I went to Montana and plugged into a dryer plug for a week. I've also tested it at 40amp continuous and it stays nice and cool. Not super flexible, but at least it's light weight.

The yellow cord is a 12awg 120v 50 foot extension cord. This gets used the most. Very handy for when I'm at a hotel and they let me plug in. 120v is surprisingly useful at destinations as long as you aren't driving around too much once there.

The grey cord is a 6-20 adapter. I built it specifically for a trip I took where I stayed at a friend's house that had a 240v outlet for a table saw. Probably won't use it again unless I'm at a hotel where they let me run a cord from the room.

Finally the CHAdeMO adapter. Very handy for trips to the Oregon coast where there's no Superchargers and limited destination charging but a CHAdeMO station every 50 miles along 101. I also use it a lot when going to Seattle. My MS60 can't quite make it from the Centralia Supercharger to Seattle and back, so I use CHAdeMO Blink station to add that little bit of buffer in just a few minutes to get me back to Centralia.

 

[Firewired]

OK. Finally got hold of EVSE Adapters thanks to someone thoughtfully PMing me their email address. It's $95 for 20 feet and $150 for 30 feet for the multi-use extension cable (Heavy-duty NEMA 14-50 extension cord for Tesla, 20 ft.)

 

[satoshi]

It's funny people mention the NEMA 14-50 plug-ins, my parents' house happens to have an old 10-50P outlet in our garage that's been sitting there unused probably since the time the house was built.

Unfortunately, my parents are keen on keeping me parked in the driveway, so in order for me to charge a Tesla within a reasonable time period, I have to make my own 125' extension cable.

In order to avoid running over the cable constantly I have to snake to the side of the house, and then bury portions if it in the lawn where it eventually would pop up to a 14-50 outlet on a stake.

Get 125' of 6-3 UFB cable, a 14-50 outlet, and I'm still debating whether I'm going to just wire a 10-50P plug in on the other end or if I'll remove the 10-50P outlet and just hard-wire it in series.

Another option to consider is hard-wiring in a tesla connector and just leaving that hanging on the stake or if I should leave the versatility of the 14-50 outlet...

Past few days I was debating whether or not I should use lower gauge cable in the event I wanted to later upgrade the charging system with a custom made outdoor charger, but I quickly realized... our house only has 48kW of energy, 20-25 kW power the house leaving only 23-28kW of energy available... As it is, this charging method would provide 10kW of power... Any sort of upgrade would only seek out an extra 13-18kW which might or not be worth it... IDK at this point.

 

[DCGOO]

Past few days I was debating whether or not I should use lower gauge cable in the event I wanted to later upgrade the charging system with a custom made outdoor charger, but I quickly realized... our house only has 48kW of energy, 20-25 kW power the house leaving only 23-28kW of energy available... As it is, this charging method would provide 10kW of power... Any sort of upgrade would only seek out an extra 13-18kW which might or not be worth it... IDK at this point.

If your run is 125 feet, you probably need 4 gauge just for 40 amps. It won't get warm, but the losses in a cable that long are substantial.

 

[Cottonwood]

If your run is 125 feet, you probably need 4 gauge just for 40 amps. It won't get warm, but the losses in a cable that long are substantial.

125 feet of #6 is not that bad: 5 Volts drop and 200 Watts lost

Details: From American wire gauge - Wikipedia, the resistance of #6 copper is about 0.25 milliOhm per foot. Double that for out and back and you get 125*0.25/1000*2 or 0.125 Ohm for the whole run. At 40 Amps that is a drop of 0.125*40 or 5 Volts, and the power loss is 0.125*40[SUP]2[/SUP] or 200 Watts.

 

[dgpcolorado]

If you are building for just the Tesla, you do not need 6/3. Only 6/2 is required. The Neutral is unused. That is why the EVSEadapters cable is smaller, no neutral included. In their case there is not even a pin for it on the plug.

I realize that you don't need the neutral, but don't you need a ground wire for safety? Am I missing something?

 

[Cottonwood]

I realize that you don't need the neutral, but don't you need a ground wire for safety? Am I missing something?

Modern wire designations assume a ground but don't include it in the numbers. 6/3 has 3 current carrying conductors (Line-Line-Neutral) in addition to a ground for four wires total; 6/2 has two current carrying conductors (Line-Line) in addition to a ground for three wires total.

 

[dgpcolorado]

Modern wire designations assume a ground but don't include it in the numbers. 6/3 has 3 current carrying conductors (Line-Line-Neutral) in addition to a ground for four wires total; 6/2 has two current carrying conductors (Line-Line) in addition to a ground for three wires total.

Thanks for that explanation!