What extension cable should I use (50AMP or 30AMP) NEMA 14-30 and NEMA 14-50?

[wadood]

I have two places that I visit and trying to figure out the EV charging setup. One is in Canada. It has a dryer outlet 14-30R and other in the USA has NEMA 14-50 type of plug--not sure of the Amperage. I have a Tesla adapter for NEMA 14-50. Ideally, I want to use one extension cord for both setups.
I have bought a NEMA 14-30P to 14-50R adapter. The question is that what specification for the extension cord will work, or will I need two extension cords with two adapters?
I am getting a reasonable price ($70) for an extension cord with 30 Amp 10AWG/3c 36 FT with NEMA 14-50 male and female plugs. Will this work for both? I understand it will deliver less power and more charging time for NEMA 14-50 location. The second option is that 50A, 8AWG cord with NEAM 14-50 male and female, which costs $135.
Thanks

 

[jcanoe]

The 14-30R can only safely deliver 24 amps when charging an EV. If you use a 14-30 to 14-50 adapter you will have to manually set the maximum charging amperage in the Tesla charging settings to 24 amps.

The 14-50R could be on a 40 amp circuit or a 50 amp circuit. In either case the Tesla Gen 2 Mobile Connector with the NEMA 14-50 power plug adapter is limited to 32 amps.

Tesla does not recommend using an extension cord when charging. If you have to use an extension cord keep it as short as possible and minimize the number of adapters and interconnects. That leads to the conclusion that you should get 2 extension cords (14-30 and 14-50) and two Tesla NEMA power plug adapters (14-30 and 14-50).

 

[ATPMSD]

RVs don’t pull much power so you can get away with thinner wire, but so for EVs. You can use this table as a guide.

http://www.paigewire.com/pumpWireCalc.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

Fill in either 24A for the 14-30 option or 32A for the 14-50 version and fill in the extension cord length. This will tell you the minimum wire guage you need.

For example, 32A and a distance of 30-feet requires 8-gauge copper.

 

[Ron J.]

I have two places that I visit and trying to figure out the EV charging setup. One is in Canada. It has a dryer outlet 14-30R and other in the USA has NEMA 14-50 type of plug--not sure of the Amperage. I have a Tesla adapter for NEMA 14-50. Ideally, I want to use one extension cord for both setups.
I have bought a NEMA 14-30P to 14-50R adapter. The question is that what specification for the extension cord will work, or will I need two extension cords with two adapters?
I am getting a reasonable price ($70) for an extension cord with 30 Amp 10AWG/3c 36 FT with NEMA 14-50 male and female plugs. Will this work for both? I understand it will deliver less power and more charging time for NEMA 14-50 location. The second option is that 50A, 8AWG cord with NEAM 14-50 male and female, which costs $135.
Thanks

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If you want to use a 30amp extension cord get the Tesla 14-30 NEMA cord for the Tesla mobile charger then buy a 14-50P to 14-30R adapter (available at Amazon) for the case where you need to use the ext. Cord with a 14-50 outlet.

 

[fiehlsport]

If you want to use a 30amp extension cord get the Tesla 14-30 NEMA cord for the Tesla mobile charger then buy a 14-50P to 14-30R adapter (available at Amazon) for the case where you need to use the ext. Cord with a 14-50 outlet.

The 30Amp extension cord is not the correct gauge for use with the 14-50 adapter. He should get the 14-50 extension cord, as it is usable at max amperage, and everything below it.

The 8AWG 50 amp cord is what they need and can be used with both setups. 10AWG on the 14-30 cord isn't gonna cut it for 32 amps continuous.

 

[wadood]

The 30Amp extension cord is not the correct gauge for use with the 14-50 adapter. He should get the 14-50 extension cord, as it is usable at max amperage, and everything below it.

The 8AWG 50 amp cord is what they need and can be used with both setups. 10AWG on the 14-30 cord isn't gonna cut it for 32 amps continuous.

I’ll try this and see how it works. When I use this cable to connect to 14-30R using Nema 14-50 Tesla adapter, do I need to set amperage in car down to 24A?

 

[wadood]

The 14-30R can only safely deliver 24 amps when charging an EV. If you use a 14-30 to 14-50 adapter you will have to manually set the maximum charging amperage in the Tesla charging settings to 24 amps.

The 14-50R could be on a 40 amp circuit or a 50 amp circuit. In either case the Tesla Gen 2 Mobile Connector with the NEMA 14-50 power plug adapter is limited to 32 amps.

Tesla does not recommend using an extension cord when charging. If you have to use an extension cord keep it as short as possible and minimize the number of adapters and interconnects. That leads to the conclusion that you should get 2 extension cords (14-30 and 14-50) and two Tesla NEMA power plug adapters (14-30 and 14-50).

I am trying to avoid two extension cords but in the worst case, probably that is what I may have to do.
Thanks.

 

[fiehlsport]

I’ll try this and see how it works. When I use this cable to connect to 14-30R using Nema 14-50 Tesla adapter, do I need to set amperage in car down to 24A?

Yup - that is correct. 30A circuits are rated for 24A on continuous loads such as EV charging.

The good thing is, I think the car will remember the amperage you set it to based on the location you're charging at with the 14-30 wall receptacle. So the next time, it might be automatically on 24A even if you're using the 14-50 adapter. Someone correct me if I'm wrong though.

 

[ATPMSD]

You really should not be using the car to dial down amperage, this will bite you in the ass one day. This is not an area to cheap out! You are playing with 240V at high amperages, and you are connecting to a very expensive car. Spend the money and do it right.

 

[rrolsbe]

This is only for the knowledgeable. I made my own 20ft extension cord using 8 gauge copper wire and a 14-50P and 14-50R Camco connectors. I only connected the two hots and the ground between the to ends (most if not all EV's do not use the neutral with 240V circuits). I did not install the neutral blade in the 14-50P end or the 14-50R end. Made a notch in the 14-50R ends neutral slot (which does not have the copper blade installed) so it would accept either a 14-30P or 14-50P UMC2 Tesla adapter. I can use this extension cord on either a 14-50 or 10-30 outlet, as needed while traveling, with either my 14-30 or 14-50 UMC2 adapters.

 

[wws]

This '14-50' extension from evseadapters does not have the neutral blade installed. So it will plug into either a 14-30 or a 14-50. By eliding the neutral, it only has three conductors instead of four - making it lighter and easier to handle than a typical RV 14-50 cable:

NEMA 14-50 Extension Cord for electric vehicle only, 10 ft. – EVSE Adapters

(The above is a 10' extension. There are also longer versions available.)

You could then grind the neutral blade off your 14-30 adapter so that it can plug into the 14-50 receptacle on the extension cord.

 

[rrolsbe]

This is only for the knowledgeable. I made my own 20ft extension cord using 8 gauge copper wire and a 14-50P and 14-50R Camco connectors. I only connected the two hots and the ground between the to ends (most if not all EV's do not use the neutral with 240V circuits). I did not install the neutral blade in the 14-50P end or the 14-50R end. Made a notch in the 14-50R ends neutral slot (which does not have the copper blade installed) so it would accept either a 14-30P or 14-50P UMC2 Tesla adapter. I can use this extension cord on either a 14-50 or 10-30 outlet, as needed while traveling, with either my 14-30 or 14-50 UMC2 adapters.

The last 10-30 above should have read 14-30 and this extension cable could also be used on a 14-60 circuit also. The maximum current would be limited to 40A 32A continuous due to 8AWG wire but the UMC2 max is only 32A.

 

[wadood]

I went with Lectron 20 foot extension to Tesla native cable. It avoided me to carry three separate extension cords (5-15, 14-30 and 14-50) as suggested above in this discussion by various members. It is little pricey. With coupons etc. you can get it for $200 but still cheaper than buying 3 or 4 extension cords, and the undesirability of carrying those fat cables with you everywhere you go.

So now I have Tesla adapters of 5 types and one extension cord seems to work for all of them.

Lectron Tesla EV Extension Cord | 20 ft

Lectron Tesla Charger Extension Cable Extra 20 Feet to Your Charger. Compatible with Tesla High Powered Wall Connectors, all generation of Destination Chargers.

ev-lectron.com

Lectron is making Tesla adapters of all sorts for a while , so I guess they know what they are doing but I wish it were offered by Tesla and a little cheaper.

 

[MacO512]

This '14-50' extension from evseadapters does not have the neutral blade installed. So it will plug into either a 14-30 or a 14-50. By eliding the neutral, it only has three conductors instead of four - making it lighter and easier to handle than a typical RV 14-50 cable:

NEMA 14-50 Extension Cord for electric vehicle only, 10 ft. – EVSE Adapters

(The above is a 10' extension. There are also longer versions available.)

You could then grind the neutral blade off your 14-30 adapter so that it can plug into the 14-50 receptacle on the extension cord.

I bought this cord. Yes it's more compatible and less bulky than standard 14-50.

However wish I'd seen the Tesla extension, that would be better because could plug adapter directly to appropriate socket which monitors receptacle temperature, and sets proper amps.

 

[MacO512]

I went with Lectron 20 foot extension to Tesla native cable. It avoided me to carry three separate extension cords (5-15, 14-30 and 14-50) as suggested above in this discussion by various members. It is little pricey. With coupons etc. you can get it for $200 but still cheaper than buying 3 or 4 extension cords, and the undesirability of carrying those fat cables with you everywhere you go.

So now I have Tesla adapters of 5 types and one extension cord seems to work for all of them.

Lectron Tesla EV Extension Cord | 20 ft

Lectron Tesla Charger Extension Cable Extra 20 Feet to Your Charger. Compatible with Tesla High Powered Wall Connectors, all generation of Destination Chargers.

ev-lectron.com

Lectron is making Tesla adapters of all sorts for a while , so I guess they know what they are doing but I wish it were offered by Tesla and a little cheaper.

Just bought a couple of these. Hope you can combine 2 or more, I'd expect a little voltage drop.

 

[wadood]

I also wanted to buy two and asked the support and was told that you cannot combine but she did not seem very knowledgeable.
Please confirm if you can combine and it works.
Thanks

 

[STS-134]

The 14-30R can only safely deliver 24 amps when charging an EV. If you use a 14-30 to 14-50 adapter you will have to manually set the maximum charging amperage in the Tesla charging settings to 24 amps.

That's extremely dangerous and is a fire hazard. If you use a 14-30 to 14-50 adapter with a 14-50 extension cord, you should use a 14-50 to 14-30 adapter on the other end so that you can put the proper NEMA adapter on the mobile connector and have it limit the current to the proper level. Given how many software bugs and regressions Tesla has, I would never leave it up to Tesla's software to prevent a fire.

Tesla does not recommend using an extension cord when charging. If you have to use an extension cord keep it as short as possible and minimize the number of adapters and interconnects. That leads to the conclusion that you should get 2 extension cords (14-30 and 14-50) and two Tesla NEMA power plug adapters (14-30 and 14-50).

That is the best solution. A different cord for each receptacle type.

 

[Art84]

My backup solution is:
1. Tesla 14-30 adapter for mobile charger
2. 14-30 50ft extension cord
3. 14-30 to 14-50 adapter

If I need an extension from 14-50 outlet, I use 14-30 to 14-50 adapter and pull just 24A from a 50A outlet which is safe. If I deal with 14-30 outlet, I just don't use that adapter. So you don't need to have two different cords for the different receptacles. Also, 14-30 extension cord is cheaper than 14-50 extension cord.

 

[STS-134]

If I need an extension from 14-50 outlet, I use 14-30 to 14-50 adapter and pull just 24A from a 50A outlet which is safe.

Absolutely NOT safe. If you have a 14-30 outlet and connect it to a 14-50 extension cord, you need to convert back to 14-30 on the other side and use the 14-30 plug adapter for your mobile connector, so that it's hardware limited to 24A. If you're plugging a 14-30 extension cord into a 14-30 outlet, you should not be converting to a 14-50 before connecting to your mobile connector, you should use the proper adapter (in this case, a 14-30 adapter). Using the car to limit to 24A while the EVSE advertises 32A on a 30A outlet is not safe and could overdraw if the car has a software regression bug (and Tesla is always having those).

 

[Art84]

Absolutely NOT safe. If you have a 14-30 outlet and connect it to a 14-50 extension cord, you need to convert back to 14-30 on the other side and use the 14-30 plug adapter for your mobile connector, so that it's hardware limited to 24A. If you're plugging a 14-30 extension cord into a 14-30 outlet, you should not be converting to a 14-50 before connecting to your mobile connector, you should use the proper adapter (in this case, a 14-30 adapter). Using the car to limit to 24A while the EVSE advertises 32A on a 30A outlet is not safe and could overdraw if the car has a software regression bug (and Tesla is always having those).

The other way around. Read one more time.
If I have 14-50 outlet, I connect my 14-30 extension cord through the adapter