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220 Extension Cord

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I am thinking about buying a roadster and would like to know if I can use an extension cord 75-80 feet in length to get to my 220 outlet? Would there be too much voltage/amperage drop? I have 110 within about 20 feet but it seems that the 220 would be nice to have. I would be using the car as a daily driver, average driving of maybe 20 or 30 miles a day. Would 110 be sufficient for this application?

Thanks
 
I am thinking about buying a roadster and would like to know if I can use an extension cord 75-80 feet in length to get to my 220 outlet? Would there be too much voltage/amperage drop? I have 110 within about 20 feet but it seems that the 220 would be nice to have. I would be using the car as a daily driver, average driving of maybe 20 or 30 miles a day. Would 110 be sufficient for this application?

Thanks

It would be better and safer to have an electrician properly wire another plug to the location that you need it.
 
Thank you guys. I'll be parking the car in my driveway, but my detached garage would require getting the power about 100 feet from the breaker box. I agree the best solution would be to locate a proper outlet as near as possible to the car. In my case, that's probably going to cost a couple thousand bucks because I'll have to dig a trench in my long driveway to lay the line and refill/refinish with concrete.
 
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Do they have to dig through the concrete to run the line? I have a detached garage as well and they were able to dig a trench through the yard. Took them about 8 hours and cost $1,000 though.
If you do go through all the trouble to dig a trench, make it future proof. Run cable for maybe 2 50A circuits or a 100A and a 50A circuit.
 
Many of your battery questions are debated.
What I recollect:
Recharging/topping off after short trips is good. Letting it go down to 20% on purpose is not so helpful. But, charging to 100% is not so great either. If you charge in "standard mode" (instead of range mode) then it doesn't fill to 100% so you are in good shape.
So, basically - leave it plugged in whenever possible in a "standard mode" charge. "Range mode" or "Performance mode" should be saved for special occasions, and it is best to time it so you use the car right after one of those "full" charges. Also, best not to do "Range mode" or "Performance mode" charges on a really hot day.
There really is little/no "memory effect" so letting the pack run down by missing charging opportunities isn't really useful.
Charging from 120V is somewhat wasteful as a relatively higher percentage of the electricity is used running accesories and charging equipment and less makes it into the battery pack than you would get if using 240V.
Thank you. Is the charger built into the car, or is there a separate charger that gets plugged into an outlet and then plugged into the car as well?
 
The charger is built into the car. You still need to buy a cable from Tesla that would connect to your NEMA 14-50R outlet (or the 110V outlet with the cable included with the Roadster) to charge.
 
Thank you. Is the charger built into the car, or is there a separate charger that gets plugged into an outlet and then plugged into the car as well?

Yes, the charger is built into the car. But people mistakenly call other pieces a "charger" when they are not.
For instance, this is an "EVSE" not a charger:
chargingSolutions_high_main4_large.jpg


And there are interface boxes, some call a "connector":
universal_large.jpg


charging Tesla Motors
 
And the charger is in the car. The Tesla HPC or a NEMA 14-50 are just plugs to supply power. One can make an extension cord. Our local electrical supply place sells 6 gauge 3 and 4 conductor cord that could be used as an extension but it is a thick as my thumb. It is a big cord but will carry the load. At about $2/ft it is not inexpensive but it is less than going under the driveway.

I know this is not recommended but as long as the wired is sized correctly it is perfectly safe. The power to your house is on suspended wires.
 
And the charger is in the car. The Tesla HPC or a NEMA 14-50 are just plugs to supply power. One can make an extension cord. Our local electrical supply place sells 6 gauge 3 and 4 conductor cord that could be used as an extension but it is a thick as my thumb. It is a big cord but will carry the load. At about $2/ft it is not inexpensive but it is less than going under the driveway.

I know this is not recommended but as long as the wired is sized correctly it is perfectly safe. The power to your house is on suspended wires.
Good info, thank you!
 
Yes, the charger is built into the car. But people mistakenly call other pieces a "charger" when they are not.
For instance, this is an "EVSE" not a charger:
chargingSolutions_high_main4_large.jpg


And there are interface boxes, some call a "connector":
universal_large.jpg


charging Tesla Motors

What does that EVES do? It looks like it gets mounted to your wall and hard wired into your home's electricity? And what is necessary to hook up to 110? Can I run an extension cord from any 110 outlet anywhere, say at a friends house if I'm away from home?
 
You would probably have to make your own extension cord to handle that many amps which would have to be high stranded copper SOW 600v cable. Installing a NEMA 14-50 outlet would require cheaper materials to supply the same amperage and be a lot more convenient in the long run. My advice would be to use the 120v outlet for a week or so until you can install a 220v outlet close to where you park.

The other consideration is that 220v will give you much more efficient charging than 110v. Using 220v would ultimately pay for the cost of installing the outlet for it.
 
You would probably have to make your own extension cord to handle that many amps which would have to be high stranded copper SOW 600v cable. Installing a NEMA 14-50 outlet would require cheaper materials to supply the same amperage and be a lot more convenient in the long run. My advice would be to use the 120v outlet for a week or so until you can install a 220v outlet close to where you park.

The other consideration is that 220v will give you much more efficient charging than 110v. Using 220v would ultimately pay for the cost of installing the outlet for it.
Thanks!
 
I asked a nice Asian lady engineer at the October event about making my own 220 extension cord using #6 wire. She explicitly said not to do it. I don't really see why not but I am reporting her advise. I bit the bullet and installed a 14-50 outlet in my car port for my S when I get it. I beat the deadline of 2011 and got the charging infrastructure tax credit.
 
Add.

Charge car in Range mode every 3 weeks or month or so. Helps balance the individual cells.

When you dig the underground run a smaller conduit (or two) for cat5, phone, video cam, whatever you may possibly want in your carport that could be a future garage or guest house whatever.