PHEV: Extension cord

[whk.wang]

I am going to be doing the PHEV route using eh Enginer.us battery pack.

I want to get a reasonable extension cord that I can use. Any one have recommendations?

I have been looking at the 12/3 25 foot cords and the 10/3 50 foot cords.
Any one have recommendations on where to get the 10/3 cords? I can order them online. But if I can get it locally the price for shipping seems for the extension cord seems to be a wash on price if I can find a place that sells them.

Lows is not bad, they carry the yellow jacket (12/3) $41 that has the end that lights up. But I want to be a little more descreet and not have the plug light up.

Any one else know where to look for a good price?

[V8Cobrakid]

you could always buy a heavy duty water tight male plug end, cut off the lighted end, and attach your own with no light.

how much wattage does the charger pull?...

[krousdb]

Originally Posted by whk.wang

Lows is not bad, they carry the yellow jacket (12/3) $41 that has the end that lights up. But I want to be a little more descreet and not have the plug light up.

Any one else know where to look for a good price?

I got a nice yellow 25 ft 12/3 without ends that light up at Walmart for $19.99.

[hobbit]

In theatre as well as other semi-heavy-duty power applications,
the standard spec is to use 12/3 for anything plugged into a
20A circuit. That's considered safe to carry up to a 2400 watt
load continuous, as is often approached pretty closely in
stage lighting applications. 14/3 is also sometimes used with
the caveat that it should be limited to 15 amps, 1800-ish watts.
.
Your typical 1200 to 1500 watt hair-dryer or other applicance
will make either type of cable a little warm, but stay within
its safety spec. *I* won't run any more than three typical
stage instruments off one circuit, usually 575W apiece and
rounded up to 600 for design calculations.
.
The real vulnerability comes in the plug/socket heads, where
all the current often passes through contact points with less
cross-sectional area than the wire itself. I have melted plugs
on straight-from-the-Despot cables by having them carry a 15A
continuous load, and for any cable I care about [14 or 12] I
generally chop whatever molded piece of crap came on it and
stick *real* heads on -- a nice heavy-duty male at one end whose
contact/blade characteristics I can see when I open it up, and
either a similar single female at the other end or a dual or quad-box
since it'll likely be feeding more than one thing in typical use.
.
This is why stage cable and fittings are big and klunky -- the
stuff can take assloads of nasty, harmonics-rich high currents
and not get particularly warm. Connection points are still likely
to run somewhat warmer than the cables themselves.
.
10/3 is sometimes used for very long runs where less voltage
drop across the wire's resistance is desired, but in construction
apps 10/3 is considered okay for up to 30A, I think.
.
_H*

[plugmein2]

I have two cords. One in the trunk from Wal-mart 100ft for charging on the go. The other is the 25ft yellow jacket from Lowe's that lights up. It is in my garage where I charge everyday. I love the light-up feature. There have been times I have unplugged the car and have forgotten to flip off the power strip. Doh!!

JOANNA

[fjpod]

One could eliminate one end of the extension cord altogether by cutting off the male end and connecting it directly to home wiring via copper lugs, or soldered, to make a solid connection. The other end is plugged into the car. This would reduce 50% of the resistance from the plug in points. But I think some locales would prohibit a cord permanently hard wired that was more than 12 inches long...unless perhaps it came from overhead with a roll-up device.

[V8Cobrakid]

25ft cords can be 12/3. anything over 50ft should probably be 10/3.

as for construction stuff. 10/3 can carry 30amps but it's not recommended over 50 ft. so it gets bigger and bigger and bigger the more length or amps you draw.

[MJFrog]

Originally Posted by whk.wang

I am going to be doing the PHEV route using eh Enginer.us battery pack.

I want to get a reasonable extension cord that I can use. Any one have recommendations?

I have been looking at the 12/3 25 foot cords and the 10/3 50 foot cords.
Any one have recommendations on where to get the 10/3 cords? I can order them online. But if I can get it locally the price for shipping seems for the extension cord seems to be a wash on price if I can find a place that sells them.

Lows is not bad, they carry the yellow jacket (12/3) $41 that has the end that lights up. But I want to be a little more descreet and not have the plug light up.

Any one else know where to look for a good price?

I just bought a 12/3 25 foot cord at Lowes. It's dark blue and is made by UtiliTech. Cost $21.74 +tax. It has a velcro strap attached so you can keep it rolled up easily.