What kind of extension cord can be used for charging my 2017 Prius Prime?

Gee.

I wonder WHY electric vehicles face such a steep on-ramp for adoption?

I guess @bwilson4web is right.
It's just to complicated for some folks.....

 

It’s painfully simple.
Plug it into the wall

I couldn’t take apart an engine, doing so is way too complicated, for me.
Just because other people do, and talk about the intricacies doesn’t mean I can’t drive a Prius.

Use the given cable, plug into an appropriate socket, and you are good.

 

It depends:

• NEMA 5-15 - 12 A extension cord (weather proof plug)
• NEMA 5-20 - 15 A extension cord (weather proof plug)
• Unknown - 8 A extension cord (weather proof plug) and set charge current

Bob Wilson

 

... after waiting up to 3 days, depending in the vehicle and the socket.

Most people who want to be good to go sooner, need to puzzle out a few things. Which really is a bit complicated for some folks.

 

When building your own refueling station in your garage, there are some decisions that need to be made.
But they are pretty simple. Magnitudes simpler than the planning and decisions needed to build a gas refueling station in your garage.

 

But that covers only when staying within round-trip range of your garage. Many people like to occasionally drive farther away than that.

And this applies only if you even have your own personal garage, which many don't.

 

Both true.
I may be falling victim to allowing my personal experience to color my opinions.

In my case, my current car will never go beyond round trip range (we take my wife’s car for trips).
Of people I know personally, all either fly for trips, or have a designated car used for trips. A one BEV family is easy in either case.
People often mention people that don’t have the ability to charge at home. While this may be as high as half of car owners, that still leaves a lot of market growth AND charging infrastructure continues to improve.

In general, the complexity is overstated. If someone cares about the inner workings, you can make it as complicated as you want.
If, on the other hand, you want convenient and simple, it can be far more simple than an ICE vehicle.

 

If I were still commuting, I'd have acquired a real BEV about a decade ago. Spouse's daily driver, which I bought new for her 35 years ago, hasn't ever been more than 120 miles from home, and would be a perfect candidate for replacement with a BEV -- if she was willing to give up that pre-airbag, pre-ABS stick shift. She still isn't ready.

Add in a few other complications, and it turned out that our first plug-in car wasn't chosen for short- or mid-range use, but for our longest range use, replacing the Prius. So I'm regularly looking for available recharging away from home, to reduce fossil consumption.

But it is also serving nearly all my (not her) short- and mid-range uses too. Those gas-free errands and trips and days feel great. Though we are also entering the season for many bicycle-only days.

 

Weatherproof EVSE are available for those with private parking, but no garage. Heck, we've always had a garage, but never used them for parking cars.

 

I should have worded that a bit more generically. Was thinking more of the people who have to park on the street or in multi-family shared lots or parking structures they don't control. Carports and private parking spaces within one's control zone certainly can be supplied by one's own EVSE.

 

Yeah. I think many use garage when thinking private parking spot, but that ends up giving the impression to those new to plug ins that a garage or covered parking is a must.

 

I made a short cord with the correct using 12 gauge wire and good connectors. I verified the non ul listed el cheapo kill a watt works on 240 and voltage is 240.

The Chrysler evse went on and charging was at 11.49 amps @ 240 v. After a few minutes noticed the evse handle a bit hot by the trigger. Sunny day?

Next I plugged in my Toyota evse, and power went on. All seemed ok but when the charging started for a minute, it went off and no lights. I then plugged it into 120 and thankfully it is working normally.

The Vevor, which is designed for 240 or 120, just c…… out, on either 120 or 240. Good luck to me getting them to warranty it. It never worked right.

So you are correct the amps appear to stay at 12, as far as my meager test shows. Minus the Toyota test.
I am buying a P3 brand Kill A Watt, $30, has UL mark. No more unlisted or unapproved stuff.

 

I am using a heavy duty extension cord which I believe is 12 gauge. It charges the car fine. Not all of us have an outlet handy to the car where we park.

 

I do not recommend EVER using a non-UL listed device of any type. United Laboratories sets the standard for safety and tests every item that is listed as UL approved. Be aware that not every item that is labeled "UL Approved" is actually tested but UL requires that the labeled item be to the same standards as the one actually tested.

 

@Joe Wall: BTW, there is another good thread on this topic here:
Extension cord wire gauge for Prime | PriusChat

In there I have some IR thermal pictures of the 12 gauge extension cord I bought alongside the regular Prius charging cable. Yea there are some losses, but based on temperature, the losses are greater in the Prius cable than a good quality extension cord..

will