Running extension cord across street

I am no electrical engineer and don't claim to be an expert on the subject. But, I think no extension cord no matter how thick they are is safe for the use you are describing. You never know how many cars and trucks pass by. Besides, laying an extension cord across a public road for a personal purpose sounds violation of law or city ordinance. You may get into trouble without obtaining a proper permit to do something like that.

 

You should also address the trip hazard on walkways.

IIRC, the 80ft cord for my 13amp wood chipper is 12 gauge. For a longer charging session, I'd go with 10 gauge, or set the car to only use 8 amps.

The OP is talking about using drive over cable protectors; they look like plastic speed bumps. 10ft is around $60 on Amazon. I personally would think it'd be too much hassle.

 

Just for crossing a sidewalk, Vancouver policy says with a small yearly permit fee and having the cord encased in a ramp would be ok. Across a road seems way too much though, lol.

 

That's a massive lawsuit magnet. Huge personal liability, and not likely to be covered by your auto policy.

If you aren't carrying homeowner's or a fat general liability umbrella don't even think about it.

And stop thinking about it anyway, it's just a bad idea.

 

I often see these plastic ramps with yellow stripes installed across the street where they are doing construction. Whether they are safe or not, I do not know.

However, I'm more concerned with theft. I'd imagine no one actually wants these things but kids will be kids.

Also, what are the cost of these things? I couldn't justify it even with free charging at work purchasing just a 12 gauge extension cord. The Prime doesn't have a big battery. You could be spending and risking >$1000 (your EVSE is also out in the open) over night on $1 of electricity.

Good luck, OP.

 

If bad comes to worse, only charge when possible at public stations (more and more stores have installed free L2 stations, and we charge while we shop). Even without the ability to home-charge, a Prius Prime is still very worthwhile, as there were/are great federal, state, and dealer incentives and (though YMMV) I routinely get 60+ MPG in ICE only mode... not too shabby, not at all!

 

Have the city install a Level 2 charging station on your street.

 

The concept is sweet, but the execution would be awful. You are not that desperate.

 

Just do it ;-)

 

i would do that in a heartbeat, wouldn't even bother with the speedbump protectors. or, i might string it from tree to tree

 

Why don't you ask a neighbor across the street? You can install a plug-in watt–hour meter and pay them based on an agreed rate.

 

This is what I have. It's very good. Even if you unplug it, it doesn't reset.

 

Be careful with those plug in devices. Even though I have a brand name, Kill-A-Watt, it started melting after a full week of use. I used it charging my Pacifica Hybrid which takes about 13 kWh to fully charge it but I didn't fully charge it everyday.

 

As someone who has to deal with charge cable management, this will get old fast. Heavy duty strip protectors rated for vehicles are, you may have guessed, heavy. Add in the heavy duty long extension cord and one is now talking close to a hundred pounds and over a hundred dollars.

I'd suggest using public/paid charging when possible and the HV charge button the rest of the time.

 

In my situation the sidewalk and road had giant cracks and I just ran my extension cord in the crack, seated it good then duct taped over it

 

I've never had an issue with Poniie PN2000 I linked above. I always use it, and it can get hot in my garage.

A loose-fitting outlet can cause overheating.