Seeking recommendation/advice for electrical survival kit

[dgpcolorado]

My unmodified Nissan cord is continuously plugged in with a 6' appliance extension cord. It has #14 wire and a 90 degree plug so it will drop straight down with no cord strain or sharp bend. This has been the primary method to charge my vehicle for four months now.

I have also used a 100' extension cord to charge 8 hours straight with no issues. #12 wire.

Just be careful of creating a trip hazard in a public place.

At my library the cord would go directly into our fenced-in utility compound, so no tripping hazard. At home my plan was to hang the cord from the ceiling (with bicycle hooks or something similar) so I could just drop it down to the car and it would be out of the way while charging. That would keep the cord off the floor which is usually covered with dirt from my living on dirt roads in snow country (the snow falling off my cars usually has a lot of dirt and road sand in it). Life is different out in the boondocks...

 

[smkettner]

deleted

 

[surfingslovak]

Except I did not write that :roll: :lol:

I stand corrected, sorry!

 

[arnolddeleon]

Some of the minor risks with using extension cords on the supply side of an EVSE:

* someone will unplug the supply side while the car is charging. This could result in arcing as the extension cord is unplugged. One of the functions that EVSE performs is to signal to the car/charger to stop drawing power when the J1772 plug is being removed before the power carrying contacts are separated to avoid this. When there is an extension cord in the mix it is more likely that the outlet is farther away from the vehicle (that's why there's an extension cord) so I would expect as slight increase in the unplugging in the wrong order. Even w/o an extension cord I've almost unplugged the EVSE from wall before unplugged it from the car.

* A longer run (that may be exposed to elements) w/o ground fault protection. Another function of the EVSE is cut power if there is a ground fault. Obviously the EVSE cannot protect the supply side from a ground fault.

I suspect these are also reasons why there is a recommendation against using extension cords.

Despite all that I carry a 15 foot 12 awg extension cord w/ modified EVSE and I have 25' available as well.

arnold

 

[Herm]

Look at this very nice extension cord, 25ft, #10awg, GFI and a breaker.

http://www.nextag.com/GenTran-25-Ft-Convenience-652671082/prices-html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I would include some road flares and a couple safety triangles for breakdowns on the side of the road, and perhaps one of those disposable $15 cell phone.

Extension cords on reels:

http://www.stayonline.com/duplex-gfci-extension-cord-reel.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[tps]

A longer run (that may be exposed to elements) w/o ground fault protection.

Ground fault protection has nothing to do with being exposed to the elements. GFCI is required outdoors because there's more risk that a person will come in contact with both a grounded object and a live wire simultaneuosly. For exposure to the elements, you need appropriately rated cords (for example SOOW) and connectors (for example, Leviton Wetguard).