15amp charger warning. I bought a 10m 15amp extension cable for my portable 15amp granny charger (into a dedicated 15amp

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Peter
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Joined: Mon Aug 09, 2021 6:53 am

Post by Peter »

15amp charger warning.

I bought a 10m 15amp extension cable for my portable 15amp granny charger (into a dedicated 15amp power point).
Bought the "Caravan Cable" from "Hammerbarn" (Bluey reference used). Their cable is only 1.5mm gauge. Recommended gauge is 2.5mm.
Cable is running HOT.
stopped using and off to buy a decent 15amp extension lead with 2.5mm gauge wiring.

Thanks to SolarQuotes EV article that brought this to my attention (no affiliation, just like a lot of Finn's team's articles).
Peter
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Joined: Mon Aug 09, 2021 6:53 am

Post by Peter »

Yeh. Bit of research. 1.5mm is about the only gauge available in 15amp leads (can't find one with 2mm or 2.5mm anywhere). Will think about a 3 pin 32amp cable and fit 15amp male/female heads.
Glenn
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Joined: Thu Sep 01, 2022 1:50 pm

Post by Glenn »

Just read it....OTT - I'd go as far as BS. Why bother buying expensive IP66 cords with 'O' rings just to charge an EV. How many plugs and sockets did he say he'd changed? Firstly, those 'O' rings won't last long being constantly tugged but that won't be a problem, just a waste of money. And, if he really is a licensed sparky, why hasn't simply run a dedicated line to a 15amp socket to plug his numerous EVs into....nah mate, I'll stick temporarily to my old, very old in fact, still functional extension lead...I've got a charger at one end with loads of safety devices and a circuit breaker in the board at the other.
Chris
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Joined: Mon Aug 02, 2021 10:47 pm

Post by Chris »

Why tf do people buy a 60k car and cheap out on charging? For a bit more you could have a wall charger
Alex
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Joined: Fri Nov 05, 2021 11:26 pm

Post by Alex »

I bought the same setup. Even probably the same cable from hammerbarn.
I’m only getting 2kwh charge speed on the 15amp though…
Tim0
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Joined: Tue Aug 09, 2022 5:11 am

Post by Tim0 »

Extension leads are highly dissuaded for high current loads especially continuous high current (which a caravan cable probably isn’t!) / using it with a portable EVSE (or a as another commenter below pointed out a welder etc.) really isn’t a good idea.
As another commenter pointed out the biggest risk is actually the connections - wires in connectors and the contacts to power points and appliances.
That said, having loops in the cable is high risk.
If you had to do it, as a renter, I’d be investing in a 2.5mm cable with rated connectors (like the link to a welder cable), a small expense for a lot of risk mitigation and piece of mind.
Bob0
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Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2021 12:19 am

Post by Bob0 »

I only use a lead at 6amp charging rate.
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