cord not long enough 110 charger

[007martin]

hello ! volter i got got approved 4 my loan and i found the color that i wanted ready to sing for volt ! but i think that stop me the extension cord on the charger is not long enough ! i live in a appt building and we do have a outlet to plug in ! it say in the manual that ! u can not use an extension cord! wondering if i use an commercial extension cord ! anyone can help me here

[tboult]

Many people here use extension cords. You will need a heavy duity (12guage or 10gauage) and ideally one with a GFI (circuit breaker) in it.
See these threads
http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread....v-EVSE-charger

http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread....ord-do-you-use

http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread....0V-charge-cord

[Noel Park]

I agree with tboult. I have occasionally used an extension cord with no problems. The shorter the cord the better and the larger the wire the better. That said, I have used a 25 foot cord with 12 ga wire with no problems whatsoever.

[KyleH]

sears had a sale last month on a 50ft 12gauge extension cord that I picked up.

I used it once, for about 8 hours. I kept it coiled up because I really didn't need the length--the volt one was long enough. after about 8hrs, it was on the higher side of warm but not dangerous to the touch.

I think if I expand it and let the heat release, it would have been better. But, my gfi socket that I use daily seems fine. I got full 4 lit green bars on the charger, and it finished charging in about 8 hours (as expected and planned).

I think the regular price on the cord is $59. The sale price was $25. I think I could be happier if I got the 25foot one, but the longer one was cheaper.

-KyleH

[Steverino]

I too have used a heavy duty extension cord without issue.

[WVhybrid]

I charged this week-end by running a 50 foot 12 gauge extension cord out the hotel window. I put the EVSE on the floor of the front seat, and ran the orange cord to the car port. The setup worked great. When I got up the car was charged. I had to cross a sidewalk, so I used duct tape hold down the cord to minimize the tripping hazard.

WVhybrid

[astrand1]

yep nothing wrong with an extension cord. I have a 50 footer I keep with me as I tend to have to park in structures for my work and sometimes the plug is a distance away. never had any issues using it.