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Aldo: Hi Mr. Posawatz. I will be buying a Volt and wanted to know if an extension cord could be used to increase the reach for recharging, or if we are going to be limited to the length of the cord that comes with the car. Thanks!
[Chevy Volt Vehicle Line Director] Tony Posawatz: The EVSE or charge cord will be about 25 feet and designed to all relevant codes. We do not recommend extension cords but rather that when you have your home inspection, you reposition your outlet/charging station approproiately [sic].
From a recent Fastlane livechat on the Chevrolet Volt, ironically titled “Making Electric Vehicles Attractive to Consumers.” Which would you prefer?
30 Comments on “Quote Of The Day: Extension Cords Bad, Home Inspections Good Edition...”
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You’re also not supposed to use extension cords with household appliances. This doesn’t seem to be much of a shocker.
Extension cords are of the Devil.
I wonder if the car salesman will cover this along with other important details?
Of course, it will work if you use an extension cord, it just won’t be UL listed to be used in that manner.
The issue is that the longer the cord, the lower the gauge wire that should be used — for the *whole cord*. The Volt may be sensitive to the voltage drop if you just simply extend the existing cord. And even if it’s not, you’ll be wasting power.
The proper solution would be to get a longer, lower guage Volt cord. If GM doesn’t make one, someone will; even in today’s tiny EV market, there already are specialist companies who do stuff like that.
Physics experts: would a magsafe-like device be able to handle the current?
If Apple ever gets tired of rolling around in money from the iPhone it should open up an OEM automotive products division.
Mr. Posawatz: Will I be able to recharge my Volt with my Honda EU3000is generator? I plan to have it in the trunk so I can recharge while I drive.
Is this a good idea?
Geotpf is correct.
However, given the fact that the Volt will require a special high-current charging station, this extension cord will be of the $40 variety for 25 feet, or $70 for 50 feet.
Even still, the Volt’s connection is a proprietary kind that requires the connector supplied with the charging station, NOT the one at the end of the typical extension cord (regardless of country). So you’d have to find a way to splice in the extension to make it work, which is all very troublesome from a UL perspective, whose rules are intended to prevent people from killing themselves with bogus equipment or installations.
What I want to know is how Chevy expects people to charge the car in the rain or snow.
Mr Posawatz:
When I get my first 600 dollar electric bill can I submit it to GM for reimbursement since this Volt car is supposed to be a free lunch of sorts?
@GS650G Considering it only costs a few cents per mile to drive on electricity, if you managed to get your electric bill to go up 600 bucks, you will have saved much more in gas costs.
I’t’s very important to ask the salesman about everything we need to know before purchasing a car or anything for that matter.
gslippy :
October 21st, 2009 at 6:22 pm
What I want to know is how Chevy expects people to charge the car in the rain or snow.
I think part of the point of this system is that you don’t have to worry about that until you get the car home into a nice, dry garage.
gslippy – I think you are being incredibly optimistic if you think GM or any aftermarket company would sell a Volt specific cable that inexpensively. I’d bet on numbers closer to $250 for a 25′ and $500 for a 50′. Although, if they made an extension that plugged into a regular outlet, I suppose some of the cost could be recouped through surreptitiously plugging it into one of your neighbor’s outdoor sockets.
The whole charging thing is the biggest problem I see with the Volt. It could be a great city car, but since most city dwellers live in apartments/condos/townhomes/rowhomes without garages, how are they supposed to plug it in?
I don’t know about most folks but I don’t have room for a car in my garage. I guess GM doesn’t want to sell to the apartment and condo dwellers. Anyway this discussion is academic because I doubt the Volt will ever see production.
The plug won’t be Volt specific. It will be a standard plug shared with other EVs. Just as soon as they can agree on the standard.
I can just imagine a perfect shiny neighborhood with all the Chevy Volts plugged in for the night out in the driveways…and small groups of 14 yr old boys walking along and pulling out the plugs at around 11:00 at night.
The more things change, the more they stay the same….
@MikeInCanada
The Mennekes plug at least implements a locking mechanism. Not sure about the Volt, but many other EVs will be network connected, so they could send you a text message when something like that happens.
superbadd75 : You’re also not supposed to use extension cords with household appliances. This doesn’t seem to be much of a shocker.
AC motors generally run at a specific rpm. If less voltage is provided due to extension cord losses, more current is needed to maintain that rpm and that is harder on the motor. The Volt’s batteries are not an AC motor, so an extension cord shouldn’t be a problem. Of course, the more resistance in the cord, the more energy is lost to the cord.
They have agreed on the standard, or?
400V EV charging standard:
http://gm-volt.com/2009/04/16/plug-standard-needed-for-electric-car-charging-cord-interface-sae-j1772/
Bigger problem: the people who will be taking off without unplugging their vehicles first. Particularly at work based charging stations, etc.
At gas stations, the siphon just falls out of the receptacle; but when you’re filling LPG or LNG in your vehicle, you have a connection that is locked to the receptacle.
You’d think it could never happen – but people are driving off, having forgotten to disconnect.
There’s quite a bit of destruction – but the hose is tethered to prevent the pump itself being dragged along …
Really? It comes down to this as an inconvinience? I would much rather install a new box (which I don’t think I need to) compared to weekly stops at the gas station.
Never underestimate human nature and/or ingenuity. While the concept of the eletric car is first being pitched to those who have a garage empty enough to take a car, or, at least, a driveway with an outdoor electrical plug; I’m sure those in less optimal situations will find a way to make it work.
And we won’t have to have the government providing charging facilities for us. Of course, THEY think they have to – if tax dollars are available, spend it on something. Quick!
@Stein X Leikanger
Bigger problem: the people who will be taking off without unplugging their vehicles first. Particularly at work based charging stations, etc.
The car knows if it’s plugged in and charging. It won’t let you put the car in motion in that situation.
YUCK! This picture is EXACTLY what I do not want in my driveway, carport or garage!
Semi trucks with block heaters have the connection below the driver’s door so he or she must climb around the cord to get into the cab, thus all but eliminating the problem of truckers driving off with the cord connected.
I’d like the option of having the cord receptacle just above or behind the driver’s door handle. Yes it possibly routes the power cables through the door hinge area on some car designs but I’m sure the engineers can make it work.
Second, I want the charging cable in a wall or pedestal-mounted powered retractable reel. I will not be handling a dirty power cable with my clean hands, thank you. Push a button and it retracts.
I want the plug fully enclosed in rubber so when I remove the plug and drop it, it does not leave scratches down the side of the car.
I’ll carry a spare 25-foot cord in the trunk for non-home charging.
25 feet is an odd number for a metric industry like automotive to be using.
I’d skip the cord. Being that you really will need a 208/240 volt receptacle, having one installed is going to be a necessity. Few homes are going to have a spare one installed, much less have one in the right location. This is no be deal, though. I am expecting that the electrical requirements are likely to be 208/240 volt, 30 amps, most likely 2 wire (I don’t see the need for a neutral in this application) plus a ground. No different than the circuit that powers the typical residential electric clothes dryer, other than the dryer has a neutral for the lights and timer motor. The receptacle and plug may be different, but I really don’t see any need to deviate from the NEMA standards that are the industry benchmark. For outdoor locations, raintight (typically 3R) equipment will be required, again the typical stuff that has been in use for decades.
If one assumes that the house has adequate ampacity from the service, and adequate physical space in the breakerbox, an install like this should be well under $800. For those who are comfortable working with wiring, you parts tally should be under $200. Should the EV not have a cordset to connect it to your new receptacle, flexible cords and connectors are again available to make your own.
Extension cords in general are not the best idea for permanent installs. One, they are subject to physical abuse. Two, the plug ends tend to get weathered terminals over time, increasing resistance. Ever unplug a cord and feel the plug head being much warmer than the cord two feet away? That’s due to the higher resistance at the connection. Finally, voltage drop is the biggest issue for high amperage loads. The longer the cord, the greater diameter of conductor you need. Putting a 15 amp load on 100 foot, 16 gauge extension cord is a guarantee that you don’t have 120 volts at the point of use. The load you connected is then “starved” for the proper voltage to work properly
In any case, the Volt, or any other electric car, should not be purchased by people who don’t have a garage. If you live in a dense city and only have street parking, the Volt probably isn’t for you. Too bad, because it otherwise would be good in such an urban enviroment.
“What I want to know is how Chevy expects people to charge the car in the rain or snow.”
The SAE J1772 standard (which they’re using, and which pretty much every EV in the US will support) is rated for use in adverse weather conditions (including rain and snow). It has data pins that connect first, and current doesn’t start to flow until the cable has confirmed a secure connection. If the connection is ever broken, the current gets immediately shut off.
So lets get this straight.
This “city car” needs to be parked in a garage to be plugged in at night.
Most urban dwellers “street park” where there is no electrical plug.
Suburban dwellers like myself have a garage, but the volt has nowhere near enough range for me to get to work & get back home. The public garage I park in doesn’t have available electrical outlets next to the parking spots.
Short of Chevy convincing garages to rebuild and run high amp/220 electrical to parking spots, how is this going to work?
Also, will my parking fee be raised for any vehicle I drive into the garage? Or just at that spot? I can easily see garages adding an extra $5 to spots that have chargers, and if they do that, then that pretty much defeats the purpose of it being cheaper.
@Robstar
Dude, how far do you live from work? The Volt has like a 360 mile range.
Say you live 25 miles from work and have no opportunity to charge there. The Volt has a 40 mile all electric range, so only the last 10 miles of your return trip is on gas. Then you plug in at home.
You want to plug in when you can because it’s a lot cheaper (and more energy efficient) to run on electricity. But the point of it being a hybrid is that you don’t have to plug in when you can’t.
This “city car” needs to be parked in a garage to be plugged in at night.
No, it doesn’t. As was mentioned in the post right above yours, SAE J1772 is an all-weather connector. And if your concern is cord length, there are tons of options. If you use an extension cord, worst case, you lose a little bit of extra energy and you’re no longer UL-listed.
Short of Chevy convincing garages to rebuild and run high amp/220 electrical to parking spots,
The Volt charges on 120V just fine, and it doesn’t support high amp charging at all. And are you forgetting that this is a PHEV?