Extension Cable Question

[FloridaMan655321]

It looks that I'll be purchasing a Lightning on Saturday. Kind of have everything all worked out, so obviously excited. I'll have a lot of dumb questions, so let me start out with this one.

Until I get an electrician out, I'll be charging over a 120v outlet. This is fine, as my daily drive is 14 miles total - and I like to drive the old F100 a day or two a week, so charging for the week shouldn't be an issue. The thing I want to make sure is that while the Lightning is charging, I want to make sure everything is safe. I've never gone cheap on extension cords, so all of mine are what you would find at construction sites. Is there any concern with using these extension cords and leaving it charged over multiple days? Do I need to buy something special? I don't want to overheat the cords, and I don't think they will, but I'd still like some info from more experienced users.

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[invertedspear]

You're only pulling 12 amps on 120, but you're pulling that 12 amps constantly. Use a nice heavy gauge cord that's as short as possible and you'll likely be fine. Or purchase a J-1772 extension, which I think is marginally safer. I am not an electrician, or a lawyer, so take my advice with a grain of salt.

 

[FloridaMan655321]

You're only pulling 12 amps on 120, but you're pulling that 12 amps constantly. Use a nice heavy gauge cord that's as short as possible and you'll likely be fine. Or purchase a J-1772 extension, which I think is marginally safer. I am not an electrician, or a lawyer, so take my advice with a grain of salt.

Thanks for the reply. I suppose you're talking about something like https://www.amazon.com/Extension-Ch...&sprefix=j-1772+extension,aps,113&sr=8-7&th=1
which I guess I was thinking about purchasing once I got 240v installed, but I guess that does make sense to just get it now for the 120v.

 

[invertedspear]

Thanks for the reply. I suppose you're talking about something like https://www.amazon.com/Extension-Charging-Electric-110V-240V-Compatible/dp/B0C6LTG64M/ref=sr_1_7?crid=3RGCTHAQ55TOD&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.XYbGltixo3Fqj4MQuanb53Bid3hze8Lpnm0yqnKQI7oGDS-lFiFfcnSF1Jwdk6TPL57dOrieGWds7-sRYDUce1GIp0iJhhIxGEEYeYzrx31bXgkKXZD71Rw2AXg1nlJckryde9X2iH9eIiYlx8F4pLNWEijAJS-f_rxYBB_cywPPIXgpfSEKDV45piWCeoLfN0Q9ORQRC41Uo8roTXhY&dib_tag=se&keywords=J-1772+extension&qid=1725577289&sprefix=j-1772+extension,aps,113&sr=8-7&th=1
which I guess I was thinking about purchasing once I got 240v installed, but I guess that does make sense to just get it now for the 120v.

Yup, that's pretty close to the one I have. If you're getting a 22 or 23 ER, don't forget that your truck could pull up to 80 amps, so that extension cord you linked would not be safe if you have an 80 amp charger.

 

[FloridaMan655321]

Yup, that's pretty close to the one I have. If you're getting a 22 or 23 ER, don't forget that your truck could pull up to 80 amps, so that extension cord you linked would not be safe if you have an 80 amp charger.

Thanks, yeah I'm getting a 24 Flash

 

[invertedspear]

You're going to love it. That'll be a hell of a good looking garage with an old F100 parked next to it. TBH I think you're going to have a hard time going back to the 100 as much as you think you're going to. The lightning is just too much fun to drive.

 

[Maquis]

A quality, 12 gauge (minimum) extension cord will work just fine.

 

[Henry Ford]

Charging with 120V is going to get old quickly. Your commute may only be 14 miles but you'll only be adding 2-2.5 miles of range per hour of charging and your new toy is just going to be begging to be driven...like a teenager.

Get aquatinted with your nearest fast charging station so you won't feel like you can't drive the truck. Congratulations on the purchase, you'll love it.

 

[Adventureboy]

Get aquatinted with your nearest fast charging station so you won't feel like you can't drive the truck. Congratulations on the purchase, you'll love it.

^^^ This ^^^. Sometimes you forget to plug in or something glitches and you'll need the local station to get about your day. An EVSE failure and onboard charger failure took me out for about 2 weeks in total over the last 2 years and the local DCFC station kept me rolling.

 

[Albern]

I've been using a 12-AWG 100' cable on spool for years and as a temporary solution on my Lightning for 2-months now with no problems.

 

[MaintGrl]

And I might add , , , you will not be pulling 12a 24/7. It will only be pulling 12a while charging, once the Lightning gets charged it will go down to a fraction of the amps just for the circuitry in the charger & Possibly trace amperage to the truck.

 

[FloridaMan655321]

Thanks everyone.
I’m sure it will get annoying charging at a low rate. I just drove it home from 130 miles away, so I do plan on going to a charging station to get it charged up and then I’ll 120v until I get an electrician out. I plan on calling some places on Monday and get some quotes. FPL also has a thing where they will install a system, and then it’s $30(ish) extra a month and they control when it charges (at night). So I’ll be looking at this as well

 

[FloridaMan655321]

Just to add. I charged for a few hours and felt the extension cable, and while it was a tad warm, nothing to be worried about. It was just a little warm. I could see not wanting to use cheap extension cables, but the ones I have seem to be fine.

Again, I’ll have plenty of dumb questions in the future, so thanks for the understanding.

 

[ryun]

I have been charging exclusively on 120V for over a year now with my lightning and have never seen 12 amps. My EVSE always says 10 amps. Pretty sure that's the max the lightning can accept at 120V.

 

[Runaway Tractor]

Yup, that's pretty close to the one I have. If you're getting a 22 or 23 ER, don't forget that your truck could pull up to 80 amps, so that extension cord you linked would not be safe if you have an 80 amp charger.

That is not how electricity works and that is not how level two chargers work. The truck doesn't just pull up to 80 amps. The truck will pull whatever the level 2 charger tells it to pull. A 120v charger is never going to tell the truck to pull more than 12 amps.

The only way you're getting 80 amps into the truck is with a level 2 charger designed for 80 amps on a 240v circuit.

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