A Charger with a Longer Cord: Advice and Experiences

[Rutherfordb]

Because of limited flexibility with where I park the Mach-e at home, the Ford charger, at 20 feet long, is too short.

If the box is mounted at about 3 feet off of the ground, four additional feet to the cord length are needed.

This leaves two options, as I see it: A compatible, rated extension cord or a new charger with a 25 foot cord.

For anyone that has needed a longer charger cord, how did you deal with it? What worked best?

This is level 1 charging, at least for now. Same insufficient cord length problem for level 2 charging, as far as I can tell.

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[Maquis]

I’ve used my Ford Mobile Charger on 120V several times using a heavy duty 12 gauge extension cord. I’ve not had any issues. Since you only need a couple feet, I’d get a short of one as possible.

Just an FYI, UL limits the EVSE J1772 cable length to 25’ maximum. It also limits the EVSE power supply cord to 12” unless the plug has an integral GFCI.

 

[TGIF]

Just used my Chrysler Pacifica PHEV’s cord last night for the first time. It’s a little bit longer and makes a world of difference in convenience to use as I have to use outside. Maybe look for a used or other manufacture’s cord that is longer?

 

[Jeffvisor]

I didn't need a longer cord, but I have the Wallbox Pulsar Plus it's a smart charger with Wi-Fi features and it has a 25' cord very good charger always updating and very durable and water and cold proof. Good for tracking cost of charging. Not that you need a WIFI charger withe the Mach-e but I bought it to future proof for future cars. I paid $599 for it. has a separate holster for the charger nozzle.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

As @Maquis said, a heavy-duty, outdoor 12-gauge extension cord that's only as long as you need it to be is a good option. Even if this is going to be inside, get an outdoor extension cord; it's more durable. If the outlet you have this on isn't protected by GFCI, get a cord with integrated GFCI protection.

 

[slimothyjames]

For Level 1, you can use outdoor/construction grade extension cords.

For Level 2, I use a J1772 extension cord. You do not want to use an extension from the 240V outlet. The EVSE should plug into the 240V directly. The handle of the EVSE just plugs into the inlet of the J1772 extension, and the other end has another handle. I bought mine off Amazon.

I keep where the charger handle and extension inlet meet inside an ammo box I modified to keep it sheltered from the weather.

My EVSE has a 24ft cable, plus my 20ft extension, giving me a decent distance. EVSE is mounted on my home's exterior wall. 1 car is parked in front of my MME so I needed the extra reach.

I have had zero issues and works well.

 

[AKgrampy]

Heavy extension cord for 120V should be fine for short term. The question is will that level of charging meet your future needs? I would certainly look into how you could get 240V charging assuming it is available to you. There are quite a few people who have had issues using the Ford mobile charger long term; although, it seems to also be fine for many.

 

[markboris]

Your title says "Advice and Experiences". You have already gotten some good advice and I will tell you my experience for a longer charge cord.

I have a wide two car garage (29') and want to be able to charge on either side for two reasons. One, I have a lift on the side I don't have the charger and when working on my car for a few days on the lift (which I do a lot), sometimes I want to charge it. Two, I have quite a few friends that have EV's (several of them are MME's) and when they visit, I don't want to play musical cars and move them around to charge. Bottom line, I want to be able to charge on both sides.

I had a ChargePoint Home Flex charger which originally had a 23' cord which obviously wasn't enough to reach across the garage to the other side. Not wanting to use a J1772 extension cord, I replaced the ChargePoint cord with a J1772 40' cord and that worked very well for a few months until I decided to change out the ChargePoint for an Emporia EV charger that I could set to charge only with my excess solar production (could not do that with the ChargePoint).

The Emporia comes with a 24' cord so again won't be able to reach the other side. I had already sold the ChargePoint with the longer 40' cord and decided this time instead of buying another longer cord, I would add a second Emporia EV charger on the other side of the garage. The J1772 40' cords are $260. The Emporia EV charger is $400. I'd rather pay $140 more and get a second charger than run a long cord across the garage. Both of my chargers are wired in direct and I did the install myself so except for a few feet of 6 ga wire and another breaker it wasn't expensive. Both chargers are 4' in from each front corner of the garage so not only can they reach anywhere in the garage, they can both reach 20' outside which makes it convenient when charging out on the driveway.

 

[evfinder]

Before the Mach-e I had a plug-in Prius and early on I used to charge it sometimes at a local shoppiing mall that had installed 110v outlets. On occasion when the parking spaces infront of the charger was blocked I would use a 12-guge extension cord to reach the charger. This would work fine but did get a little hot though not enough to be worried about. For use in the garage I bought an inexpensive charger that would work with both 110V and 220V (the 220 V only puts out about 3KW so it is still slow) but I have never bothered to put in an outlet for it since 110V meets my charging needs. This charger has a 25' cable and stays cool to the touch even if I have the Mach-e plugged in for 12+ hours.

 

[JamieGeek]

I have a 40' J1772 extension and use it occasionally when camping or when I can't park the car in the driveway.

Such as when they are replacing the curb:

 

[Rutherfordb]

Every reply here is invaluable and I thank each of you.

I am getting up to speed on a new vocabulary about charging, and with your help I have studied up on a J1772 connector, the various wall boxes, including the Wallbox and Chargepoint, and the basics of installation.

I particularly enjoyed reading about markboris's experiece and JamieGeek's photo said a thousand words.

I am delighted to have found this very helpful community, and I will give back with likes and responses, just as you have done for me.

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