Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Level 1 Charging With An Extension Cable.


First off 12 Gauge should be adequate up to 50ft and 14 up to 15ft. Now in reality there are a few more factors at work here compared to your average appliance. In my honest opinion no have no impact on performance and no risk of malfunction I would recommend 14 Gauge at 10-15ft, 12 Gauge at 30ft and 10 Gauge at 50-75ft. This also gives you wiggle room as the copper oxidises and in-line impedance increases. Package amperage ratings are very inconsistent so you should base your choice only off of gauge and length.

Here are my recommendations:

16ft/14g - $24 – This will get the job done but may run into challenges 3-5years down the road  due to oxidization and wear

25ft/12g - $40 – More so I would recommend something like this, you will unlikely be affected by oxidization and wear and I am 99% certain the speed charging with this will be identical to plugging the stock charger directly into the wall. Also of note it is a bright yellow color which if you are in a public place will ensure visibility so nobody is tripping over it and what not.

If you want to get real specific it looks like this company makes custom adaptors up to 200ft that hook directly into your charger.
http://www.stayonline.com/custom_power_cords.aspx

At the end of the day the bigger the better. It would also be good practice to check the temperature of the extension cord and its connections at 5min, 30min, 1hour, 2hour and 4hour intervals the first time in case there are manufacturer defects in the cord generating excessive impedance.

The biggest benefit of a suitable extension cable is actually the ability to charge in a completely public place with no risk of your charger being stolen. Take a look at the pictures below for how to properly secure your level 1 charger:






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