Extension Cable for 110V charging

[Mcfly Rivian]

I've charged using level 1 on two road trips. One was this past weekend. On both occasions the truck was parked for 3 days. I used the standard home depot orange outdoor extension cord plugged in to a standard outlet. Charging is very slow, 1 to 2 miles added per hr. Over 3 days added around 80 miles of range. On both trips this was enough to get me back home without a charging stop in route. Not useful for short trips but if the truck is sitting for days at a time and you have access to an outlet it's worth it.

Sponsored

 

[ohseedee]

While any extension cord will "work" (as in it will connect and charge) it doesn't mean it's safe. For sure don't use anything less than a 12 gauge, but I personally would (and have) go with a 10 gauge. And keep the length to an absolute minimum (e.g. don't get a 50Ft when you need 20Ft). I used a 10 gauge 20foot extension for a few years to charge a Chevy Volt. The plugs did degrade over time and I cut them and replaced them a couple times.

 

[MountainRatMatt]

Hello

Headed to Outer Banks this summer with my R1T. We have a rental house in Corolla, NC for a week. Now there are limited charging options in Corolla, NC but I was thinking of using the 110V outlet in the house to charge while i am there. The truck will not be used for the week that we are there (we have golf cart and other vehicles that our friends bring) - so i was just thinking of plugging in at the house while we are there.
MY question is -- what type of a proper guage extension cable should i buy. I want to have that with me in case the outlet is a bit further away and i have to plug in the Rivian portable charger into an extension cable to reach the outlet.

Is the golf cart electric or gas? I have started to get creative with finding outlets that work.

The previous advice is spot on though, get the biggest/shortest wire you can for an extension cord.

 

[jeeden]

Is the golf cart electric or gas? I have started to get creative with finding outlets that work.

The previous advice is spot on though, get the biggest/shortest wire you can for an extension cord.

Good idea. If the golf cart is electric maybe they have a dedicated outlet for charging it.

 

[jeeden]

So as a follow up I tried.oit the portable charger tonight for the first time and had a bit of a shock (pun intended). I expected the 110v 15 amp to give about 4 or 5 miles and hour (based on tons of YouTube videos of Tesla portable chargers), but only saw 2kw with 0 miles an hour listed. Looking on the forums ilitmsoundsnlike 1 to 2 miles an hour is expected. Pretty rough, the wife and her mom group are headed to an Airbnb in eastern VA next month and she didn't want to DC charge on the way back so she was going to slow charger the nights they are there for some extra range, but 20 miles a night probably won't break them even on the nightly restaurant runs.

 

[Thedude]

So as a follow up I tried.oit the portable charger tonight for the first time and had a bit of a shock (pun intended). I expected the 110v 15 amp to give about 4 or 5 miles and hour (based on tons of YouTube videos of Tesla portable chargers), but only saw 2kw with 0 miles an hour listed. Looking on the forums ilitmsoundsnlike 1 to 2 miles an hour is expected. Pretty rough, the wife and her mom group are headed to an Airbnb in eastern VA next month and she didn't want to DC charge on the way back so she was going to slow charger the nights they are there for some extra range, but 20 miles a night probably won't break them even on the nightly restaurant runs.

Using miles per hour as a charge rate is completely useless when comparing different vehicles. You’re charging at the same kWh rate as a Tesla on 120v but Rivians are far less efficient so the same amount of energy does not equate to the same amount of miles.

 

[VSG]

You don't get 15 amps - max is 12 amps, which is 80% of the circuit rating. (Same derating holds for L2 charging and for Teslas too.)

This will deliver at least 1 kW to your Rivian. That's about 2 miles of range every hour. I have tested this repeatedly and over a long period of time (~100 hours) because one place I go to only has a 120V outlet for charging. The numbers reported in the app and on the Rivian console are rounded, so they can be off by a substantial amount when you're dealing with numbers around 1. (I'm Level 1 charging right now in fact - 27 hours charging time elapsed, 30kWh delivered, range gain of 61 miles.)

If you have an extension cord, you WILL see a voltage drop between the outlet and the charger - that will directly affect how much power you get from the charger. If your extension cord is not sized properly, you could get substantial loss.

 

[jeeden]

Using miles per hour as a charge rate is completely useless when comparing different vehicles. You’re charging at the same kWh rate as a Tesla on 120v but Rivians are far less efficient so the same amount of energy does not equate to the same amount of miles.

Interesting .. so it maybe it was showing zero miles an hour because I had just taken a series of short trips and it wasn't very efficient at the time?

It sounds like you're saying the better mass would be too soon 2 kilowatt per hour. So that would mean for a 10-hour overnight charge 20 kW or about 15% increase in the pack?

Thanks

 

[Thedude]

Interesting .. so it maybe it was showing zero miles an hour because I had just taken a series of short trips and it wasn't very efficient at the time?

It sounds like you're saying the better mass would be too soon 2 kilowatt per hour. So that would mean for a 10-hour overnight charge 20 kW or about 15% increase in the pack?

Thanks

No, it’s showing 0-1mph charge because you’re charging very slowly and the software doesn’t predict those low numbers well. At 12 amps you’re putting a maximum of 1.4kwh or 1.5-3mph into the battery pack. You wont reach a 2kwh charge rate on a standard household outlet.

The same charger plugged into the same outlet will charge both a Rivian and a Tesla at the same rate. However, the Tesla will gain double the miles per hour charged because of its huge efficiency advantage.

 

[jeeden]

No, it’s showing 0-1mph charge because you’re charging very slowly and the software doesn’t predict those low numbers well. At 12 amps you’re putting a maximum of 1.4kwh or 1.5-3mph into the battery pack. You wont reach a 2kwh charge rate on a standard household outlet.

The same charger plugged into the same outlet will charge both a Rivian and a Tesla at the same rate. However, the Tesla will gain double the miles per hour charged because of its huge efficiency advantage.

Got it. Thanks

 

[emoore]

I've charged using level 1 on two road trips. One was this past weekend. On both occasions the truck was parked for 3 days. I used the standard home depot orange outdoor extension cord plugged in to a standard outlet. Charging is very slow, 1 to 2 miles added per hr. Over 3 days added around 80 miles of range. On both trips this was enough to get me back home without a charging stop in route. Not useful for short trips but if the truck is sitting for days at a time and you have access to an outlet it's worth it.

yep I did the same. Used the orange Home Depot extension cord for a month while waiting for my 220 to get installed. Worked fine.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Interesting .. so it maybe it was showing zero miles an hour because I had just taken a series of short trips and it wasn't very efficient at the time?

It sounds like you're saying the better mass would be too soon 2 kilowatt per hour. So that would mean for a 10-hour overnight charge 20 kW or about 15% increase in the pack?

Thanks

If you're in the cabin with the HVAC on, it's probably still draining power out of the battery when charging off 120V @12A.

 

[WSea]

If you're in the cabin with the HVAC on, it's probably still draining power out of the battery when charging off 120V @12A.

Why? Truck cabin should be already conditioned if he just got back from some short trips

 

[joelster]

My $0.02 and I am not an electrician but I play one on TV.

A 12/3 extension cord is just fine. If you buy a 10 gauge cord, you are paying extra money for ampacity (30 amps) that will never be used or needed. The Edison connectors are rated for 20 amps at best but more often they are only 15 amps (hospital grade are the only ones I've seen that are 20 amps) and will fail long before that cord is ever loaded close to capacity. The outlet that you are likely to plug into is also going to be only 15 amps though outdoor GFCI circuits can often be 20 amps. The Rivian travel charger only draws 12 amps when plugged into 120 volts. At that draw, the Home Depot cords mentioned above are technically fine. They are 14/3 and rated for 15 amps but that said, I would not use them unless I had no other choice.

I would recommend getting some nice 12/3 SJOOW (which Home Depot actually sells by the foot) and some high quality connectors, and making your own high quality extension cord. I am fond of the Hubbell style connectors (sometimes Home Depot has these as well):

For the record, I literally own hundreds of this style of extension cord. They can also be purchased pre-built online. You can find them at sites that cater to motion picture or live event production. Heck... I've got some for sale. Here's an example. Or Google "12/3 Stinger". You'll end up with a high quality cord that is reliable and supple. That 10/3 cord linked above looks like it would take a half hour to coil up. These are easy to deal with.

Edit: Oh! But never wrap it around your elbow. Take care of it and it will take care of you.

 

[R2D2]

Thanks! That was the info I was looking for!

Sponsored