Level 3 extension cable?

[MidnightRivian]

Tesla is working on making their own extension cable as well.

I plan to get one from Tesla and A2Z to compare the difference between both and will end up keeping one in my frunk.

Better to have, and not need, than to need, and not have

That's why I keep all sorts of recovery gear / spare tire / tools with me at all times.

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[Hillbilly]

Honestly, if someone really wants this, I'd only purchase the approved Tesla version.

A2Z stuff is solid and potentially better than OEM. I wouldn't hesitate to use their stuff.

 

[Rividiculous]

I plan to avoid Tesla chargers as much as possible. I don’t feel welcome there and I’m not keen on giving Elon any of my money. He has plenty.

Do route planners include the ability to avoid Tesla chargers? They should.

Plus, keeping away lowers my odds of suffering prolonged exposure to a cybertruck.

 

[R1TCntrlMaIzzy]

This is not the purpose of this post, so sorry. No, no dinero from me for an extension cable.

IMHO, when one company's tech, NACS, infers it is the blueprint for all others, every possible charging port locations should have been accommodated. This should be part of the standard for the "pumps".

Go figure, ICE owners do not have this need.

 

[Zoidz]

I wouldn’t get an extension cord for DCFC. That’s just a life-death disaster waiting to happen

This.

A lot of unanswered questions, although I did not investigate so maybe there are answers. DCFC fast charger cables include cooling and temperature sensors in the connector for obvious safety reasons. Extension cables have neither.

Based on my use case, it's unlikely I will ever charge at a Tesla station. If I do, I'll deal with any parking space challenges that might arise.

 

[beyondgravity]

I plan to avoid Tesla chargers as much as possible. I don’t feel welcome there and I’m not keen on giving Elon any of my money. He has plenty.

Do route planners include the ability to avoid Tesla chargers? They should.

Plus, keeping away lowers my odds of suffering prolonged exposure to a cybertruck.

Same here! I don’t want to do anything with Elon. Anyhow, I finally saw a cybertruck last week in Hamptons and it was ugly. I know I am biased against Elon and it may have been my bodily reaction (as cortisol must have been pumped even before my conscious mind recognized it); but my cerebral cortex just couldn’t undo that bias. I don’t know what type of automatons are buying it.

 

[beyondgravity]

This.

A lot of unanswered questions, although I did not investigate so maybe there are answers. DCFC fast charger cables include cooling and temperature sensors in the connector for obvious safety reasons. Extension cables have neither.

Based on my use case, it's unlikely I will ever charge at a Tesla station. If I do, I'll deal with any parking space challenges that might arise.

Is that a real picture ? & do you know where and what happened

 

[Dark-Fx]

A lot of unanswered questions, although I did not investigate so maybe there are answers. DCFC fast charger cables include cooling and temperature sensors in the connector for obvious safety reasons. Extension cables have neither.

A properly designed extension cable is going to have a thermal breaker at both ends, and that will interrupt the pilot signal if it trips. The charger is then responsible for immediately stopping the charge session. These are passive devices.

Hard to say that's really going to be adequate once the cable is well worn though.

 

[Mousetrap]

Is that a real picture ? & do you know where and what happened

Yes, it was real. Early Jan '23 in Mill Valley, CA. More info/pics/video here and here.

 

[usulio]

How many gas stations have you been to where you pull up to the pump at the front or rear of the vehicle?….why not just make all EV chargers pull through, the same as gas pumps, and all these issues go away?

To be fair, that would take up a lot more space in terms of square feet per charger. I think it would be doable though in a lot of cases like malls, highway rest stops.

 

[usulio]

I'd buy a 20 foot extension cable to be able to hit an ICE'd supercharger, but I wouldn't buy a short one just because Tesla can't put long enough cables for my EV to be able to use any available supercharger.

I wonder how bulky and heavy that would be...

 

[LittonLad]

To be fair, that would take up a lot more space in terms of square feet per charger. I think it would be doable though in a lot of cases like malls, highway rest stops.

I agree, and I agree with the other posters here on the challenges. When Tesla superchargers were for Tesla only, the configuration was not a problem. Now they are open and NACS is becoming more widely adopted, there needs to be a rethink in the design and layout of new chargers. The issue isn’t restricted to Tesla and the other charging companies need to rethink this.

And clearly the time at the pump (in this case the charger) is a commercial opportunity not a challenge for the host.

 

[NY_Rob]

Hmm.. I’m starting to wonder if I’m just a jerk, because I don’t really have any interest in purchasing an extension cable just because superchargers were not made to accommodate vehicles with different charging port locations.

Problems arise in areas where the SC facilities are generally very busy.. to charge your Rivian from a short cord SC you would need to wait for two adjacent spots to open up, then you would have to take both spots. So what do you do.. wait your turn and take the next open spot then wait further till the stall next to you opens as well and grab that cable as soon as the previous vehicle is done charging? I'm sure the next car waiting in line for that adjacent stall isn't going to be too happy having waited his turn for the SC but you just grabbed "his" cable.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

I plan to avoid Tesla chargers as much as possible. I don’t feel welcome there and I’m not keen on giving Elon any of my money. He has plenty.

This.

A lot of unanswered questions, although I did not investigate so maybe there are answers. DCFC fast charger cables include cooling and temperature sensors in the connector for obvious safety reasons. Extension cables have neither.

Based on my use case, it's unlikely I will ever charge at a Tesla station. If I do, I'll deal with any parking space challenges that might arise.

Anecdotal. The charger is not a Supercharger. And no extension cable was used. It was at a EA wasn’t it? While Elon is associated with Tesla, not all funds paid to Tesla goes to him. Tesla does employ thousands of Americans, who are not working pro bono.

Patronage to Supercharger gives other networks competition, like EA, which prompts them to do better. Understandable reaction, but irrational to avoid Supercharger out of spite for one man. To boycott Tesla is like refusing to pay HOA fees because you don’t agree with just one neighbor. We don’t live on private islands. All is connected.

 

[SwampNut]

"Not give money to Elon" could be some of the dumbest decision-making I've heard of. I plan to charge where it benefits ME the most and has the lowest cost and friction. I'm not going to penalize myself in order to avoid giving $2 to someone who doesn't give one shit if I do. Crazy.

I've used Superchargers around 60 times, and have ONE failure. That required me to remove the connector and reconnect, and it took NEARLY 20 seconds (!) to reset. Horrors. Meanwhile, I have not ever had one fully perfect charging session with a J1772 or CCS charger. Not a single one (but I've only done those around 10 times). Every time I've looked at rates, EA has been much more expensive than Supercharging.

Some of you sound like five year olds who aren't going to do something, just to spite your parents.

Also I'm not going to buy an extension. I did order a pair of fold-up cones and will put them out if I block a charger. Two reasons; courtesy, and maybe avoid confrontational morons. Although at the same time, I'm perfectly happy with telling an asshole what I think of his opinion. So mostly courtesy, so nobody pulls in thinking it's a usable space.

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