3 or 5 Meter Cable??

[Goldfinger]

We're going for the tethered cable for the home charging point, and that comes with a 5 meter cable.

So, I guess we'll need to buy our own for when we're out and about when I need of a charge from a standard charging point (unless we use a DC fast charger?), but should we go for a 3 or 5 meter cable??

What would you recommend??

 

[Kim]

I^m driving electric for 3 years now.

Go for 7 meters!

Maybe ICE drivers in your county care about the "no parking, only EV charging" signs, but over here and the rest of the german speaking countries they give a rat's ass, and you'll always need a longer cable to reach the charger....

 

[gobiman]

Goldfinger,
Don't forget that the car comes with a cable in the boot for a standard 13A domestic socket so you only need to buy a cable for commercial charging points.
I don't bother but like others here have bought a heavy duty extension cable for more flexibility to charge when visiting friends/relatives.

 

[greendwarf]

Goldfinger,
Don't forget that the car comes with a cable in the boot for a standard 13A domestic socket so you only need to buy a cable for commercial charging points.
.

And some commercial points are 3 pin, as well - e.g. NCP Snowsfield Car Park next to Guy's Hospital, Shard, London Bridge Station, HMS Belfast etc. has 4 bays on ground floor by entrance but you will need a Source London card to activate. Parking starts @ £4 per hour but the electricity is free!

 

[Goldfinger]

But far from here just to use the three pin charger in London.... :lol:

What do you mean by 'heavy duty' extention cable though, guessing it's not going to be like a B&Q cheapie??

 

[gobiman]

There has been some discussion on the forum about whether extension cables are safe or not to use with the standard 13A cable which comes with the car. My garage gave me an elf & safety lecture about not using one but didn't have a compelling reason why not other than they "aren't designed for it". I bought one for about £50 which is described as heavy duty with RCD and IP something waterproofing to err on the side of caution. I have had no problems at all half a dozen or so times at my Mother's house but exercised a bit of care - no rain and ensured it was fully unrolled. If you get a cheapie I suspect there is a much greater risk of overheating. Screwfix have something suitable around £30.

 

[RazMan]

I have been using a standard (and very cheap ) 13A extension lead to charge my car at the office for a couple of months now with no problem. Surely if it designed for 13A then what can be wrong with that? Worst case scenario - it will blow a fuse or trip a breaker.

 

[Kim]

Worst scenario, I experienced when I had my 16 Amp charging cable pluged into a 10 Amp outlet for a few hours.
After 6 hours or so, the plug was molten into the outlet and I had to replace it (the outlet).

Most of the time, it's a cheap plug and/or wall socket that can cause a problem, not the thickness of the wire...

 

[chrisevcharging]

5m 32 amp type 1 to type 2 cable is what you want but remember it's going to cost you £160ish and will you really need it as the outlander has petrol as a back up? We don't need to charge unlike bev cars. I'd do the sums before you go head first into buying cables and signing up for card schemes as a lot of time sticking petrol in is cheaper than some of the rip off charge point suppliers. We do get the better parking though!
Cheers

 

[jaapv]

There are plenty of household appliances that pull 2500 Watt like the PHEV Virtually nobody thinks twice about using an extension lead on them. Just use a 3x2.5 cable to make sure And don't put the toaster and vacuum cleaner on the same fuse....