I want to plug in a 25 ft, 18 gauge extension cord into a standard 120 V outlet to get some extra length, so I can charge my Prius. Has anyone used a cord with this high of a gauge before? I'm worried about the voltage drop causing a fire. Thanks.
Depends on the length as well. A 20-ft 18 ga should handle 9 amps, which is the charging draw I believe. I use a 50 ft 14 ga extension cord with no problems at all. If I wanted to go 100 ft, I'd definitely use a 12 ga. extension.
I used a 14 gauge extension cord at work to give me extra length one night I went out to check on the charge and the end was boiling hot. I removed it immediately and went with a 12 gauge extension cord and have had no problem since I highly recommend 12 gauge. Technically your not supposed to use any extension cord.
Here's a site with a length/current/wire size table: What Size Extension Cord Do I Need? Toyota recommends charging the PiP on a dedicated 15A circuit, so an extension cord up to 25 feet should be at least 14 gauge, and 12 would give more of a safety margin.
That indicates that there was a bad connection at that end, either inside the plug or with loose or dirty contacts. It really says nothing about insufficient gauge across the wire.
Get the biggest cord possible...(as in smallest gage). The 18 guage is way too small..there will be a voltge drop across the cable and this will effect your charging rate of your batteries. Go for the extra bucks and get one that is at least code for 20 AMP cirucuits... That is at least 12 Guage...I would encourage you to go one size larger ...10 Guage...
10 gauge would be heavier than the house wiring feeding the outlet, which by code is 14 gauge for a 15A circuit, 12 gauge for a 20A circuit.
Voltage drop effects charge time as well. I would use at least 14 awg, and 12 would be better, 10 awg is overkill. 18 awg is tiny wire..... If I calculate correctly, (which may or may not be the case) 18 awg will burn 25.79 Watts of power at 9 amps (due to heating the length of the cord) and 14 awg will burn 10.2W. This is in addition to the resistance in the connectors due to corrosion, resistance in the crimps ect. Always check the conectors for heat to insure you don't have a bad cord.
