Charging cable with 50' cord? + charging %

Congratulations!!

erin30 said:

And while I'm here posting 😂 I am totally lost about how high I'm supposed to charge the battery (80% where do I set that setting?), but also how low do I allow the battery to run before charging? Today I was picking a book up at the library and they have a free level 3 charger, but I'm still at like 210 miles left in my charge... wasn't sure if it's bad to charge before you get really low?

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It's best to keep it between 20-80%, but charging to 100% at the start of a big road trip won't hurt anything. Disregard the numbers on the GOM when charging at home. It's just guessing and will fluctuate wildly depending on weather, driving style, etc.

There are some on this forum who always charge to 100% regardless of what the people who actually research this stuff say. Here's some reading material.
Do I Need to Charge My Car to 100%?

It's also better to keep the car plugged in so it can use shore power to maintain the battery temperature and keep the 12V charged up better. The common saying is "ABC, always be charging."

Set the charge limit on the charging screen. Each big line on the scale is 10%. Spend some quality time with the owner's manual. You'll be a much happier owner.

They do make J1772 extension cords. They have a female J1772 input socket on one end and a regular male J1772 handle plug on the other. I have a 25' one that has come in handy a few times with my portable L2 EVSE (always seems to be just a couple feet shy just when I need it most). It's not generally recommended to use ANY extension with an EVSE, but people do it all the time with generally acceptable results. It helps if you keep the amperage low - 24 amps or even 16 amps. My extension is purportedly rated for up to 40 amps (the tag says so, so it MUST be true, right?) but my L2 EVSE is only 16 amps so I feel comfortable with the combo. And it has worked perfectly every time I've needed it with no overheating or other signs of trouble. I think 50' may be pushing it too far though, and I'd be VERY leery of pushing high amperage that far (say for example a 32 amp L2 EVSE). Proceed at your own risk.

The general consensus is to keep the battery between 20% and 80% for general daily use. Fully charge when going on a long trip where you need full range. So, run the battery down to about 20% and then charge it up to 80% using Target Charge setting as detailed above. Nota Bene: the battery thermal management won't run at a State of Charge (SOC) below 40%. If you live in a climate where the battery may get overly hot (above about 80-85 F ambient) then you'll probably want to keep your SOC above 40% so that the battery can cool itself as needed. I typically go down to about 50% and then charge up to 90%, but that's MY particular choice based on my climate (hot) and mileage needs (sudden surprise trips requiring at least 50% of my available battery capacity). Your situation may vary so you may do something different. A lot of folks just charge up to 80% as a daily routine and they do just fine.

No company wants to take responsibility for you using the wrong extension cord. Look in the manual for your toaster: don't use an extension cord. Your TV: don't use an extension cord. Your car charger: don't use an extension cord.

Your electricity comes through miles of wiring to your street. Then it goes through dozens of feet of wire to your house. Then it goes through anything up to hundreds of feet of wiring to your outlet. Yes you can add 25 to 50 feet or more of extension cord so long as it is good quality and properly rated. I have a NEMA 14-50 (the outlet that QMerit is going to install for you) extension cord that is about as thick as a baby's arm. I have no problem using that... or in fact something that is easier to handle. Many RVs use the same plug and come with a 50 foot cord and it is not uncommon to get a 50-100 foot extension to be able to reach the power post at a campground. These extensions have the same gauge of wire inside as the wiring from your breaker box to the outlet.