Talk Morgan Forums Community Vehicle Talk (non-Morgan) Tempted by Renault 5 Electric

Helped a friend connect his 3kW EV charger up over Christmas. It specifically says not to use extension leads irrespective of cable gauge, so we found a 13 amp socket in his outbuilding on a dedicated ring main (which is also a requirement) which allowed the charge cable to reach his car.

I doubt these chargers are constant power devices but if they were would draw more than the expected 12.5 amps due to volt drop along the length of any extension lead used.

It's good news the fuse (or RCD) tripped, saving you from a potentially dangerous fire or mains short in the coiled up extension cable

Might be worth checking the protection on your garage, as ideally a fault on anything connected via a13 amp plug should ideally disconnect before the last line of defence which is usually the main fuse supplying the house...?

I think we are talking current overload protection here so an RCD by itself, which trips on current imbalance between live and neutral, wouldn't solve the problem. For a garage a residual current breaker with overload protection (RCBO) would be useful combining both forms of protection.

I did the same when I was young, 13amp coiled mains extension lead running a high power space heater. I had some things I needed heating up prior to working on them. Left it running in the garage and all the lights went out. The coil was to hot to handle.

In those days the outer coating of the lead was often rubber or some rubber related item and it had heated up a lot. Whilst the problem was fixed the smell of molten rubber hung around for a long time. I was lucky not to have a fire! I can barely remember the days of youth and daft in equal parts.

Spot on that's what I fitted on my garage spur, better safe than sorry damp concrete is not overly forgiving - it doesn't stop you going arse over tit and falling on your barn door toolbox edge though with your nose and upper lip needing 5 stitches at our (then) community hospital with no anaesthetic which concentrated the mind a little, still better than a root canal though.