I melted a plug [UK] 😱

[Midlifecrisis]

I use a Porsche mobile charger to charge my wife’s RR hybrid every night. It runs on about 10A for 6 or less hours. Started in January. Because my 13A outdoor socket is at the back of the house I ran an extension lead and tacked it to the wall. I made sure it was rated 13A when I bought it.

Last week it stopped working so I went to unplug it to reboot it and discovered that the plug on the extension cord had melted. I could get a 40A cable put in with a socket but I think a better option is another proper EVSE.

Take care with any extensions!

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[kurand]

Nasty.

if you get a plumbed in EVSE, make sure they connect it up correctly. This happened to my BMW Wallbox because the installer failed to correctly connect the neutral feed.

 

[anonymouse]

Yikes, not good. Yes, a proper evse is always the way to go, preferably with a tethered or lockable Type 2 cable. There are lots (and lots of opinions)…. Ours is Easee One, which works well in a pair if you are load-sharing between two Evs.

 

[bn8959]

Nasty.

if you get a plumbed in EVSE, make sure they connect it up correctly. This happened to my BMW Wallbox because the installer failed to correctly connect the neutral feed.

Wow that definitely doesn’t look like 6mm cable to me! Well under rated!

 

[kurand]

I believe it is 6mm2 cable.

What are seeing is the individual strands of copper in the neutral line splayed apart by the heat and insulation fire. Was quite a mess and I wasn’t too happy about it. Fortunately , it was on an outside wall, and was replaced under warrantee.

 

[McgR]

I use a Porsche mobile charger to charge my wife’s RR hybrid every night. It runs on about 10A for 6 or less hours. Started in January. Because my 13A outdoor socket is at the back of the house I ran an extension lead and tacked it to the wall. I made sure it was rated 13A when I bought it.

Last week it stopped working so I went to unplug it to reboot it and discovered that the plug on the extension cord had melted. I could get a 40A cable put in with a socket but I think a better option is another proper EVSE.

Take care with any extensions!

? the manual does say not to use any extension cord or device between the EVSE and plug.

Glad nothing serious happened.

I have charged my X5 45e with the EVSE directly on a normal household plug for years and nothing happened. Electric grid was recently renovated. I did occasionally use and extension cord on holidays but never charged at night and always at a lower setting.

This summer I charged the Taycan with the EVSE set at 50% on a household plug. At 100% it was getting warm after some time.

 

[Marmolata]

Doesnt matter what evse you use, NEVER use an extension cord! they are not rated for continuous use. Glad you didnt end up with an electrical fire!

 

[Ross]

Thanks for the heads up.
Never use an ‘off the shelf’ extension cord. Particularly not a plug board or a coiled up one.
I had an electrician make me a custom, industrial strength extension cord. The plug gets mildly warm. Exactly the same warming as the plug on the actual Porsche charging unit itself. Never had a problem.

 

[W1NGE]

I use a Porsche mobile charger to charge my wife’s RR hybrid every night. It runs on about 10A for 6 or less hours. Started in January. Because my 13A outdoor socket is at the back of the house I ran an extension lead and tacked it to the wall. I made sure it was rated 13A when I bought it.

Last week it stopped working so I went to unplug it to reboot it and discovered that the plug on the extension cord had melted. I could get a 40A cable put in with a socket but I think a better option is another proper EVSE.

Take care with any extensions!

Specific guidance for not (ever) using an extension lead for EVSEs in the owners manual - this demonstrates why.

 

[anonymouse]

You can get an extension lead that IS rated for appropriate power from toughleads.co.uk - we carry one as part of our travel kit along with some adapters from the same place and a UK socket tester from Amazon.

 

[Midlifecrisis]

You can get an extension lead that IS rated for appropriate power from toughleads.co.uk - we carry one as part of our travel kit along with some adapters from the same place and a UK socket tester from Amazon.

Thanks. I have researched a bit more and found them. I am planning replacing it with a Zappi for various reasons but might also buy a better extension for occasional travel use

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