Charger Cable Reel

[bradpinkston]

I have an old extension cord reel that needs a new end. I was thinking about repurposing it instead by cutting off the ends and wiring it into my cart charger.

Any thoughts on this? Has anyone tried it?

[orangeman6]

To answer that, you’re going to have to tell us what guage cord and how long. I think my old 36v charger drew above 20 amps

[bradpinkston]

I think the cord is about 30 feet long and 16 AWG.

[cgtech]

Too small for most chargers. Will get very hot.

[bradpinkston]

Thanks for that.

What is the wire gauge inside the charger? It looks like the cables coming off the back of my charging socket are 14AWG if my eyes arent failing me. Print is pretty small.

[cgtech]

Likely 14.

[bradpinkston]

For anyone interested or for archival, I tried this with my 16AWG reel as a proof of concept and it did not work. I'm not sure if the problem was resistance through the reel, inability to deliver correct amperage, or what.

The charger would not turn on and responded with a red light status. I replaced the cable with a brand new one and everything is working great. Plan is to now find a reel that will just pull the approved cable up into the rafters.

[ThreeCW]

My Lester Summit charger (2 year old model 28000 - 48 VDC - 19.5 amp) has 16 AWG cable on the 115 volt input side and 12 AWG cable between the charger and the cart.

I notice that both cables (16 AWG and 12 AWG) get warm during the high amperage charging phases. Warm but not too hot. The charger gets plugged directly in the wall receptacle (no extension cord).

I would be concerned that you may not get adequate cooling if you plug in through a cable "reel" ... insufficient cooling may lead to a fire hazzard.

If you must use an extension cord to connect your charger, I would suggest using a large gauge cord (12 AWG or larger wire) that is not reeled and of a length that is only as long as is required.

[cgtech]

[Andy4639]

The reel has the same effect as a long drop cord coiled up when plugged in. Keep the cords as straight as you can to keep the heat from building up in the coil.