Is it ok to just charge the MG5 with the granny cable?

[john w]

hi i take delivery of a mg5 on friday.will it be safe enough just to charge it with the granny cable

 

[SimonomiS]

It'll be fine as long as you've got a socket (weatherproof) on a ring main and plenty of time...

 

[john w]

i have sockets in my garage i may be a bit dim but what does a ring main mean. by the way thank you
for the quick reply

 

[SimonomiS]

i have sockets in my garage i may be a bit dim but what does a ring main mean. by the way thank you
for the quick reply

A ring main is a standard domestic circuit with sockets. They can take more load than a radial one (laid out like a string). Does the garage have it's own consumer unit (modern fuse box with individual breakers)?

 

[Jocko]

Your circuit in the garage will be more than adequate for your Granny cable whether on a ring main or not (unless the wiring is 40+ years old). If the garage is attached to the house it will probably be on the downstairs ring main.

The ring main - Domestic electricity – WJEC - GCSE Physics (Single Science) Revision - WJEC - BBC Bitesize

Learn about the homes's electrical safety devices and their circuits with this Bitesize study guide.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[john w]

Your circuit in the garage will be more than adequate for your Granny cable whether on a ring main or not (unless the wiring is 40+ years old). If the garage is attached to the house it will probably be on the downstairs ring main.

The ring main - Domestic electricity – WJEC - GCSE Physics (Single Science) Revision - WJEC - BBC Bitesize

Learn about the homes's electrical safety devices and their circuits with this Bitesize study guide.

www.bbc.co.uk

thank you

 

[Petriix]

... But definitely do check that the prongs of the plug aren't getting hot after a couple of hours when you first use it.

 

[john w]

i will do thanks for the heads up

 

[jonathanhoey]

Just to give you an idea of the maths here, and a little bit of the practicality at the same time.

The 3-pin charger will draw about 10 amps. That’s about the same as a kettle or something.

Wall sockets are nominally rated at 13A max. So 10A is less than maximum, but in practice a 10A load sustained over many hours is a bit heftier than you might think. A good-quality socket and wiring is therefore a must.

Mains voltage is about 230 volts. 10A x 230V is 2300 watts, or 2.3 kilowatts. So you can see that the power draw of your 3-pin charger is about 2.3kW.

You never quite get perfect efficiency, so let’s say that it can output about 2kW to your car.

The MG5 has a 50 (ish) kilowatt-hour battery. So you can see it should take about 25 hours to charge from empty to full at 2kW.

In practice you'll probably very seldom arrive home completely empty, of course.

There’s a case for getting a 7kW charger installed, but there’s no real reason not to use the 3-pin charger indefinitely.

 

[thefunkystoat]

I’ve been charging purely on the granny so far as the car is getting no use and it has been fine. Have to echo the slow speed sentiment though, 25 hours sounds a long time but it ‘feels’ even longer as you watch the charge level creep upwards. I’m sure I will get a home charger sorted eventually once circumstances ease off a bit, but the granny is a perfectly fine solution for the current situation (pun very much intended).

 

[AdamMGEV]

Just to give you an idea of the maths here, and a little bit of the practicality at the same time.

The 3-pin charger will draw about 10 amps. That’s about the same as a kettle or something.

Wall sockets are nominally rated at 13A max. So 10A is less than maximum, but in practice a 10A load sustained over many hours is a bit heftier than you might think. A good-quality socket and wiring is therefore a must.

Mains voltage is about 230 volts. 10A x 230V is 2300 watts, or 2.3 kilowatts. So you can see that the power draw of your 3-pin charger is about 2.3kW.

You never quite get perfect efficiency, so let’s say that it can output about 2kW to your car.

The MG5 has a 50 (ish) kilowatt-hour battery. So you can see it should take about 25 hours to charge from empty to full at 2kW.

In practice you'll probably very seldom arrive home completely empty, of course.

There’s a case for getting a 7kW charger installed, but there’s no real reason not to use the 3-pin charger indefinitely.

I was wondering the exact thing last night. I have ordered a 7KW wall charger just so I have it foe the future and whilst there's grants I thought might as well. But I was wondering if it is a 50kw battery it will take some time however if you keep it plugged in or you don't drive much then it should be fine.

 

[AdamMGEV]

I'm also buying a 13amp extension lead to reach my outside socket

 

[SimonomiS]

I’ve been charging purely on the granny so far as the car is getting no use and it has been fine. Have to echo the slow speed sentiment though, 25 hours sounds a long time but it ‘feels’ even longer as you watch the charge level creep upwards. I’m sure I will get a home charger sorted eventually once circumstances ease off a bit, but the granny is a perfectly fine solution for the current situation (pun very much intended).

Me too though if you're charging from, say, 25% to 80% then putting it on at 6pm will have it sorted overnight!