Extension Cords 101: Understanding Their Differences
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.พ. 2025
- It’s typical to grab any extension cord, not knowing which one is best for your appliance. In this video, I take you into a deep dive that explains all about extension cords. How is an extension cord’s gauge measured? Do I need to pay attention to my appliance’s voltage and wattage? How do I know if I have the right cord for my space heater? I take you through all of these answers that will make sure your electronics are running at maximum efficiency. I will show you the temperature difference between a 100-foot and a 7-foot cord, both 16-gauge cord. This will help you understand how to keep your house safe.
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🔗 25-Ft 14 AWG 15Amp Lit Extension Cord: geni.us/AyAuw
🔗 7-Ft 16 AWG 13 Amp Cord: geni.us/QjOmn
🔗 FLIR Thermal Imaging Camera: geni.us/zNKeDR8
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Looking for a 10 gauge extension cord on Amazon, found one that was 25 feet, and only rated for 15 Amps,this doesn't make much sense when 10 gauge is supposed to carry 30 Amps. I guess is that the prongs are light duty.
I had my space heater plugged into a #12 cord, and it melt both cord and heater plug together. Can I plug my space heater to a #10 cord instead?
I'm currently running my space heater on a blue cord 5 m long.That's grounded is that okay....
Yes. Obviously, it's better to plug it straight into the wall if you can. It Depends what gauge it is and the condition of the cord.
@@HandymanHertz Plugging into a power box with surge control
I can't find anyone talking about my question. A 10 gauge 100ft triple plug ended cord rated for 20 amps, 125 volts, 1875 watts has a space heater 120volts 1500 watts meaning 12.5 amp plugged in and I want to plug another one of the same in. Can I? am I supposed to add the 12.5amps for each together = 25amps? or does EACH of the 3 plugs able to run something that less then 20 amps?
Is it a good idea to put To put a small skinny extension cord onto a space heater.
I always thought that if too much electricity was going through a small cord it would cause a fire so I needed a larger cord
Yes, it's not a good idea. In a perfect environment and condition, the very shooter smaller garage is rated for it, but we know things are rarely ideal. I don't recommend it. It's not worth it.
No it isnt!!
What's that Dead Animal skin on the wall for?! 😮
First: Thank you for explaining AWG in 10seconds. I never understood it. Second: Why even bother with all of this? Europeans use all standard extension cords. 1.5mm² for 3600W short term load, 3000W continouus load or 2500W indefinite load for up to 50m/150ft. Just get rid of "low power" cords alltogether!
everything is rated for 16A, max a breaker will take.
Yes, but you usually cannot pull 3600w indefinitely. The indefinite max power is somewhere between 2500w and 3200w, depending on the specific breaker and its age. I am a certified electrical technician. I also don't recommend heating up the wires in your walls to about 80°c for extended periods of time(which is why the breaker will trip eventually). :-)
Not sure, but we run in 120v and 240v here and you run on 220v it sounds like. Most houses use 15amp(1800w) breakers or 20 amp (2400W) breakers, depending on how the house is wired. Here's my theory: our wiring system, Awg, was standardized for America in 1857, so that's why we use it. It works great for us, so no reason to change. It's like metric vs sae...we learn one system, sae, and it's no problem. Only metric users get confused. Would metric me easier? Would our wiring system be easier if we used yours? Sure, but if you want a nightmare, start using both (Canada uses both and it's confusing and inefficient, and even lots of friends I've talked to there wish they never tried to change to metric)
Haha sorry, I may have gotten off track answering your question. Hopefully it wasn't just rambling. 👍🏼
I believe 120v breakers are either 15 amp or 20 amp here in Kansas, depending on how the house is wired/gauge of wire
Just use 240v and halve the amps.
Let me just turn the volt knob up on my house.
Yep, you get a bigger buzz when you your finger in the socket👍 Anyway, blame Edison...
@@aviandragon1390 ty
we only do 240v around here when we want to get serious about our appliances
that was a nice introduction ONLY, NOT A REAL COMPARISON OF CORRECT VS INCORRECT ; THEN WHY !! you -left the normal joe-blow still in the dark !. no pun & no disrespect. you just started a story but left-out the why, in diff situations, as well as surging !!!
Thanks for your feedback. In my mind, I compared them with the voltage test and the heat test and explained the differences and what to look for. but I'm certain that I have a lot of room for improvement, and every video I try to get better in some capacity. 👍🏼
I'd say it was fine for a three minute video. It's certainly not an exhaustive resource for all things extension cord, but I'm not sure what else you wanted him to say.