Electrical Extension Cords

Beemerboy

Beemerboy

Just One More Coat
I have used in the past the regular ones don't know the gauge if that's the right term.

In my new place I have to run a cord from the house out to the work area and that's about 30 to 40 feet

I have enough cord to do this but once I have it all stretched out I loose some power in the PC you can feel it.

Question are there larger gauge cords that can deliver a better current a longer distance?

If so can anyone help with this?

The goal here would be to run one big cord and leave it until late fall so that I do not have to keep rolling up after each job.


I also hope that this is in the right forum
Thanks
 
Don't buy an extension by gauge. Buy one by its amp rating. Get a cord rated at 15 amps, and you should be okay.

Charles
 
I use 100ft / 14 gauge cord rated at 10 AMPS. I will never use the entire 100 ft but it never hurts to have extra. The PC doesn't draw that much power, so unless you're using a lamp extension cord, you shouldn't be having any problems.

Edit: BTW, the 100ft cord is $9 at HD. Maybe cheaper elsewhere.... dunno

JJ
 
Dave,

I would use the heaviest guage wire/amp rating that you can afford.

I have a 50' and 100' Yellow Jacket 12/3 gauge wire rated at 15 amps. They are not cheap, but they are good. :D I've run the PC and the rotary on both of them with no problems.

Also, make sure the extension is an "outdoor" extension.
 
Sometimes the length can make a big difference. I used to run my air compressor off of a 10 ft extension cord, it would always trip the breaker. I got annoyed with it and decided to just plug it straight into the wall, it worked like a charm. The added resistivity (R=p X L/A) added enough electrical "drag" on the circuit to trip the breaker. If the equation above makes no sense let me explain, Resistivity equals the resistive constant of the wire material times the length of the wire and all of it divided by the cross-sectional area of the wire. From this you can see that not only is the wire's gauge very important, but also it's length and what it's made out of. Don't cheap out on wiring, you won't be happy.
 
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