Extension Cord Too Hot at 800W.

Sunbiz1

Sunbiz1

Well-Known Member
Does anyone know offhand how many max watts are rated for the average grounded outdoor cord?. I know my breaker can handle up to 1,200, but I'm concerned about adding anymore lighting without splitting up the entire system. Seems rather odd to have this amount of heat when folks routinely run a 1000W HPS light off one cord. Or does the ballast help with that?, I'm running 800 CFL watts and this cord is really warm...as is my outdoor timer I'm using indoors.

TY

Peace
 
qwizoking

qwizoking

Well-Known Member
It should say how many amps and how many watts in small print somewhere. Some also contain temp in Celsius they are rated too
 
qwizoking

qwizoking

Well-Known Member
It should say how many amps and how many watts in small print somewhere. Some also contain temp in Celsius they are rated too..if not use the volt amp watt calculator..my bad was supposed to be an edit
 
Sunbiz1

Sunbiz1

Well-Known Member
qwizoking said:
It should say how many amps and how many watts in small print somewhere. Some also contain temp in Celsius they are rated too
Click to expand...
Cord is too worn to view whether it's a light/medium/or heavy rating...I'll bet this one is a medium

Hmm, I'm gonna play it safe and break it all up into 2 cords/timers...before I burn down the house.:roll:
 
ASMALLVOICE

ASMALLVOICE

Well-Known Member
What gauge wire is the extension cord, if it is hot at 800watts, I would add no more until you upgrade the electrical system. It sounds like a 16 or 14 gauge cord, get one that is equal to the wire that feeds the plug it is plugged into, more than likely 12 gauge.

Peace and Safe Grows

Asmallvoice
 
qwizoking

qwizoking

Well-Known Member
16 gauge at 80% can handle just over 1500 that's pretty standard for a 3 prong . I'm assuming it isn't unreasonably long
 
MYOB

MYOB

Well-Known Member
If the wire is hot, you are running too much through it.


What do you have plugged into it?
 
qwizoking

qwizoking

Well-Known Member
He said 800 Watts, its safe to assume any extension cord will be able to handle that much even those lame 2 prong that have 2 wires together instead of the thick even insulated cord...within reason on the length. If you are having issues definatelu change I'm just saying by calculating it they can handle it
 
UncleBuck

UncleBuck

Well-Known Member
ASMALLVOICE said:
What gauge wire is the extension cord, if it is hot at 800watts, I would add no more until you upgrade the electrical system. It sounds like a 16 or 14 gauge cord, get one that is equal to the wire that feeds the plug it is plugged into, more than likely 12 gauge.

Peace and Safe Grows

Asmallvoice
Click to expand...
what he said^^^
 
MYOB

MYOB

Well-Known Member
If the wire is hot, it is either being overloaded or it is bad. There could be a loose connection to the plug or other damage but an extension cord is never supposed to be hot. Its an indication that something is wrong.

I would stop using it immediately and go and get a 12g.
 
Sunbiz1

Sunbiz1

Well-Known Member
Thanks for responses all,

I get it, specific gauges are designed to handle certain amounts of load...problem is there isn't a chart I can find to match my huge assortment of extension cords:

For example, if a 16 gauge can handle 1500W...what can a 14 or 12 handle?.

I've googled it to death, and cannot find a chart or guide.

Uh oh, I smell burning insulation...kidding.:mrgreen:

I swapped out cords and resolved the issue for now, but I'm adding an additional 160W...bringing it up close to 1000. So I'm still gonna go with a second cord run into a different circuit breaker. In this fashion I can reduce wattage load below 600/cord/breaker just to be safe.
 
qwizoking

qwizoking

Well-Known Member
Something like .8% per 10ft you can find a voltage drop calculator and type the gauge amps distance to easily find it there really aren't any generic charts I could find idk why
 
Sunbiz1

Sunbiz1

Well-Known Member
qwizoking said:
Something like .8% per 10ft you can find a voltage drop calculator and type the gauge amps distance to easily find it there really aren't any generic charts I could find idk why
Click to expand...
This subject is a bit more complex than I had first thought:

"To determine what size, or gauge, cord is needed, you will also have to determine the cord's length. A cord, based on its gauge, can power an appliance of a certain wattage only at specific distances. As the cord gets longer, the current carrying capacity of the cord gets lower. For example, a 16 gauge extension cord less than 50 feet in length can power a 1625 watt (W) appliance. A 16 gauge cord that is longer than 50 feet in length can only power an appliance up to 1250W."

http://www.ul.com/global/eng/pages/offerings/perspectives/consumer/productsafety/cords/
 
Sunbiz1

Sunbiz1

Well-Known Member
To All

As per above, we should be using shorter extension cords when possible...yes?.

Peace!
 
TheSnake

TheSnake

Well-Known Member
12 g... use it, love it. Wire all your cfl's using it, you'll be fine, grounded or not. go buy a new extension chord, should say 1500 watts or how ever much it can safely support. cut it down, strip it, wire everything, and use that end, to plug into the socket. problem solved for 20 bucks. :)
 
TheSnake

TheSnake

Well-Known Member
Note, if your not sure about ratings on your wires, just play it safe, and split them into different groups with different plugs, then plug all of them into a power strip with good enough rating, and plug that into the timer, into the outlet. That way your individual connections dont fry and what not.
 
qwizoking

qwizoking

Well-Known Member
Yea its something you could spend quite a bit studying. Its important to use the thickest gauge you can, the shortest you can and without bundles or loops like winding a water hose in your yard this will also cause a lot of resistance
 
TheSnake

TheSnake

Well-Known Member
To add, as your grow , grows, so will your power consumption. If your grow is in an area close to your electric box, you'll save money on this, but if i was you, as of now i would think about wiring a double 20 just for the grow, so you get almost 4000 watts of dedicated power to play with, without worrying about blowing breakers n shit.
 
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