I bought a B&D 12 amp electric mower that I need a 100 feet of extension cord for. Would it be advisable to combine two cords, which I already have, for the 100 feet or do I need to get a 100' cord?
Thanks.
Matters not as long as the wire gauge is heavy enough to avoid current drop-- though you might want to pick up a locking device for the wire junction so you don't keep pulling it apart.
Pffft. No need for that -- it's a simple enough matter to loop the cords around each other at the junction to keep them from pulling apart.
Yeah, I know-- that's the way I do it. But I figured one of the Electrical cops who lurk here would jump on me if I said that...
Depending on the flexibility of the cord, the loop can pull tighter with tension and create fairly sharp bends at the plugs, which is bad for the cord. I make an extra turn when I'm doing that so the friction between the cords is what takes the strain. If it's a heavier gauge cord, it's less of a problem.
R
YAbut the result will be less than 100 feet long:-))
What's the big deal? If they didn't want you to daisy chain extension cords, they would hard wire a long tail to a tool.
And multi strip plugs. Each one will plug in six more strips. The number of final outlets is infinite.
Or so some people think...............................
The only downside I've run into when joining cords like that for use with a moving tool (mower) is that the "lump" in the middle of the cords tends to hang up on things far more often than a full length cord will.
I got a new B&D hedge trimmer last year and I like the fact that there's no cord at all on it, just two plug prongs sticking out below the handle and a built in lug to keep the extension cord in place so that a pull on that cord won't disconnect the plug.
Jeff
...
Back to the OP question, two 50-foot 14 gauge cords are virtuallly the same as a 100-foot 14 gauge cord. Do you know the wire gauge of the two cords that you presently own??
It'd take an infinite amount of time to collect infinite power strips, and you'd need infinite space to put them in.
Then, some outlets would be infinitely far from the power source, connected by an infinite length of wire, in infinitely many pieces with infinitely many connectors. Expect an infinite voltage drop.
Now consider that infinity doesn't exist in the real world...
I have infinity computers plugged into mine. They're all being used to search for real evidence of God's existence.
:-)
Starting with a duplex receptacle, the formula is:
O = S (N - 1) + 2
Where:
O = total number of outlets S = number of power strips N = number of outlets per power strip
Where N is always 6, here's some values of O (for a given S):
0 2 1 7 2 12 3 17 4 22 5 27 6 32 7 37 8 42 9 47 10 52But you wanted:
O = infinity * (6 - 1) + 2
BTW, this is true even for those too stupid to figure out where the "-1" came from.
There's a better way. You need:
Use #3 to attach #2 to the mower handle. Plug #2 into #2. Use #1 to connect the mower to #2.
Everything's plugged in so it must work :-)
If it doesn't work, trace the problem and see if you can explain why it's not working. If you really understand that, it'll be of great benefit to you in the future.
I can see you haven't met my wife. I've found birdsnest configurations of extension cords and MOS's (some extension cords going to another MOS) and I just cringe. Her attitude is, "Oh, look, there's two empty plugs, and I need to plug in a crock pot and an iron."
Steve
Well, some things are applied to good causes.
Steve
Fergeddabout the -1, where does the O come from?
Don't know how things are at your house, but at mine, it's a hard and fast rule that if there is ANYTHING for a cord to hang up on, that cord will seek it out, and not come unhung no matter how many times you flip the cord. You must physically walk all the way back and free it from this 1/2" protrusion or tiny tiny stub of a root.
If you're as clumsy as I am, you'll wind up with 94' in 11 segments. The other 6' will be used to make the repair splices.
I just got a 12 amp mower myself last Sunday, and today I'm going to get the replacement part that it needs to not vibrate.
I see now problem, if your cords are less than 30 years old, but if there were a problem especially with something more than 30 years old it would be that the socket didn't grip the prongs tightly. This can happen with an indoor extension cord too, because there are lots of things which use 8 or 12 amps or more. And in my case, by plugging a heater into a receptacle that was 50 years old, made in 1930.
If you hold the connection in your hand and it's warm at all, it shouldn't be. Usually it's enough to bend one of the prongs so that it squeezes on the socket more.
In my case, I was sleeping when the hard rubber plug on the heater cord got hot enough to flame, an inch or two high. It was morning and I woke up. I pulled out the plug and it stopped burning for some reason.
But of course outside, with a normal lawn, you're not going to set fire to anything and if in a million to one shot, you melt the plug or socket you can buy another one.
I found one old receptacle (in an old hospital building) that wouldn't accept plugs unless you bend both prongs inward, and hold them that way while inserting the plug.
[snip]HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.