Using Extension Cord with Freezer

[nick]

Hello,

I just purchased a 7 CFT Magic Chef Freezer from the Home Depot. The place that I want to place it is about 6 feet from the nearest electrical outlet. Reading the manual it states not to use extension cords of any kind. Is the reason they put this on for fear the consumer will try to use a standard electric cord and cause a fire or is it something else? I plan on getting a 15A with a 14 gauge or 12 gauge wire. The line that it is attached to goes to a 15 amp circuit and seeing that it hasn't tripped he line while it is running I should be ok. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks, Nick

[hrhofmann]

Yeah - They're worried you would use a lamp cord type extension cord, or one of those kight-weight orange or green outdoor extension cords that are fine for small leafb;lowers, but not much else. If you gat an extension cord with 14 ga wire, it should be ok, a 12 gauge wire would be better. If it is only 10 feet or so long, it is not any different than if the freezer was on a circuit that was 10 ft feet farther from the circuit breaker or fuse box. Make sure the prongs and the female end of the extension cord are secure, ir, the mating plugs are making good contact to eliinate any overrrrrheating at the plug-in points. Then check it out once in a while to see that things are still fine.

Good idea to ask, you are on the right track.

Bob Hofmann

[ransley]

7 cu ft, what does it pull 100 watts? Likely only 100- 150, Gee maybe 20 ga would work.

[Red Green]

[e-mail] wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Just get an AC extension cord. Not sure if this is in a garage or basement but they come in short lengths and have flat wire and 90 degree male ends which would help neaten things up if that's desired.

[Kevin Ricks]

Long and/or small gauge extension cords will have more resistance which will lower the voltage. Lower voltage will increase the current and overheat the compressor motor and over time cause a premature failure. Fire is a possibility but MC is probably more worried about a warranty return. Kevin

[RBM]

Keep the cord as short as possible, with conductors equal to or larger than the circuit conductors. Appliance extension cords are made in lengths up to

9'

[Edwin Pawlowski]

My freezer has been on an extension cord for 27 years now. It is, though, a heavy duty one that can handle the load. Use a short cord designed for air condition use and you are OK. They want to avoid people using the wimpy lamp cord.

[nick]

Thanks for everyone's advice. I'll check what they have at the Home Depot today.

Nick

[Joe]

[JohnR66]

7 cu ft, what does it pull 100 watts? Likely only 100- 150, Gee maybe 20 ga would work.

Right on. My top freezer, frost free frig draws only 75 watts during normal operation. Starting the compressor motor is another issue. I'm sure the manufacturer is concend that a low line voltage condition plus a long extension cord could eventually burn the motor.

Even though my fridge uses 75 watts, the starting current is 7.5 amps.

[Boden]

A 7 cu ft refrigerator is a fairly small load. I wouldn't worry about heating. The bigger worry is accidental disconnection. Use a new extension cord of the needed length and put a bit of duct tape around the connection between the refrigerator plug and the extension cord receptacle.

[Steve Barker DLT]

They make a regular 'appliance' extension cord. They are 12ga.

s

[SteveB]

I like those that have the 90 degree socket and are flat. I gaffer taped one down on my garage floor five years ago, and the gaffer's tape is still good. I wish duct tape was that good.

Steve

[Phisherman]

Install another outlet. Extension cords are intended for temporary use only.

[Uncle Monster]

The only thing I would worry about would be the ends of the cords getting wet and corroding. A lot of freezers are in places that may get wet like a garage or basement. I would strap the extension cord to the wall to keep the plug and socket off the floor.

[8~{} Uncle Monster

[Red Green]

"SteveB" wrote in news: [e-mail]:

I'm insulted!!! :-)

[aemeijers]

A valid concern, but an extension cord zip-tied to nails on the wall starts to look like a permanent installation, which is a no-no in most places. If the area is damp, I would run another outlet. If pretty isn't a concern, wiremold is a valid and cheap option.

-- aem sends...

[Uncle Monster]

I've run a lot of Wiremold in both metal and plastic. I prefer the metal for power because most of what I do is commercial. The homeowner could put a plastic Wiremold box extension over the existing outlet box and run Romex inside the plastic channel to a surface mount receptacle box and have a neat installation. I wouldn't cable tie the extension cord to nails when one hole straps are readily available, that's silly.

[8~{} Uncle Monster

[Dennis Osgood]

I had an 11,000 BTU window air conditioner hooked to a 100 ft extension cord because I needed an additional 4-5 feet of cord. The a/c was not working well at all. An electrician told me that the extension cord was the problem. Get rid of the cord (or shorten it considerably to only what I needed) and it will work. I did, and it worked great.

Just last week my daughter said that her new freezer was not freezing -- her food was thawed out but still cold enough to cook. I looked at the freezer and her husband had hooked a 100 ft extension cord to the freezer because the freezer cord was 2 ft too short. I remembered what the electrician said about my a/c unit, and we moved the freezer to a new outlet. The food was frozen in just a few hours.

I have read many articles both pro and con about voltage drops in extension cords. Apparently not everyone agrees with the established theories of electrical engineering. The electrician never did tell me why the extension cord was the problem. All I know is that removing the extension cord caused both the a/c and the freezer to work well.

[trader_4]

You've identified the problem, voltage drop. The conductors have to be sized for the load. An 11,000 BTU AC is a large load. It also has a large initial startup current. That current over a

100 ft 16 gauge extension has considerable voltage drop. If the extension cord was 10 or 12 gauge, it would work, but it's still not advisable. The issue should be much less with a modern fridge or freezer. They typically only pull ~90W or so. Bottom line you want to use a short extension cord that is heavy enough for the load.