How Long Of A Power Cord?

[Too_Many_Tools]

In about a month, I will be replacing a significant number of power cords on a variety of metal and wood working machines.

So how long of a cord should a person replace them with?

It's a harder question to answer than at first glance. It's like asking "How high should I build my workbench?"..it depends.

Of course one should replace the cord so the new one reaches the outlet but how much extra cord should one allow?

Over the years, machines have come with a variety of lengths in relation to their power cords so just replacing it with what it had may not be a good approach. When copper was expensive, the cords got shorter to save costs. And over the years, cords are replaced because of damage or old age.

As a matter of good practice I will be installing wire adequate for the currents needed, using grounded plugs, appropiate insulation types but the simple question of "How Long?" is one I would like to have your opinion on.

Thanks in advance for suggestions.

TMT

[Robert Swinney]

Good that you are making sure you replace all cords with grounded ones. IMO, you should use "standard" length cords; maybe slightly longer ones on hand drills and other tools you may use on ladders. One of the handiest long cords I have is on a Weller dual heat soldering gun. It is better to keep a few extension cords on hand rather than dealing with the clutter of over-long cords everywhere.

Bob Swinney

[Lew Hodgett]

It depends on whether the equipment is stationary or portable.

Sight unseen, 25 ft of 12-2 /w/ ground, SJO cord should do a great job.

Lew

[Robatoy]

Yup. I hate clutter. I can't stand anything underfoot...'cept the rubber anti-fatigue mats. Most of my stuff runs along the ceiling with drop-downs here and there. I have two retractable ones for power and one for air.

[Tim Shoppa]

I've noticed that some tools come with rather short cords. Things like small hand-held circular saws etc.

The reasoning, I suspect, is that it's better for you to accidentally chop up an extension cord rather than the one hardwired to the saw!

There are other tools where an overly-long cord attached to the tool gets in the way of normal operation. Soldering irons especially. In cases like this it's better to have a short cord on the hand-held part and a longer cord on a stationary base.

Don't forget voltage drop etc too as a reason to keep cords only as long as necessary.

Tim.

[me]

Only as long as necessary (or in other words, as short as possible).

Are you talking about stationary equipment or portable?

The longer the cord, the higher the resistance/voltage drop/wasted energy.

For stationary equipment, you just want enough to safely route the cable to the outlet without straining it.

If it is portable equipment, it depends upon how far from an outlet you are expecting to work. If you almost always work a few feet from an outlet, the standard 6' cord may suit you fine, using a proper extension cord on the few occasions that you need it. It would be silly and wasteful to wire all of your portable equipment with 30' cords so that an extension cord is never needed when you usually work right next to an outlet.

And then the type of tool will also affect cord length requirements. Something like a circular saw, where you are likely to be making long strokes and want to keep the cord well out of the way, could benefit from a significantly longer cord, or you'll end up using an extension cord every time.

Then there's the issue of storing all of the cords on portable equipment, budget, etc, etc.

[w_tom]

[Eric R Snow]

I have found that with receptacles every 4 feet around the perimeter in my shop that 6 foot long cords work the best. This allows me to move the buffers, etc. to a position that works best. BTW, all my receptacles are 4 feet up the wall too. Makes it much easier to plug things in. If buying cord in bulk and making up cords with plugs you install yourself it is often cheaper to but long extension cords and cut them to length. As an example 14/3 orange bulk extension cord is .39 per foot at the local hardware store. 100 foot long 14/3 orange extension cords already made up is $14.89 or .1489 per foot. ERS

[J]

I replaced the cord on my TS with a foot long one. Makes it easy to move the tool and I can unplug it easily. Then I have a big 10GA extension cord so I can roll it out into the driveway to work.

May I suggest that if you are replacing them all that you go with a twist lock.

-j

[Stephen M]

While I think 8 is a good starting point, the distance between outlets is not the only factor. Length of the stroke of the tool in use is a factor too. Example: using a jigsaw to cut an arc for the toe-space apron of a bookcase.

Better example: using your circular saw to rip a sheet of plywood. In theory, you can do it with a

[Dave Hall]

First, if any are stationary the answer is obvious, so I assume you mean portable tools. These I would envision as being in mostly two groups. First, those used mostly at your bench or otherwise in one limited location and the other tools that you take to the work. For the first group I would try to see how I am going to use the tool at the given location, determine the length that will allow that use and add a couple of feet. For tools that will usually be taken to the work, I would use a short (under 12") cord. This is based on the fact that you will almost always be using an extension cord anyway (unless you make your cords just excessively long) and short cords are easy when putting the tool away and are seldom cut accidently.

Dave Hall

[Allen Parks]

An interesting thing happened the other day. My wife was cleaning mold off of a few of our 2 by 2 ft concrete patio stones with the pressure washer. It was no different then any other time but she was using a 100" extension this time. The washer would run for a minute or two or three then switch itself off, after waiting a bit it would do the same again, and again.

I thought that it was simply shutting down as part of it's duty cycle but my wife (chief user) insisted that it had never done it before. After a little reading in the brochure I discovered that long extensions were not recommend as they were known to cause the motor to overheat.

Shortened the extensi> In about a month, I will be replacing a significant number of power

[Dave]

Easy. Use a length that will reach the outlet but not add unnecessary clutter.

[Mike Marlow]

Though there are no absolutes in the world, voltage drop is really not an issue when talking about power cords as described by the OP. You've got to get out to some distance before voltage drop is an issue and for the average tool cord, it's just not going to be a factor. Having said that...

[granpaw]

Snipped story. While using a 100' 14/3 ext. cord with a 110V. welder out in the driveway I noticed almost too late the wall socket on fire at the plugin end. Moral of the story = 100' extension cords = dangerous crap in the hands of inexperienced people. and further, 14 guage cords for anything other than electronics, never again. granpaw

[Too_Many_Tools]

The tools are both portable and stationary, wood and metal working, single and three phase, 110v and 220v, motors from fraction of a horse to over 5 hp.

Good comments so far...thanks.

TMT

[Chris Friesen]

Heh...to have the same resistance as a 25' 14AWG cord, a 100' cord needs to be 8AwG.

I don't think I've ever even *seen* an 8AWG extension cord.

Chris

[Christopher Tidy]

I tend to go for longer rather than shorter, as most machines I've wired get moved around. Then if the cord is too long I'll just make a neat coil under a bench or in a corner.

Chris

[Christopher Tidy]

When I said "longer rather than shorter" I should have added that most of my machines have 10' to 12' cords.

Chris

[Steve W.]

I've replaced the factory leads on some of my portable gear (table saws, Chop saws and rolling bench gear) with auto rewind units. Bought the ones you mount on the wall and simply reversed the connections with new plug/sockets. Makes it easy to keep track of the cords and since they are 50 foot long you seldom need an extension. I also have a heavy duty one mounted on the portable welding table/MIG/TIG unit. Works great to just roll it out and pull out what you need for the cord instead of tripping over a long cord. We also use the same type on a couple of our fire engines for portable tools and lights. Makes it nice to use them that way. Just keep a rag handy and wipe the cord down as it retracts to keep a lot of crud from getting inside.