Stupid question from me: warm, (sometimes almost hot) extension cord -
gp4jesus
Posts: 1,988
...cord too small or load too big right?! Am I crazy or cautious?
From a 15A breakered circuit, using about a 10’-15’ 20A, e-cord - the heaviest yellow Ecords Lowe’s sells I can plug into a regular outlet. Gets pretty warm powering a faux electric Fireplace heater.
Or this 14 ga powering a portable little new heater. Again gets kinda warm after a bit.
Wife believes a dedicated feed will “fix it.”
Thank for helping and/or confirming crazy or cautious. Tony
From a 15A breakered circuit, using about a 10’-15’ 20A, e-cord - the heaviest yellow Ecords Lowe’s sells I can plug into a regular outlet. Gets pretty warm powering a faux electric Fireplace heater.
Or this 14 ga powering a portable little new heater. Again gets kinda warm after a bit.
Wife believes a dedicated feed will “fix it.”
Thank for helping and/or confirming crazy or cautious. Tony
Samsung 60" UN60ES6100 LED, Outlaw Audio 976 Pre/Pro Samsung BDP, Amazon Firestick, Phillips CD Changer Canare 14 ga - LCR tweeters inside*; Ctr Ch outside BJC 10 ga: LCR mids “Foamed & Plugged**”, inside* & out
8 ga Powerline: LR woofers, inside* & out
*soldered **Rob the Man (Xschop) LR: Tri-amped RTi A7 w/Rotels. Woofers - 980BX; Tweets & Mids - 981, connected w/Monoprice Premiere ICs
Ctr Ch: Rotel RB981 -> Bi-amped CSi A6 Surrounds: Premiere ICs ->Rotel 981 -> AR 12 ga -> RTi A3. 5 Subs: Sunfire True SW Signature -> LFE & Ctr Ch; 4 Audio Pro Evidence @ the “Corners”. Power Conditioning & Distribution: 4 dedicated 20A feeds; APC H15; 5 Furman Miniport 20s
8 ga Powerline: LR woofers, inside* & out
*soldered **Rob the Man (Xschop) LR: Tri-amped RTi A7 w/Rotels. Woofers - 980BX; Tweets & Mids - 981, connected w/Monoprice Premiere ICs
Ctr Ch: Rotel RB981 -> Bi-amped CSi A6 Surrounds: Premiere ICs ->Rotel 981 -> AR 12 ga -> RTi A3. 5 Subs: Sunfire True SW Signature -> LFE & Ctr Ch; 4 Audio Pro Evidence @ the “Corners”. Power Conditioning & Distribution: 4 dedicated 20A feeds; APC H15; 5 Furman Miniport 20s
Comments
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What is the amperage draw of the heater?Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Be cautious, you don't want to burn the house down. This is exactly why I can't use the bathroom inside.
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If you can't hear a difference, don't waste your money.
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Hot cords are trouble. Sounds like the cord is heavy enough.
SO the solution is install a new 20 amp circuit (with 12 gauge wire)
and locate it right next to where you are using the heater.
Then plug the device straight in.
High current devices should be on their own breaker,
And if an extension cord that heavy is heating up, my guess is the
14 gauge wiring is getting hot as well. Hope you paid your
home insurance bill."The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." --Thomas Jefferson -
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Is it just the ends that are hot or is it the cord itself? Could be worn plugs/outlet. Most likely the heater itself only has 16awg wire. Is that cord hot too?
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As mentioned in the link above, electric heaters and extension cords can be a bad idea inside a home.
The trouble with heating appliances that draw a lot of continuous current is they sometimes require an electrician's expertise to make sure they work safely where a homeowner wants them. I wouldn't even say it's ok to just leave the heater on if it's plugged into a wall outlet that has lights and other things running on the circuit. -
What is the amperage draw of the heater?
Small rated @ 1500 watts; faux fireplace I can’t find the rating. I believe it was stapled on the back and fell off recently.
Thanks Jess.Samsung 60" UN60ES6100 LED, Outlaw Audio 976 Pre/Pro Samsung BDP, Amazon Firestick, Phillips CD Changer Canare 14 ga - LCR tweeters inside*; Ctr Ch outside BJC 10 ga: LCR mids “Foamed & Plugged**”, inside* & out
8 ga Powerline: LR woofers, inside* & out
*soldered **Rob the Man (Xschop) LR: Tri-amped RTi A7 w/Rotels. Woofers - 980BX; Tweets & Mids - 981, connected w/Monoprice Premiere ICs
Ctr Ch: Rotel RB981 -> Bi-amped CSi A6 Surrounds: Premiere ICs ->Rotel 981 -> AR 12 ga -> RTi A3. 5 Subs: Sunfire True SW Signature -> LFE & Ctr Ch; 4 Audio Pro Evidence @ the “Corners”. Power Conditioning & Distribution: 4 dedicated 20A feeds; APC H15; 5 Furman Miniport 20s -
Samsung 60" UN60ES6100 LED, Outlaw Audio 976 Pre/Pro Samsung BDP, Amazon Firestick, Phillips CD Changer Canare 14 ga - LCR tweeters inside*; Ctr Ch outside BJC 10 ga: LCR mids “Foamed & Plugged**”, inside* & out
8 ga Powerline: LR woofers, inside* & out
*soldered **Rob the Man (Xschop) LR: Tri-amped RTi A7 w/Rotels. Woofers - 980BX; Tweets & Mids - 981, connected w/Monoprice Premiere ICs
Ctr Ch: Rotel RB981 -> Bi-amped CSi A6 Surrounds: Premiere ICs ->Rotel 981 -> AR 12 ga -> RTi A3. 5 Subs: Sunfire True SW Signature -> LFE & Ctr Ch; 4 Audio Pro Evidence @ the “Corners”. Power Conditioning & Distribution: 4 dedicated 20A feeds; APC H15; 5 Furman Miniport 20s -
The part between the ends is warm or hot depending... Had not considered worn plugsIs it just the ends that are hot or is it the cord itself? Could be worn plugs/outlet.
I’ll 2X check the heater’s cord. I think I had but...Most likely the heater itself only has 16awg wire. Is that cord hot too?
Samsung 60" UN60ES6100 LED, Outlaw Audio 976 Pre/Pro Samsung BDP, Amazon Firestick, Phillips CD Changer Canare 14 ga - LCR tweeters inside*; Ctr Ch outside BJC 10 ga: LCR mids “Foamed & Plugged**”, inside* & out
8 ga Powerline: LR woofers, inside* & out
*soldered **Rob the Man (Xschop) LR: Tri-amped RTi A7 w/Rotels. Woofers - 980BX; Tweets & Mids - 981, connected w/Monoprice Premiere ICs
Ctr Ch: Rotel RB981 -> Bi-amped CSi A6 Surrounds: Premiere ICs ->Rotel 981 -> AR 12 ga -> RTi A3. 5 Subs: Sunfire True SW Signature -> LFE & Ctr Ch; 4 Audio Pro Evidence @ the “Corners”. Power Conditioning & Distribution: 4 dedicated 20A feeds; APC H15; 5 Furman Miniport 20s -
I look at this link. Suggests something IS wrong - E cords, theoretically, should not get even slightly warm.
Samsung 60" UN60ES6100 LED, Outlaw Audio 976 Pre/Pro Samsung BDP, Amazon Firestick, Phillips CD Changer Canare 14 ga - LCR tweeters inside*; Ctr Ch outside BJC 10 ga: LCR mids “Foamed & Plugged**”, inside* & out
8 ga Powerline: LR woofers, inside* & out
*soldered **Rob the Man (Xschop) LR: Tri-amped RTi A7 w/Rotels. Woofers - 980BX; Tweets & Mids - 981, connected w/Monoprice Premiere ICs
Ctr Ch: Rotel RB981 -> Bi-amped CSi A6 Surrounds: Premiere ICs ->Rotel 981 -> AR 12 ga -> RTi A3. 5 Subs: Sunfire True SW Signature -> LFE & Ctr Ch; 4 Audio Pro Evidence @ the “Corners”. Power Conditioning & Distribution: 4 dedicated 20A feeds; APC H15; 5 Furman Miniport 20s -
Many thanks to all. I have a little investigative work to do...Samsung 60" UN60ES6100 LED, Outlaw Audio 976 Pre/Pro Samsung BDP, Amazon Firestick, Phillips CD Changer Canare 14 ga - LCR tweeters inside*; Ctr Ch outside BJC 10 ga: LCR mids “Foamed & Plugged**”, inside* & out
8 ga Powerline: LR woofers, inside* & out
*soldered **Rob the Man (Xschop) LR: Tri-amped RTi A7 w/Rotels. Woofers - 980BX; Tweets & Mids - 981, connected w/Monoprice Premiere ICs
Ctr Ch: Rotel RB981 -> Bi-amped CSi A6 Surrounds: Premiere ICs ->Rotel 981 -> AR 12 ga -> RTi A3. 5 Subs: Sunfire True SW Signature -> LFE & Ctr Ch; 4 Audio Pro Evidence @ the “Corners”. Power Conditioning & Distribution: 4 dedicated 20A feeds; APC H15; 5 Furman Miniport 20s -
I have the same question DaveHo had, regarding whether it is the cord that is warm along it's entire length or whether it is just the plugs at the ends that are warm?
If it's the entire cord, well any electrical wire will act as an electric heater of it's own, where the power dissipated by it is the current squared x resistance. That power dissipation, distributed accross the entire length can cause the wire to rise in temperature. How much depends upon lots of things like thermal conductivity of the insulation and convective heat transfer conditions around the wire. If it's too warm for your peace of mind maybe you have to double the wire up and run two of them parallel with Y connectors at each end, or get a cable that is higher awg still. I do believe, to cover their asses, most electric heater mfg's say simply do not use any extension cord. Any plug and socket connection has the potential to be a high resistance poor connection with the obvious worst case scenario being arcing.George / NJ
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Not sure what you mean, small rated? Do you mean the heater itself? If so, a 15 amp line is 1800 watts and the safe load zone is less 20%, so 1440 watts. If you are cranking the heater up so that it's pulling the full 1500 watts continuous I'm not surprised the cord is getting warm. The line coming in will be warm too. A dedicated 20 amp line run with 12 or 10 gauge Romex along with a 12 gauge extension cord will keep things cool.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
All in...sounds dangerous to me!!! Not something that would be running in my house.2 Channel Rosso Fiorentino Volterra II, 2 REL Carbon Limited, Norma Revo IPA-140B, Lumin U2 Mini, VPI Prime w/SoundSmith Zephyr MIMC, Modwright PH 150, Denon DP-59l w/Denon DL-301MKII, WAY Silver 3 Ana+ Speaker Cables, WAY Silver 4+ Interconnect Cables, AudioQuest Niagara 7000 w/Dragon and Hurricane Power Cables
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If AC cable is hot then the device is drawing more current than the cable can safely handle.Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
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Three 20 amp circuits. -
I'm betting if you read the owner's manual or the back of the heater it will tell you not to run the heater on an extension cord. Avoid a fire and follow their advice.
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hot is very bad.
warm may or may not be ok. Something drawing 1000 watts or more, run for a long time, will generate some "I^2R" heat on the cord, especially if it is long. Note that it depends on the square of the current and the resistance.
The resistance of the cord depends on cross-sectional area (gauge) and length of the conductor.
If the issue were with the outlet or the prongs of the plug, the heat would likely be concentrated there.
