Extension cords...

Anyone have a good set up with extension cords? One of mine blew the other day when I plugged a small heater up to it. Any particular cords that hold high wattage?

i buy the ones from home depot that are labled for "contractor use".
haven't had one of those blow yet.

Just read abotut this today. Get the shortest cord you can and make sure its a contractor grounded style. Make sure it is also a 15amp cord. Not sure how many amps your heater is but it should say on the side. You may want to get a heater that pulls less amps.

I'm not sure what you mean by the extension cord blew. Usually, it's the fuse that blows, or the breaker trips if it's been overloaded. If you're blowing fuses, getting a different extension cord won't work. Sometimes those little heaters can draw 1000W on high, so if there are a lot of other things already plugged into that cord, then the heater might be too much for the circuit.

Ok thanks alot. I'll get one of those contractor cords.

The bigger the awg wire the more current it can handle. Standard extension cords are 18awg. For tungsten loads such as heats, lights ect... you want to get a wire that can handle twice your rated load.

A 12awg wire can handle a 10amp non-tungsten load. So lets say your your 1000watt heater with is a tungsten load you would need a 10awg extension cord. Solid core wires can handle more power but are less flexible.

All wires have the gauge "awg" etched into the cord covering.

I wondered what blowing a cord meant too. Space heaters are usually 1500 watts. I agree if it is blowing circuit breakers then you need a larger breaker or something and that is not something to be ignored. When I redesigned my grow area I had an electricial put in a dedicated circuit with 8 outlets placed where I needed them.

Try not to plug any heater into any extension cord, it have tendency to burn plugs connected into extension cord.

Average consumer appliances breaker rated at 20A, that go with the cable connected between the breaker and the wall adaptor are also at 20A.

If you only upgrade the circuit breaker, not the cable as well. IT WILL BURN THE CABLE!!! Since the breaker are capable to handle higher amperage, it will not protect the cable from burning.

If the cable burns, so does your house. Be very careful.

Ok, I got it. But I think it was that particular cord that blew because I re set all the breakers and only 2 of my 4 lights came back on. The two that did not, were hooked up to the cord that blew. I changed cords and the lights came back on at that point. Well thanks for the imput.

be safe people. extension cord are only for temp use. the rule is if ur gonna be using it for over a month you should run a wire to it. if you have a lot of "serg protectors" and extension ide recomend using a fire alarm system (wired all togeather to the whole house) and some fire extinguishers. be safe out there.