How many extension cords are safe?

[John From Detroit]

NO but you should go to an electrical supply.. You buy the cord (Extra heavy) and the plug and outlet and put 'em together yourself.. Or they can put 'em together for you in some cases. YOu wont find the cord you want at Camping world or Wal*mart but someplace with a name like "Black's Electrical Supply" should have most everything you need. THe key words are "Electrical Supply" that's the search term.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

You can connect shorter ones together, too. The key is to have a large enough wire gauge to carry 30A that far without a major voltage drop or overheating.  You need 6 gauge wire to reliably carry 30A over 100 ft (3% voltage drop). Or 8 gauge if you can tolerate a 5% drop (120v drops to 114v).  A typical RV 30A cord is 10 gauge, so you need something larger than that.

You can get one made up via that supply house John suggested. Or an electrician (but his labor is going to be pricey).  Ot just DIY.

 

[meandsaul]

good thread

 

[cavie]

Problem sort of solved.  I'll take up the neighbors on using their yard and just start the fridge on propane when I need to.  The generator would be too noisy, and I like keeping all my neighbors happy.    My outlet in my garage is 20 amp and so far, no problem.  And I'm sure that just jinxed that, huh. 

your 20 amp outlet and a 50' 12 GA cord added to your shore power cord will  for the load you described.

 

[Reloadimizer]

14 gauge wire is rated for 15 amps.  12 gauge wire is rated for 20 amps.  Wiring for a 30 amp outlet must be 10 gauge if you really need all 30 amps.  If you use 14 gauge wire in a 30 amp circuit and exceed 15 amps, you will get a large voltage drop, heat, possible appliance damage, possible fire because the circuit breaker may not trip.  The 30 amp circuit breaker (120V) in your house is wired with 10 gauge wire.  Smaller gauge extension cords MUST NOT be used for current draw exceeding the numbers listed above.
You might be OK with 14 gauge extension cords to power only a small refrigerator.  Plug anything else with it and you may be in trouble.  If the RV is wired properly its circuit breakers should keep you out of trouble.  Do not run the undersized extension cord directly to the appliances.  The RV circuit breakers must be used.
Regards,
Reloadimizer

 

[decaturbob]

I'll need to move my Trend to the end of the driveway and keep it there for a month -- new concrete.  I already use a 25 - 30 foot 30 amp extension cord plugged into the power cord (probably another 25 feet long) to keep it plugged into the outlet in my garage.  Is it safe to add another cord?  Is there a maximum length of cords?  All I need is just to get the fridge ready and run the ac before a trip.

The gauge of the wire in the extension cord is what's important

 

[Ernie n Tara]

As a safe general rule, use the next heavier gauge extension cord if you are using two or more coupled together. Follow the recommendations above for wire gauge up to about 50 ft. per cord. The two factors that are important are size/gauge of the wire and length of the cord. Multiple plugged connections can also increase Voltage drop and heat.

Ernie

 

[MichaelInMA]

As many have stated the gauge of the wire is most important.  If you are using multiple cords you also need to consider the type of connectors used on the splice.  Conventual 3 pronged connectors are not suitable if it is going to rain.  You need water proof connectors like on the side of the RV.

Yes, I know that people often use these connectors to put up the Christmas lights outdoor.  When doing this you should use a ground fault outlet (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Residual-current_device).  Lights like this are non-critical loads.  If the connectors get wet and leak a little current to the ground then they will trip immediately before any real damage is done or someone gets close to it.  I would think your refrig (or AC if it is hot out and your trailer is full of food) is a critical load so you should use water proof connectors.

 

[ZinLuvR]

The quality of the insulation and the copper are also important.  Welding cable is made up of many small strands of copper wire and can handle more current than the equal gauge of solid wire.  Insulation has different qualities as well.  Your best cord would be to buy bulk cable from a supply house and match the amperage of the cord caps as well.  Each cap will have an amperage rating printed on it.  The trouble is finding 30 amp cord caps in the U ground configuration.  The saying a chain is only as strong as it's weakest link applies.  People have and will get nice 10 ga cable and then put a cheap 15 amp rated cord cap on each end of the cable, which then gives you an expensive 15 amp extension cord.

 

[NY_Dutch]

Are you getting paid per post or per click...

 

[beaverfever]

invest in a kiil o watt meter
,cheap insurance. just plug it in at it will show you real time volts.
10 gauge extension is the minimum you will need with that long run.

 

[Kirk]

This thread is 2 years old and the post is spam.

 

[winona]

What a reminder of how old my driveway is. To clarify, all worked out well. Uhhh except for a new crack in the new concrete.

My question now is — why do these old threads pop up? Who resurrects them?

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

My question now is — why do these old threads pop up? Who resurrects them?

They show up as "new" because somebody replied, creating new activity on an otherwise old thread. WHY people view old posts and decide to reply is a different question. All the threads ever written are here and are searchable & viewable, and there are various reasons why people do that. It's easy to caught up in the content and forget to look at the date.

 

[Tom]

What Gary said.

 

[ziplock]

There are many forums that tell you to check old threads first before repeating a question that was already ask.

I always thought that was dumb.

And people will ask a question after reading that sentence, and get shot down from people saying that question as been asked and asked, so do a search.

Seriously..............

 

[Larry N.]

There are many forums that tell you to check old threads first before repeating a question that was already ask.

I always thought that was dumb.

And people will ask a question after reading that sentence, and get shot down from people saying that question as been asked and asked, so do a search.

Seriously..............

That generally doesn't happen here, and on the very rare occasion that it might, correction is generally immediate, welcoming the questioner and trying to answer the question. That's one of MANY reasons I inhabit this forum exclusively for RV stuff.

 

[Lou Schneider]

That generally doesn't happen here, and on the very rare occasion that it might, correction is generally immediate, welcoming the questioner and trying to answer the question. That's one of MANY reasons I inhabit this forum exclusively for RV stuff.

Thanks, Larry! We try to be welcoming to newcomers, weren't we all one once?

 

[winona]

Getting offended by
something posted
on the internet is
like choosing to
step in dog ****
instead of walking
around it.

’nuff said

 

[Rob&Deryl]

I made my 25’ shore power cord and 25’ extension.
I used SOOW #6. Much more flexible than the store bought PVC cables.