this post was submitted on 26 Dec 2024
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"never plug extension cords into extension cords" is probably the most common piece of electrical related advice I've ever heard. But if you have, say, 2 x 2m long extension cords, and you plug one into the other, why is that considered a lot more unsafe than just using a single 4 or 5 meter cord?

Does it just boil down to that extra connection creating another opportunity for the prongs to slip out and cause a spark or short circuit? Or is there something else happening there?

For that matter - why aren't super long extension cords (50 or more meters) considered unsafe? Does that also just come down to a matter of only having 2 connections versus 4 or more on a daisy chained cord?

Followup stupid question: is whatever causes piggybacked extension cords to be considered unsafe actually that dangerous, or is it the sort of thing that gets parroted around and misconstrued/blown out of proportion? On a scale from "smoking 20 packs of cigarettes a day" to "stubbing your toe on a really heavy piece of furniture", how dangerous would you subjectively rate daisy chaining extension cords, assuming it was only 1 hop (2 extension cords, no more), and was kept under 5 or 10 metres?

I'm sure there's probably somebody bashing their head against a wall at these questions, but I'm not trying to be ignorant, I'm just curious. Thank you for tolerating my stupid questions

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[โ€“] BombOmOm@lemmy.world 1 points 21 hours ago* (last edited 21 hours ago) (1 children)

The longer the cord is the more resistance there is; ie the more electrical load on the circuit. As long as you are pulling less than what the circuit and cord is rated for, there isn't an issue, you will just be wasting a little extra power from the extra resistance. The plugs themselves can also have a bit of extra resistance.

Two pieces of advice that will make the biggest difference:

  • Keep the total length of all extension cables used as short as is reasonable. Don't use a 20m cable when a 4m cable will do.

  • Buy extension cords with higher wire gauges (higher wire thicknesses). A 12 gauge cable (4mm^2^) will provide notably less resistance than a 14 (2.5mm^2^) or 16 gauge cable (1.5mm^2^). The packaging will say what gauge it is. Note, I'm talking about the thickness of the metal itself, not the thickness of the extension cord as a whole. I have seen some very, very thick extension cords with absolute trash wires inside.

[โ€“] deranger@sh.itjust.works 1 points 20 hours ago* (last edited 20 hours ago)

The more resistance there is, the less the electrical load is. Maximum electrical load would be a short circuit (near zero resistance, maximum current flow); minimum would be a cord or device with infinite resistance (no current flow).

Considering V=I*R and P=I^2 * R, increasing resistance will decrease current and this will decrease power.