200 feet of extension cords, is it to much??

[accio! chickens]

I'm sort of in this same pickle. I need to run a stock tank heater to a tank that is a 100ft + 20ft heavy duty extension cord away.

I'm hoping to run electrics to my fields over the summer.

 

[sparkles2307]

Quote:
We have the same thing. DH sets the connection points up on blocks and then under buckets to keep them dry. We run them thru the buildings as much as we can to avoid anything happening to the cords. We do this for not only the chicken barn but also for the tractor plug-in and have never had troubles, we just use the heavy duty cords.

 

[lighthawk]

I ran electric to my shed this summer about 100 feet from my service box on the house. I asked an electrician what size wire I would need for a 60 amp service in the shed and I was told #6 copper which is very expensive. He reccommended I use #4 aluminum instead. If you are going to use 12 gauge copper (Which I think may be overkill) and only need to power a light bulb and small heater you might be better off to ask a professional what size aluminum wire would suit your needs it could save you a lot of money. Either way to be safe you most definately will want to use underground wire not romex. You will also want to avoid splicing anywhere in the line at all costs.
Important thing is to speak with a lICENSED electrician and follow his instructions.
Slould you decide to just use ANY extension cord outdoors always be certain it is pluged into an outlet with a ground fault circuit interupter.

 

[Mac in Wisco]

Quote:
But won't all them crazy little electrons bunch up when they get to the smaller cord...

It doesn't make any difference what order you put the cords in. The total voltage drop at the end of both cords is the same either way. You're not gaining anything by putting the larger one first.

 

[twentynine]

Yes! #12 ga copper may be "overkill" but power up to 20 amps would be available. #14 ga while big enough for 15 amps of service in theory, and used in dang near every home being built today, over a distance 200 ft if anything beside a light bulb is needed in the future it wwould not be adaquate.

And the cost difference between a 250' roll of 12/2 wg romex and 14/2 wg is less than $25.

go with 12/2 wg romex, either 1/2" or 3/4" gray PVC conduit, 15 amp breaker

No way would I invest in 200' of extension cord if needed only for the barn. Spend your money 1 time.

You can as a previous poster said add a sub pamel to your existing meter, fused/breakered at 60 amps use #6 copper (or #4 aluminum with proper connectors) 2 conductors and a nuetral (install a ground rod at the barn), enclose in 3/4" conduit and the install an electrical panel in the barn for power distribution there. A 60 amp service is enough to run a small home, welding machine, power tools, lights, small heater, fridge, freezer, small A/C. This may be the way to go in spring, but right now you need power today. If you decide in the spring to install a 60 amp sub panel the 12/2 wg can be re-use when you wire your barn.

Running several extension cords along the ground in wet weather is eventually asking for a problem. Unless you run one length with no intermediate connections.

 

[camillebug]

Camille's dad here. I put a box next to my outside GFI outlet. The outlet is on a 15 amp breaker. I then wired a plug onto a piece of 10 gauge stranded wire about 2' long. The other end of the stranded wire goes into the electrical box. I then ran UF rated 12 gauge romex from the box to the coop. I did this before the snow came and buried the wire by slicing the sod with an electric edger borrowed from a neighbor, and tucked the wire in the slice. You can't tell it's there now. I drilled a 3/4" hole in the coop wall and threaded a romex clamp into the hole. Inside the coop are 2 boxes, one for a light on a timer and one for a cookie tin water heater. The cookie tin has a 15W light bulb and the timed light is a 40W CF that draws about 9W. W/V = A. This is important in determining the amp load on the circuit. 21W/110V=.19 amps of power draw. Not even close to the 15A the circuit will provide. I used the heavy stranded wire attached to the plug because solid wire on a plug end is just not right. Hope this helps.

 

[twentynine]

ginbart-----

Sorry sometimes I get carried away.

okay watts divided by voltage equals amps.


So in your case if you are using the extension cord for your cookie tin heater (25w) and a 60w light bulb.

25+60 = 85w

85w divided by 110v = .772 amps

At that load actually a 16 gauge cord would work. I stress however do not go to adding heat lamps and such to that load. 16 ga extension cord can be purchased in bulk from Home Depot. Buy the desired length, a female and a male 110v plug. The plugs will come with instructions, but basicly black wire on copper connector-white wire on the silver--green wire on the green connector.

I still am against using a collection of cords to make the distance, I don't care about tape, lifting off the ground, covering with buckets, you are 90000% better off with out the intermediate connections.

And----

I garauntee buying the cord in bulk length is cheaper than buying 3 or 4, 50' cords.

 

[Akane]

If by the time you get to the 2nd cord you've already lost more power than it can carry as a maximum then you won't have as much at the end of it so putting the cord that can carry more power first will make sure you get as much power to the 2nd cord as possible and hopefully all it can carry. Of course it will lower things more than just using 2 thicker cords but it won't lower things as much as using 2 thin cords. If the first cord is the smaller one you already have less electricity by the time you reach the 2nd cord. If we always had the same power left at the other end then it wouldn't matter what size cord we used. Unless you were drawing close to what the cord was rated for you'd get the same result putting 3 16gauge together as 3 12gauge but that's not what happens. 100' of either cord will run my space heater while 200' of 16 gauge will not and 200' of 12 gauge will (3 will not). At the other end of 2 12gauge cords there is still close to what the 16 gauge can carry with one cord but at the end of 2 16 cords there is not anywhere near what a 12 could carry. If I put a 16 followed by 2 12s and plug in 2 heated buckets and 2 250w heat lamps the lamps will dim but if I reverse it and put the 16 last the lamps will not dim when everything is plugged in because the first 2 cords get more power to the last one than the smaller cord could get to the other 2 if reversed. Done it because it was more convenient at the time to put the 16 gauge in at the beginning until I could get another 12-14 but it wouldn't run the extra light that way. I had to cut the electrical tape to put it in at the end right before my surge protector.


If you can wire ends on your cords then buying in bulk would be great but you can't hardly find extension cords with plugs attached at more than 100-200'. Even then they are very very costly in the higher gauge and if you want 12-14 gauge at 100' or more you pretty much have to go online. For those that have no electrical knowledge to attach their own plug or box to bulk wire and no money to pay an electrician to run wire (they quoted $500 for me if I had boxes put in) then you don't have much choice but multiple extension cords. I keep annoying my grandpa who was an electrician to help me run some wire but it's not uncommon for it to take him 3 years to get around to something.

 

[redstars]

Quote:
So what do you expect to happen if you put the 14 gauge cord first?

The fire will be away from the house more.

 

[tenderkat]

Wow!! I followed this thread almost right up to the end. At that point, my brain shorted out, and my head caught on fire!!!