Forum Discussion
wa8yxm
Nov 08, 2015Explorer III
IT depends on many things.. But the biggies are
How big is the cord
How tight is the coil
How many "Layers" is the coil
How much current.
I too have never seen a fire from one that I am sure of (I have seen many fires where I do not know the cause, and many where I do, I mean I lived in Detroit after all).
But I have drawn say 5 amps off a 12GA cord that was coiled and though it did not melt and it did not catch fire.. I could not hold the coil in my hand, and I can generally hold things others find too hot to handle. I mean it was alarming and I was no where near the cord's 20 amp rating.
Had I drawn more power I'm sure there would have been issues.
Bottom line, a single turn will likely not cause a problem even two turns.. And most RV cords are heavy enough and short enough that 3 turns is not likely.
How big is the cord
How tight is the coil
How many "Layers" is the coil
How much current.
I too have never seen a fire from one that I am sure of (I have seen many fires where I do not know the cause, and many where I do, I mean I lived in Detroit after all).
But I have drawn say 5 amps off a 12GA cord that was coiled and though it did not melt and it did not catch fire.. I could not hold the coil in my hand, and I can generally hold things others find too hot to handle. I mean it was alarming and I was no where near the cord's 20 amp rating.
Had I drawn more power I'm sure there would have been issues.
Bottom line, a single turn will likely not cause a problem even two turns.. And most RV cords are heavy enough and short enough that 3 turns is not likely.
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