Do coiled power cords heat up and cause fires?
I've heard many folks on this forum say that if you leave a power cord coiled up or don't roll it out all the way, it will heat up and could eventually catch fire.
This seems extraordinary to me since 1) there just isn't that much current running through these cables and 2) The wires are insulated and I would think inductors require much closer spacing of wires and a lot more of them. and 3) I've never noticed my coiled wires getting very warm at all and 4) There's nothing about this hazard in the owner's manual.
So what's the truth here? Am I taking dangerous risks or can I sleep in peace?
On Edit: The responses to this post have been terrific. After reading all of them I've concluded that 1) there is no inductive heating of the wires as you might have under other circumstances and 2) there is always resistive heating of wires when you pass a current through them.
The general consensus of all the responses is that while there is no inductive heating caused by coiled wires, there could be a small amount of resistive heating in the wires. However, This resistive heating will probably be about 45-70 watts depending on how much power is being used in the coach. That amount of heating is unlikely to ever cause a fire hazard. Nothing to worry about with standard RV power cords. So coil away in peace.
The bigger fear would be in using small gauge extension cords and coiling them or gathering them or covering them in carpet and trapping the heat. Small gauge cords will have more resistance and, hence, more heating which could accumulate and cause problems.
Thank you to all who posted.
This seems extraordinary to me since 1) there just isn't that much current running through these cables and 2) The wires are insulated and I would think inductors require much closer spacing of wires and a lot more of them. and 3) I've never noticed my coiled wires getting very warm at all and 4) There's nothing about this hazard in the owner's manual.
So what's the truth here? Am I taking dangerous risks or can I sleep in peace?
On Edit: The responses to this post have been terrific. After reading all of them I've concluded that 1) there is no inductive heating of the wires as you might have under other circumstances and 2) there is always resistive heating of wires when you pass a current through them.
The general consensus of all the responses is that while there is no inductive heating caused by coiled wires, there could be a small amount of resistive heating in the wires. However, This resistive heating will probably be about 45-70 watts depending on how much power is being used in the coach. That amount of heating is unlikely to ever cause a fire hazard. Nothing to worry about with standard RV power cords. So coil away in peace.
The bigger fear would be in using small gauge extension cords and coiling them or gathering them or covering them in carpet and trapping the heat. Small gauge cords will have more resistance and, hence, more heating which could accumulate and cause problems.
Thank you to all who posted.
