Extension Cord

12ga is fine for your use.

352 wrote:

enblethen wrote:
Even though you pan on using minimal power except for a heater and especially because of the heater, I would suggest using a 10 gauge extension cord. Be prepared for connector and trailer 15/30 adapter failure on any cord you decide on. I would be prepared with a 30TT female connector to replace the standard 15 amp cord body for the trailer end of cord.
another option is to get 10/2 with ground UF cable instead of an extension cord. Build your own "cord" with it.
10/3 100foot extension cord

What he said

About X5!
Running a 1500 watt heater on a 100’ 12 gauge extension cord is asking for problems.

Hi SoundGuy,

No, your reply to my post did not mention voltage drop. It said
the heaters did not "do" their rated output.

I do respect you, but you and I do not communicate well with each other.

No one has mentioned running the converter which I expect is NOT a resistance load. I know IOTA can work at 95 volts--but what does the OP have?

SoundGuy wrote:

pianotuna wrote:
SoundGuy,

In that case the heater that does 900 watts may only output approximately 684 watts at 105 volts input.

Label output errors have nothing to do with what I was trying to explain, which that voltage drop for resistance heating devices make a large difference in "real" output.

:h Isn't that what I just said? :R Greater voltage drop over 100' of 12 gauge vs the same length of 10 gauge. :S Point is, it's a moot point as long as the OP restricts his use to low draw devices. If he does plug in an electric heater it won't generate as much heat if running on 100' of 12 gauge as it would if running on 100' of 10 gauge. So what? It's a resistance device and won't care, it will just output less heat - whether this is acceptable for the OP is up to him to decide, not us. OTOH if he expects to run an inductive load such as his A/C he'd be well advised not to as the voltage drop over 100' of 12 gauge will be excessive and he can bet his A/C won't like it.

10 gauge for a long run at 15 amps.

pianotuna wrote:
SoundGuy,

In that case the heater that does 900 watts may only output approximately 684 watts at 105 volts input.

Label output errors have nothing to do with what I was trying to explain, which that voltage drop for resistance heating devices make a large difference in "real" output.

:h Isn't that what I just said? :R Greater voltage drop over 100' of 12 gauge vs the same length of 10 gauge. :S Point is, it's a moot point as long as the OP restricts his use to low draw devices. If he does plug in an electric heater it won't generate as much heat if running on 100' of 12 gauge as it would if running on 100' of 10 gauge. So what? It's a resistance device and won't care, it will just output less heat - whether this is acceptable for the OP is up to him to decide, not us. OTOH if he expects to run an inductive load such as his A/C he'd be well advised not to as the voltage drop over 100' of 12 gauge will be excessive and he can bet his A/C won't like it.

SoundGuy,

In that case the heater that does 900 watts may only output approximately 684 watts at 105 volts input.

Label output errors have nothing to do with what I was trying to explain, which that voltage drop for resistance heating devices make a large difference in "real" output.

It is one reason I tend to use an autoformer even in winter.

pianotuna wrote:
So that 1500 watt heater puts out only 1,140 watts.

Rarely does a so-called "1500 watt" electric heater actually draw 1500 watts, most often much less. I've got a 1/2 dozen electric heaters of various types and only one comes anywhere near to drawing 1500 watts, one when running on HI draws a little over 900 watts despite the fact it's labeled as a "1500 watt" heater.

120 x 120 = 14,400

105 x 105 = 11,025

11,025 / 14,400 =~76% or a loss of 24% of wattage.

So that 1500 watt heater puts out only 1,140 watts.

enblethen wrote:
OP said occaisonal use of heater. Throw 1500 watt heater into equation!

If by "heater" the OP meant a 1500 watt electric heater it won't care what the voltage is as it's a resistance only device. Whether it's seeing say 115 volts under load or 105 volts under load it'll still work just fine, it'll just generate a little less heat at a lower incoming voltage.

15 and 20 amp cord connectors are quite often miss stated. The 15 amp has parrallel phase conductor blades where the 20 amp has the neutral conductor blade perpendicular to the phase conductor blade. The blades are the same size between the 15 and 20 amp..
Ground conductor can be reduced in size which is very common on most electrical cables.