What gauge outdoor extension cord should I use?

17 years ago

When temps dip down into the low 30's, I like to put a flood light below each of two citrus trees. I need a 50 foot cord. I'd like to get one with two outlets at the end. What gauge cord should I get?

Thanks,

Ginny

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Comments (3)

brickeyee
17 years ago
For even 100 watt buls a #16 cord is fine.
ginjj
Original Author
17 years ago
The bulb in one of them is 150, probably same for the other one. The housing for the bulb states 300 watts max.

Is there any way to know what the guage is on a cord I already have? I don't see anything written on the cord or label.

Ginny
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I use 100' of #14 with mine - OK, several feet less than that (see last paragraph below ;-) - but one of these days I'm going to swap it for #12. I think the voltage drop makes the motor labor at times. The reason I'm still using the #14 is that I want to find a 2-conductor #12 cable, and they're scarce. I may have to make one up. Been using electric mowers for over 10 years now. In addition to above advantages, corded electric mowers weigh a lot less than gas mowers. Very easy to use. No exhaust stench and I no longer wear hearing protectors when I mow. Rechargeable mowers might be more convenient, but you lose the weight advantage, they're less powerful, and you have to replace the battery every few seasons. Just don't mow after dusk. Every time I've run over the cord, it's been when I was trying to finish in failing light.
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Voltage drop ONLY occurs when current is flowing. The drop is the resistance of the wiring times the current. The longer the extension cord the more resistance (unless you switch to a larger diameter wire). A common mistake is to look up the wire resistance per 100 feet (a common table value) and then multiply by the cord length. The problem is the actual conductors are twice the length of the cord. One conductor out, one conductor back. Both contribute to the voltage drop. Induction (non-brush) motors pull more current at lower voltage (with the same load). This leads to additional voltage drop and heating of the windings in the motor. Heat is what kills most motors (cheap bearings are the next cause). If you have a generator this would be a good time to fire it up.
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I use green uplights/floodlights on my white stone (rest of scheme is traditional red, green, and white). Love the effect. I got them at my local hardware store. I’ve seen them at the big box stores, too. The cords on them are very short, though, so for us, lots of extension cords are still needed. One thing to note: make sure the bulbs completely cover the socket. We had some LEDs with narrow bases that didn’t, and the inside of the fixture got rained on and rusted.
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kudzu9
17 years ago
Most extension cords are 16 gauge, including a lot of the outdoor ones that look fat. Better ones are 14 gauge. Expensive ones are 12 gauge. Sometimes the capacity or gauge is embossed on one of the plug ends, the cord, or printed on the tag that came with the new cord.

In any case, if you're only going 50' and have a total of 300 watts, it's no problem. Below is a good link on extension cords. It says 16 gauge can handle 1625 watts if it is only 50' long.

Just remember that you don't want the cord or the ends to be lying in snow or water.

Here is a link that might be useful: UL - extension cords

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What gauge outdoor extension cord should I use?

Comments (3)

brickeyee

ginjj
Original Author

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What gauge outdoor extension cord should I use?

Comments (3)

brickeyee

ginjjOriginal Author

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kudzu9

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ginjj
Original Author