SOOW or STW for panel main power cord

I've been looking for a power cord for my 50A brewing panel. Is one type of cord better than the other for our application? I'm looking at a cord that's at least 25' so weight and flexibility are important. From what I've seen the SOOW is a little more expensive. I don't mind spending more if it's worth it.

 

I bought a pre-made 50a range cord that was 6' long - it came with the plug and was $30 bucks or so. It's kinda stiff but at that price, I'll wrestle with it.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002YURAW/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

I actually was planning to go that route (already bought the range cord). Then I changed my mind and decided to go with a twist lock cord. In my case it won't end up costing that much more. I was going to have to get a 50A extension cord anyway. Now I'm trying to decide whether to go with a pre-made STW cord or build my own out of SOOW.

 

The O in SOOW means oil resistant, one O means outer jacket, the other means the conductor insulaton, otherwise they are pretty much the same.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_cord

 

My cord is 10/3 SJOOW and I bought the cord & plug at LOWES.

I looked at the STW cord and the covering is some kind of hard plastic instead of rubber. It's also much stiffer than the SJOOW cord. If flexibility don't matter than the cheapest one should be fine.

For 50 Amps won't you need something like #6 wire for your power cord?

 

The J stands for junior service, rated at 300v instead of 600v and is softer and more flexible. My first choice would probably be SJW or SJOW SJOOW if I were to also use it as a deep fryer. If you think it might be subject to more physical abuse then SOOW would be better.

 

If you're looking for the best flexibility, consider SJEOOW - it features a thermoplastic elastomer jacket which means that the cable remains more flexible than a standard (less expensive) cord.

Nomenclature Key:

S = Service Grade (also means extra hard service when not followed by J, V, or P)*
E = Thermoplastic Elastomer (UL/NEC designation ONLY)
O = Oil Resistant**
T = Thermoplastic
W = Outdoor-includes sunlight resistant jacket and wet location rated conductors (formerly "W-A")
H = Heater cable
VW-1 = Flame retardant
FT2 = Flame retardant

*J = Hard Service
V = Vacuum cleaner cord (also light duty cable)
P = Parallel cord (also known as zip cord) – Always light duty


** When only one "O" appears in a classification (i.e. SJEOW), only the outer jacket material is oil resistant. If two "O's" are in the classification (i.e. SEOOW), the insulation covering the conductors and the outer jacket insulation are all oil resistant

Kal

 

Thanks for all the input. I think I'll go with a SOOW cord for the better flexibility over STW. Since I'm running 50A, I'll need 6/4 cord. I looked for SJOOW/SJEOOW and wasn't finding any 6/4.

I found a 25' cord (without the plugs) for $82, which is the cheapest I've seen per foot without buying a ton.

 

I went with a 30 ft 50A RV extension cord and a 4 ft 50A range cord for my controller.It worked out cheaper than building a 30' cord and I figured that I can always use the extension cord for my welders too. The extension cord is VERY heavy and nicely built. Here is a link to the cord if you are interested...
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0024ECIP0/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Best of luck

 

I was looking at that cord but wasn't sure how stiff it would be. Is it pretty flexible?

 

http://www.ebrewsupply.com/shop/more/wire-and-cable/6-3-sjoow-cable-10-ft-cut.html It's a ten foot cut but maybe you could talk to him and see if he can get a bigger length for you.

 

It seems pretty flexible, I haven't had a chance to route it yet (I plan to use conduit straps to run it on my wall. It's a thick heavy cord so you might not be able to wrap it really tight around a corner but seems pretty flexible.

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