Extension Cord Safety

[whovous]

I don't want to bore everyone with the details of the "why" but I need to put my fermentation chamber (a very old 15cf refrigerator) on a 15 foot extension cord.

Can I get away with 14 gauge/15 amp wire? If not, where do I find a 20 amp cord that is 15 feet long and does not have weird connectors on one end or the other? So far, Amazon has not been my friend.

 

[Rcbandl]

I would think a 15 amp cord would be fine. what is the amperage draw on the fridge?

 

[whovous]

I don't really know. It is at least 25 years old, and I do not know if it has any labels left on it that might answer that question. I was hoping someone had an idea.

 

[Rcbandl]

One of my chest freezers is pretty old and its max draw is only 10amps

 

[tstanonis1]

typically you would want the wire to handle more then the breaker it's connected to. your really talking small amounts of money when it come to the extension cord. yeah a good quality 12 gauge cord could be as much as 60 bucks at home depot but what would a fire in the garage cost you in the long run? that being said your 14 gauge cord will handle 15 amps, your compressor isn't running non-stop, and the highest amp draw should be on start up. you should be fine...

things that could go wrong: a capacitor that wears out will cause an unusually high amp draw while running, as will a potential relay that's not switching correctly. A compressor failure like locked rotor or scrambled mechanically. A slight but not direct short in the compressor... 99% of the time your fine, but i's spend the money to know the cord wasn't what caught my house on fire. I'd rather see the breaker trip the the cord be too small and get hot...

 

[whovous]

OK, I have poked around the garage. It has its own electrical box for the garage and the "office/apartment" above it. Instead of a 15-20' extension cord, I can run a 6-8' line from a ceiling outlet that, near as I can tell, is alone on the 15 amp circuit which powers the garage door opener. The other end of that cord will wind up directly above my Fermostat, and I can run its power cord straight up from there. The remaining arrangement for power out from the Fermostat to the fridge and the ceramic lamp heater in the fridge can remain unchanged.

I think this will be the shortest run as well as the most difficult to either trip over or disconnect by accident. Also, having a relatively unused circuit (garage opener only) cannot hurt. Make sense? Any other thoughts? Moving the fridge is not really an option, given the remaining mess in the garage.

 

[augiedoggy]

Its really pretty simple. If the fridge has a regular 15 amp plug than your safe with a 15 amp extension cord if it draws more than 15 amps it would have a 20a plug on it.... (check the extension cords because most 3 prong 14 gauge cords are only for 12 amps due to codes) a a 20a cord is for use with a 20 amp outlet but even a 15 amp plug will plug into it fine...

as others have said the fridge likely draws like 7-9 amps and draws 12-14 amps for a second of two on startup... any 14 gauge utility extension cord will be fine as long as its 25ft or less in length.(shorter the better) I have an old fridge from the 1940s at my cabin outdoors and running on a homemade extension cord I made with outdoor rated undergraound cable. its 12 or 14 guage and the cord is about 50ft long.... the plug/cord doesnt get warm at all which is a sign of problems..

 

[whovous]

OK, I like this answer a lot. The fridge definitely has a 15 amp plug. I know that for sure as it would not plug into the Fermostat if it had a 20 amp plug. I will try to find a 15a rated cord at Target before venturing off to the hole that is the local Home Depot. 8' has gotta be long enough for this.

Thanks!

 

[augiedoggy]

OK, I like this answer a lot. The fridge definitely has a 15 amp plug. I know that for sure as it would not plug into the Fermostat if it had a 20 amp plug. I will try to find a 15a rated cord at Target before venturing off to the hole that is the local Home Depot. 8' has gotta be long enough for this.

Thanks!

they make those heavy duty grey appliance extension cords in 8 ft lengths that are actually designed for this application. im sure target will have them.. if not lowes or home depot for sure.

 

[broadbill]

OK, I have poked around the garage. It has its own electrical box for the garage and the "office/apartment" above it. Instead of a 15-20' extension cord, I can run a 6-8' line from a ceiling outlet that, near as I can tell, is alone on the 15 amp circuit which powers the garage door opener. The other end of that cord will wind up directly above my Fermostat, and I can run its power cord straight up from there. The remaining arrangement for power out from the Fermostat to the fridge and the ceramic lamp heater in the fridge can remain unchanged.

I think this will be the shortest run as well as the most difficult to either trip over or disconnect by accident. Also, having a relatively unused circuit (garage opener only) cannot hurt. Make sense? Any other thoughts? Moving the fridge is not really an option, given the remaining mess in the garage.

what about wiring another outlet off of the garage door opener outlet. Pretty simply if you know how to shut off a breaker and check for live wires. Romex, box and outlet may be cheaper than a beefy extension cord.

 

[whovous]

they make those heavy duty grey appliance extension cords in 8 ft lengths that are actually designed for this application. im sure target will have them.. if not lowes or home depot for sure.

Target had only a six footer rated at 15 amps. They did have an 8' power strip, but I did not want to figure out how to hang that from the garage ceiling. I am just going to have to convince the 6' cord to work. It will be a little kludgy but hey, if you make much beer you eventually wind up kludging lotsa things:es:

 

[whovous]

what about wiring another outlet off of the garage door opener outlet. Pretty simply if you know how to shut off a breaker and check for live wires. Romex, box and outlet may be cheaper than a beefy extension cord.

That strikes me as being a ton more work, given that the garage walls are all concrete block. I don't have the drill to deal with that. I could run Romex and mount the box on the ceiling, but if I do that, it strikes me as being just a kludgy extension cord. The 6' 15 amp cord I bought was well under $10.00.