On Fri, 01 Aug 2008 09:49:07 -0500, nick hull wrote:

I need a 150' extension cord and all I can find are 100' cords. Yes I
know I can plug a 50' cord into a 100' cord, but that gives a lump foe
my cord winder; I would still like a 150' cord. Any clue who sells
them? Don't need heavy duty, a light flexible cord would be best.

Free men own guns - www(dot)geocities(dot)com/CapitolHill/5357/

Your local electrical supply wholesaler - where the electricians go
for their 'stuff'. IIRC, you're across the pond - but they have to
exist over there too... ;-)

The bulk cord comes in 250' and 500' reels depending on the gauge,
and longer if you want to order it in. (Yes, you can make a 2,500'
long extension cord for your gold mine...) They will be glad to
measure and cut off a 150' chunk, whatever style you want. And should
have the heavy-duty cord caps you need for the ends.

There are many grades, the US System is 'SO' for heavy duty rubber
jacket, Junior cord for light duty 'SJO'. The thermoplastic jacket
has a T in the mark - 'STO' and 'SJTO' The O is oil resistant, they
tack a W on the end for water resistant 'STOW'.

There's a special lightweight plastic with an E code for ultra-low
temperatures (-67F) carrying SEOW or SJEOW markings. You do NOT want
a P in the code (SPT), that's parallel conductors (flat lay) with no
jacket, meant for indoor light-duty use only. Logical open-coded
system, all you have to remember is what each letter stands for...

Which of course the rest of the world totally ignores for an ISO
standard that you have to go look up in a reference book to decipher.
This is better?? :-(

And the part about "connecting the cord backwards" isn't totally a
joke - you'll notice the lay of the conductors as Black-White-Green
(or Blue-Brown-Green/Yellow for the Euro coding system) will drop
right into the cord cap holes at both ends one way, and will need to
be twisted at both ends to hit the right pins the other way.

If you find yourself flopping the wires inside the cord cap, stop
and try the other end of the cable. Because if the insulation fails
from age right there where they cross, you get fireworks.

-- Bruce --