On Sat, 18 Dec 2004 02:38:21 GMT, "Mark Wells"
calmly ranted:
So I know I'm over-thinking, but this will give a chance for some of the
folks with electrical religion to let off some steam.
Amen, Brother!
I have 3 machines that all need short (10 ft) extension cords:
* 1.5 HP dust collector
* 1 HP band saw
* 1 HP jointer
All run on 110 volts.
I'd run more wire, like 20', for each tool in case you want to
swap them around at a later date. You could easily run 12ga for
your short runs but if they'll get run over at all, 10ga would
be the call I'd make. I have all 5' rubber-wheeled casters in the
shop, so they're easy on cords when that happens. the cast iron
wheeled tablesaur is the exception, but it has the armored, 3/4"
thick 10ga cabling on it.
Here is the cable rating for extension cords.
------------------------------------
| AMP RATING | LENGTH 25' 50' 100' |
|------------------------------------|
| 0-6 amps | gauge 16 16 16 |
| 7-10 | 18 16 14 |
| 11-12 | 16 16 14 |
| 13-16 | 14 14 12 |
| 17-20 | 12 12 10 |
| 21-30 | 10 10 NO |
------------------------------------
(if you're not running a fixed width font, you'll get dizzy on that)
Figures courtesy of the Grizzly G1012 instruction manual.
I've read everything from "don't ever use extension cords with woodworking
machines" to "14 gauge, 50 ft cord is fine."
The dust collector says that its max draw is 18 amps. I can't find any
extension cord, no matter what gauge, that says it is rated for more than 15
amps. That seems odd to me since an extension cord doesn't seem
fundamentally different than Romex to me.
It's stranded-wire vs. the solid-wired Romex, and it has an entirely
different jacket. Other than being -totally- different animals,
they're quite alike, just as you say.
Here's what I was thinking
* dust collector - 10 gauge, 10 foot extension cord
* band saw - 12 gauge, 10 foot extension cord
* jointer - 12 gauge, 10 foot extension cord
I was going to get 10 gauge for all of them, but the 10 is twice as much as
the 12 and I'm not convinced I need the extra weight.
When in doubt, go heavy. What's an extra 30 cents a foot, anyway?
I bought 50' of 12ga for my 220v bandsaw and dust collector, 25'
apiece. The 30' cable on the table saw is 10ga and is nearly double
the thickness of the new stuff. That cable is thick and protects the
wiring inside better, so it's worth the few extra bucks. I think
it was 25 or 30 cents a foot more, but if I needed a 100' extension
cord for a power tool, I'd go with the thicker stuff despite its cost
and weight. It could mean the difference between smoking the tool
or running it nicely. The difference in price there would be more
than enough to warrant the heavier gauge.
--
Sex is Evil, Evil is Sin, Sin is Forgiven.
Gee, ain't religion GREAT?
---------------------------------------------
http://diversify.com Sin-free Website Design