(Preface) This morning I decided to do a little woodworking in my garage that is attached to the house but only connected to the house on one side wall. At -6F outside and 32.5F in the garage this morning when I got up, I decided to preheat the garage to get it a few degrees above freezing. I pulled out my trusty 1300 watt fan-helped floor electric heater, plugged it in and went about doing somwe other garage chores, and then did my woodworking..

When I was done, about 2 hours later, I turned off and unplugged the heater.. To my surprise, the plug was warm, not hot, but definitely warm to the touch. I took a closer look and realized that the prongs of the plug were badly tarnished/corroded. An even closer look showed that the insulation on the power cord itself was badly cracked and fallling off(from overheating maybe) for the first inch or so where it comes out of the plug.

Needless to say, I was thankful that nothing bad had happened. I could have gotten a shock from the power cord before the GFI for the garage circuits kicked out, or even a small fire if the cord had ignited some stray sawhust laying around. I am normally quite safety sensitive, so this was a wake-up call to think about safety a little more than I have apparently been doing lately!!!

On Fri, 24 Jan 2014 12:05:06 -0800 (PST), "
wrote:

(Preface) This morning I decided to do a little woodworking in my garage that is attached to the house but only connected to the house on one side wall. At -6F outside and 32.5F in the garage this morning when I got up, I decided to preheat the garage to get it a few degrees above freezing. I pulled out my trusty 1300 watt fan-helped floor electric heater, plugged it in and went about doing somwe other garage chores, and then did my woodworking.

When I was done, about 2 hours later, I turned off and unplugged the heater. To my surprise, the plug was warm, not hot, but definitely warm to the touch. I took a closer look and realized that the prongs of the plug were badly tarnished/corroded. An even closer look showed that the insulation on the power cord itself was badly cracked and fallling off(from overheating maybe) for the first inch or so where it comes out of the plug.

Needless to say, I was thankful that nothing bad had happened. I could have gotten a shock from the power cord before the GFI for the garage circuits kicked out, or even a small fire if the cord had ignited some stray sawhust laying around. I am normally quite safety sensitive, so this was a wake-up call to think about safety a little more than I have apparently been doing lately!!!

I have an electric space heater for my garage. Had a ext. cord heat,
like in your experience.

Reading the other day that ext. cords are NOT recommended for these
space heaters.

On Fri, 24 Jan 2014 12:18:27 -0800, Oren wrote:

On Fri, 24 Jan 2014 12:05:06 -0800 (PST), "
wrote:

(Preface) This morning I decided to do a little woodworking in my garage that is attached to the house but only connected to the house on one side wall. At -6F outside and 32.5F in the garage this morning when I got up, I decided to preheat the garage to get it a few degrees above freezing. I pulled out my trusty 1300 watt fan-helped floor electric heater, plugged it in and went about doing somwe other garage chores, and then did my woodworking.

When I was done, about 2 hours later, I turned off and unplugged the heater. To my surprise, the plug was warm, not hot, but definitely warm to the touch. I took a closer look and realized that the prongs of the plug were badly tarnished/corroded. An even closer look showed that the insulation on the power cord itself was badly cracked and fallling off(from overheating maybe) for the first inch or so where it comes out of the plug.

Needless to say, I was thankful that nothing bad had happened. I could have gotten a shock from the power cord before the GFI for the garage circuits kicked out, or even a small fire if the cord had ignited some stray sawhust laying around. I am normally quite safety sensitive, so this was a wake-up call to think about safety a little more than I have apparently been doing lately!!!

I have an electric space heater for my garage. Had a ext. cord heat,
like in your experience.

Reading the other day that ext. cords are NOT recommended for these
space heaters.

Cords are fine if you use a larger gauge. The heater should have a
tag with a FLA number. Get a cord that can handle it.

On Fri, 24 Jan 2014 14:28:15 -0600, philo* wrote:

On 01/24/2014 02:18 PM, Oren wrote:
On Fri, 24 Jan 2014 12:05:06 -0800 (PST), "
wrote:

(Preface) This morning I decided to do a little woodworking in my garage that is attached to the house but only connected to the house on one side wall. At -6F outside and 32.5F in the garage this morning when I got up, I decided to preheat the garage to get it a few degrees above freezing. I pulled out my trusty 1300 watt fan-helped floor electric heater, plugged it in and went about doing somwe other garage chores, and then did my woodworking.

When I was done, about 2 hours later, I turned off and unplugged the heater. To my surprise, the plug was warm, not hot, but definitely warm to the touch. I took a closer look and realized that the prongs of the plug were badly tarnished/corroded. An even closer look showed that the insulation on the power cord itself was badly cracked and fallling off(from overheating maybe) for the first inch or so where it comes out of the plug.

Needless to say, I was thankful that nothing bad had happened. I could have gotten a shock from the power cord before the GFI for the garage circuits kicked out, or even a small fire if the cord had ignited some stray sawhust laying around. I am normally quite safety sensitive, so this was a wake-up call to think about safety a little more than I have apparently been doing lately!!!

I have an electric space heater for my garage. Had a ext. cord heat,
like in your experience.

Reading the other day that ext. cords are NOT recommended for these
space heaters.




The OP made no mention of an extension cord that I saw.

I was replying to Oren. He said ext cord. I did assume the OP had
also used one, but after re reading I see that was not the case.

On 01/24/2014 02:18 PM, Oren wrote:
On Fri, 24 Jan 2014 12:05:06 -0800 (PST), "
wrote:

(Preface) This morning I decided to do a little woodworking in my garage that is attached to the house but only connected to the house on one side wall. At -6F outside and 32.5F in the garage this morning when I got up, I decided to preheat the garage to get it a few degrees above freezing. I pulled out my trusty 1300 watt fan-helped floor electric heater, plugged it in and went about doing somwe other garage chores, and then did my woodworking.

When I was done, about 2 hours later, I turned off and unplugged the heater. To my surprise, the plug was warm, not hot, but definitely warm to the touch. I took a closer look and realized that the prongs of the plug were badly tarnished/corroded. An even closer look showed that the insulation on the power cord itself was badly cracked and fallling off(from overheating maybe) for the first inch or so where it comes out of the plug.

Needless to say, I was thankful that nothing bad had happened. I could have gotten a shock from the power cord before the GFI for the garage circuits kicked out, or even a small fire if the cord had ignited some stray sawhust laying around. I am normally quite safety sensitive, so this was a wake-up call to think about safety a little more than I have apparently been doing lately!!!

I have an electric space heater for my garage. Had a ext. cord heat,
like in your experience.

Reading the other day that ext. cords are NOT recommended for these
space heaters.




The OP made no mention of an extension cord that I saw.

On Fri, 24 Jan 2014 14:28:15 -0600, philo* wrote:

On 01/24/2014 02:18 PM, Oren wrote:
On Fri, 24 Jan 2014 12:05:06 -0800 (PST), "
wrote:

(Preface) This morning I decided to do a little woodworking in my garage that is attached to the house but only connected to the house on one side wall. At -6F outside and 32.5F in the garage this morning when I got up, I decided to preheat the garage to get it a few degrees above freezing. I pulled out my trusty 1300 watt fan-helped floor electric heater, plugged it in and went about doing somwe other garage chores, and then did my woodworking.

When I was done, about 2 hours later, I turned off and unplugged the heater. To my surprise, the plug was warm, not hot, but definitely warm to the touch. I took a closer look and realized that the prongs of the plug were badly tarnished/corroded. An even closer look showed that the insulation on the power cord itself was badly cracked and fallling off(from overheating maybe) for the first inch or so where it comes out of the plug.

Needless to say, I was thankful that nothing bad had happened. I could have gotten a shock from the power cord before the GFI for the garage circuits kicked out, or even a small fire if the cord had ignited some stray sawhust laying around. I am normally quite safety sensitive, so this was a wake-up call to think about safety a little more than I have apparently been doing lately!!!

I have an electric space heater for my garage. Had a ext. cord heat,
like in your experience.

Reading the other day that ext. cords are NOT recommended for these
space heaters.




The OP made no mention of an extension cord that I saw.

My bad. I used a 12 gauge 25' ext. cord on my space heater - still
got hot a scorched the cord end.

What causes the heat and scorching; with or without an ext. cord?

On Fri, 24 Jan 2014 12:38:19 -0800, Oren wrote:

On Fri, 24 Jan 2014 14:28:15 -0600, philo* wrote:

On 01/24/2014 02:18 PM, Oren wrote:
On Fri, 24 Jan 2014 12:05:06 -0800 (PST), "
wrote:

(Preface) This morning I decided to do a little woodworking in my garage that is attached to the house but only connected to the house on one side wall. At -6F outside and 32.5F in the garage this morning when I got up, I decided to preheat the garage to get it a few degrees above freezing. I pulled out my trusty 1300 watt fan-helped floor electric heater, plugged it in and went about doing somwe other garage chores, and then did my woodworking.

When I was done, about 2 hours later, I turned off and unplugged the heater. To my surprise, the plug was warm, not hot, but definitely warm to the touch. I took a closer look and realized that the prongs of the plug were badly tarnished/corroded. An even closer look showed that the insulation on the power cord itself was badly cracked and fallling off(from overheating maybe) for the first inch or so where it comes out of the plug.

Needless to say, I was thankful that nothing bad had happened. I could have gotten a shock from the power cord before the GFI for the garage circuits kicked out, or even a small fire if the cord had ignited some stray sawhust laying around. I am normally quite safety sensitive, so this was a wake-up call to think about safety a little more than I have apparently been doing lately!!!

I have an electric space heater for my garage. Had a ext. cord heat,
like in your experience.

Reading the other day that ext. cords are NOT recommended for these
space heaters.




The OP made no mention of an extension cord that I saw.

My bad. I used a 12 gauge 25' ext. cord on my space heater - still
got hot a scorched the cord end.

What causes the heat and scorching; with or without an ext. cord?

It shouldn't have.

Here are two good answers from the Internet

If only the plug is getting hot (not the actual cord) then some of the
wire strands in the plug itself have been broken - almost always by
pulling on the cord to unplug it instead of gripping the plug itself.
Lots of people do that and it usually won't matter on small appliances
like radios or clocks. But pulling by the wire on appliances (like
kettles, toasters, electric heaters) that use a lot of current you're
asking for a fire someday. If this is the ONLY problem then replacing
the plug will cure it.

- Ensure the plug is clean and fits the outlet tightly.
(Loose plug to outlet connection will sometimes cause this.)

On 01/24/2014 02:38 PM, Oren wrote:
rs.




The OP made no mention of an extension cord that I saw.

My bad. I used a 12 gauge 25' ext. cord on my space heater - still
got hot a scorched the cord end.

What causes the heat and scorching; with or without an ext. cord?





I'd check the outlet . If the plug on the heater is tarnished more than
likely the outlet would be as well.
When in the box...it would be a good idea to check the wiring too. It
could be tarnished too and should be replaced.


As far as the heater goes I'd probably replace the entire cord and plug....
just cutting back a few inches my not be sufficient.

On 1/24/14, 12:18 PM, Oren wrote:
On Fri, 24 Jan 2014 12:05:06 -0800 (PST), "
wrote:

(Preface) This morning I decided to do a little woodworking in my garage that is attached to the house but only connected to the house on one side wall. At -6F outside and 32.5F in the garage this morning when I got up, I decided to preheat the garage to get it a few degrees above freezing. I pulled out my trusty 1300 watt fan-helped floor electric heater, plugged it in and went about doing somwe other garage chores, and then did my woodworking.

When I was done, about 2 hours later, I turned off and unplugged the heater. To my surprise, the plug was warm, not hot, but definitely warm to the touch. I took a closer look and realized that the prongs of the plug were badly tarnished/corroded. An even closer look showed that the insulation on the power cord itself was badly cracked and fallling off(from overheating maybe) for the first inch or so where it comes out of the plug.

Needless to say, I was thankful that nothing bad had happened. I could have gotten a shock from the power cord before the GFI for the garage circuits kicked out, or even a small fire if the cord had ignited some stray sawhust laying around. I am normally quite safety sensitive, so this was a wake-up call to think about safety a little more than I have apparently been doing lately!!!

I have an electric space heater for my garage. Had a ext. cord heat,
like in your experience.

Reading the other day that ext. cords are NOT recommended for these
space heaters.


Agreed... extension cords really should be avoided where high currents
will be involved, but if one must be used, be sure it's rated to carry
the required amperage or more... another often overlooked 'week link' is
outlets that don't firmly grab plugs. The cords female outlet is equally
important. It should take a little doing to push the plug in...

Have a neighbor & his wife told me of waking one night to the smell of
burning plastic/rubber. They'd plugged an electric space heater into one
of those mickey mouse plastic .99¢ store switched outlet strips... it
was a high resistance (poorly crimped) terminal within the strip that
had started burning. They were lucky too, but their house reeked for eons.

Glad you only had minimal damage...

Erik

On 1/24/2014 3:38 PM, Oren wrote:

My bad. I used a 12 gauge 25' ext. cord on my space heater - still
got hot a scorched the cord end.

What causes the heat and scorching; with or without an ext. cord?

Corrosion is electrical resistance. Amperes,
going through a resistor releases heat.

Sometimes you can reduce that, by sanding or
wire brushing the plug prongs, and using a
newer power socket.

--
..
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

On 1/24/14, 12:58 PM, philo wrote:
On 01/24/2014 02:38 PM, Oren wrote:
rs.




The OP made no mention of an extension cord that I saw.

My bad. I used a 12 gauge 25' ext. cord on my space heater - still
got hot a scorched the cord end.

What causes the heat and scorching; with or without an ext. cord?





I'd check the outlet . If the plug on the heater is tarnished more than
likely the outlet would be as well.
When in the box...it would be a good idea to check the wiring too. It
could be tarnished too and should be replaced.


As far as the heater goes I'd probably replace the entire cord and plug....
just cutting back a few inches my not be sufficient.

They make some nice replacement cord ends, just avoid the cheap crap.

Far as the cord's female end goes, if you get a 2 outlet metal box and
all the correct hardware, it'll give you 4 outlets... making the cord
much handier. You can even put in a GFCI if you like. Just don't exceed
the cords capacity.

As another poster mentioned, the outlet where the cord was plugged
during the overheat 'event' should be closely examined... personally I'd
replace it no matter how it looks. Heavy duty outlets are available, and
not a bad idea for frequently used outlets, like a shop or whatnot. They
cost a little more, but only like 2 or 3 bucks.

Erik

Per :
When I was done, about 2 hours later, I turned off and unplugged the heater. To my surprise, the plug was warm, not hot, but definitely warm to the touch. I took a closer look and realized that the prongs of the plug were badly tarnished/corroded. An even closer look showed that the insulation on the power cord itself was badly cracked and fallling off(from overheating maybe) for the first inch or so where it comes out of the plug.

Needless to say, I was thankful that nothing bad had happened. I could have gotten a shock from the power cord before the GFI for the garage circuits kicked out, or even a small fire if the cord had ignited some stray sawhust laying around. I am normally quite safety sensitive, so this was a wake-up call to think about safety a little more than I have apparently been doing lately!!!

I have had similar experiences (plural because I'm a slow learner) with
long narrower-gauge extension cords and heaters.

The only 16-gauge that I have that still has it's tags on it says 1,350
watts max.

I feel more comfortable with 14-gauge and even have a couple of 10-gauge
cords for use with my little generator.
--
Pete Cresswell

On Fri, 24 Jan 2014 14:58:52 -0600, philo* wrote:

I'd check the outlet . If the plug on the heater is tarnished more than
likely the outlet would be as well.
When in the box...it would be a good idea to check the wiring too. It
could be tarnished too and should be replaced.

That is my plan. I already bought a new receptacle (GFCI) for the
garage. If it would just jump off the table and get in the wall by
itself

"(PeteCresswell)" wrote:
Per :
When I was done, about 2 hours later, I turned off and unplugged the
heater. To my surprise, the plug was warm, not hot, but definitely warm
to the touch. I took a closer look and realized that the prongs of the
plug were badly tarnished/corroded. An even closer look showed that the
insulation on the power cord itself was badly cracked and fallling
off(from overheating maybe) for the first inch or so where it comes out of the plug.

Needless to say, I was thankful that nothing bad had happened. I could
have gotten a shock from the power cord before the GFI for the garage
circuits kicked out, or even a small fire if the cord had ignited some
stray sawhust laying around. I am normally quite safety sensitive, so
this was a wake-up call to think about safety a little more than I have
apparently been doing lately!!!

I have had similar experiences (plural because I'm a slow learner) with
long narrower-gauge extension cords and heaters.

The only 16-gauge that I have that still has it's tags on it says 1,350
watts max.

I feel more comfortable with 14-gauge and even have a couple of 10-gauge
cords for use with my little generator.

Many years ago my teenage son was helping some rich guy clean out his
garage. When I went to pick him up I saw a 25' 12 gauge extension cord - on
a cord reel - on the pile of of "trash". I asked my son why it was being
thrown out. "The guy said it was cut."

I took it home and found that it was cut about 8' from the receptacle end.
I cut the section off, put a plug on the end of the 8' section and a
receptacle on the end of the 17 section and had 2 heavy duty expansion
cords. The 8' section is something I use all the time and right now it's
hooked up to a oil-filled space heater used to keep the garage a little
warmer for the dogs.

On 01/24/2014 04:44 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:


Many years ago my teenage son was helping some rich guy clean out his
garage. When I went to pick him up I saw a 25' 12 gauge extension cord - on
a cord reel - on the pile of of "trash". I asked my son why it was being
thrown out. "The guy said it was cut."

I took it home and found that it was cut about 8' from the receptacle end.
I cut the section off, put a plug on the end of the 8' section and a
receptacle on the end of the 17 section and had 2 heavy duty expansion
cords. The 8' section is something I use all the time and right now it's
hooked up to a oil-filled space heater used to keep the garage a little
warmer for the dogs.




Yep.

One day my wife and I walked past the house of a friend of ours who has
way too much money. She was taking stuff out of her house to make a trip
to the dump. My wife spotted a beautiful chandelier that is now in our
115 year old house ...and it is just perfect.

When my wife spotted it, she asked if we could have it and she was told:
"Sure, just one less piece of junk I need to haul!"


Amazing what people throw out.

wrote in message
...

When I was done, about 2 hours later, I turned off and unplugged the
heater. To my surprise, the plug was warm, not hot, but definitely warm to
the touch. I took a closer look and realized that the prongs of the plug
were badly tarnished/corroded. An even closer look showed that the
insulation on the power cord itself was badly cracked and falling off(from
overheating maybe) for the first inch or so where it comes out of the plug.


Yow! I've had a similar experience with a space heater and it's why I often
use two of them set to the low power settings warm a room. (Buying an extra
unit is a lot cheaper than dealing with a fire.) I have also put the space
heaters I use regularly on AFCI outlets in the hope that they will detect
and interrupt the arcing that usually causes cords to melt (and worse)
before it starts a fire. While most outlets are rated for 15A and some even
20A, I've found that pulling that much current often leads to the kind of
problem you experienced.

When I used to run the workshop heater at 1500W I melted a powerstrip and a
six way outlet whose internal "bus bar" was a thin piece of copper strip
connected by a pop rivet. A stinking pop rivet that wasn't crimped tightly
enough to even keep the two strips in good contact and that melted down from
the current passing through it. That's when I decided to get a second space
heater ($15 at TruValue) and distribute the load between two set at 750W.

Space heaters really test the integrity of your household wiring when
running at full blast. The high current can cause arcing in poorly made wire
nut connections and especially in back-stab outlets. In the workshop mine
runs under an aluminum crate to keep it from getting knocked over or
accidentally blocked. So far, so good.

The only issue I would have now if I were you would be whether I felt the
need to remove and inspect the outlet. While they're made of much more
heat-resistant materials, generally, there still may have been heat related
damage to the outlet. Is there a clear point of arcing on the plug blades?
That might tell you where to expect damage to the outlet's mating connector.
If there's substantial pitting on the plug blades, I'd definitely pull the
outlet.

Count your blessings, HR. These sorts of incidents can end up with severe
consequences and their all-to-frequent occurrence is one reason the NEC will
probably require AFCI breakers in all new construction eventually. From
what I read when researching them, arc-fault fires are the last big category
of adverse electrical events that's left to deal with in the code. We've
come a long way from people burning down their houses by sticking pennies in
screw-in fuse boxes.

--
Bobby G.

On Fri, 24 Jan 2014 12:18:27 -0800, Oren wrote:

On Fri, 24 Jan 2014 12:05:06 -0800 (PST), "
wrote:

(Preface) This morning I decided to do a little woodworking in my garage that is attached to the house but only connected to the house on one side wall. At -6F outside and 32.5F in the garage this morning when I got up, I decided to preheat the garage to get it a few degrees above freezing. I pulled out my trusty 1300 watt fan-helped floor electric heater, plugged it in and went about doing somwe other garage chores, and then did my woodworking.

When I was done, about 2 hours later, I turned off and unplugged the heater. To my surprise, the plug was warm, not hot, but definitely warm to the touch. I took a closer look and realized that the prongs of the plug were badly tarnished/corroded. An even closer look showed that the insulation on the power cord itself was badly cracked and fallling off(from overheating maybe) for the first inch or so where it comes out of the plug.

Needless to say, I was thankful that nothing bad had happened. I could have gotten a shock from the power cord before the GFI for the garage circuits kicked out, or even a small fire if the cord had ignited some stray sawhust laying around. I am normally quite safety sensitive, so this was a wake-up call to think about safety a little more than I have apparently been doing lately!!!

I have an electric space heater for my garage. Had a ext. cord heat,
like in your experience.

Reading the other day that ext. cords are NOT recommended for these
space heaters.
MOST state right on them "to be connected to wall receptacles only"

"DerbyDad03" wrote in message

stuff snipped

I took it home and found that it was cut about 8' from the receptacle end.
I cut the section off, put a plug on the end of the 8' section and a
receptacle on the end of the 17' section and had 2 heavy duty expansion
cords. The 8' section is something I use all the time and right now it's
hooked up to a oil-filled space heater used to keep the garage a little
warmer for the dogs.

It's great to be handy. (-: God only knows the amount of stuff that gets
tossed because there's some trivial problem that could be easily fixed by
someone with a little skill.

You can't imagine the number of computers that people I know were ready to
scrap because a cooling fan started to screech. The interesting thing about
PCs is that most non-technical people are dreadfully afraid of breaking
something and when a drive or a fan begins to whine, they lose confidence in
the computer completely and immediate want a new one.

I have a 100' cord for the snowblower that's got loads of splices in it from
that pesky cord hiding in a snowdrift. Finally ordered so heavy-duty
marine-grade adhesive-filled heat shrink tubing and the old soldering iron
and fixed it "good as new" - well almost. I used to use electrical tape
(too brittle in the cold) and then self-fusing rubber tape (which eventually
got leaky) but the heat shrink with goo inside has been remarkably resilient
and has stayed quite waterproof.

--
Bobby G.

On 1/24/2014 4:24 PM, Erik wrote:

Far as the cord's female end goes, if you get a 2 outlet metal box and
all the correct hardware, it'll give you 4 outlets... making the cord
much handier. You can even put in a GFCI if you like. Just don't exceed
the cords capacity.

As another poster mentioned, the outlet where the cord was plugged
during the overheat 'event' should be closely examined... personally I'd
replace it no matter how it looks. Heavy duty outlets are available, and
not a bad idea for frequently used outlets, like a shop or whatnot. They
cost a little more, but only like 2 or 3 bucks.

Erik

One time, someone mentioned (probably here) that
it's not legal to repair extension cords used in
business. I called the question and got sent to
OSHA (dot gov) web site. Sure enough. Tape and
other repairs of electrical extension cords not
legal. Got to pitch em out and buy new. Also the
gang box on the end of the cord not legal (and
was mentioned specifically) for cords used for
work. Aparently, the Fatherland knows best.

--
..
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

On 1/24/2014 5:40 PM, Oren wrote:

That is my plan. I already bought a new receptacle (GFCI) for the
garage. If it would just jump off the table and get in the wall by
itself


Close your eyes, click your ruby slippers together
and repeat after me: There's no place like home.
There's no place like home.

--
..
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

"philo " wrote in message
...

stuff snipped

Amazing what people throw out.

I noticed a nearly brand new crosscut paper shredder on the curb the day
before pickup and asked my neighbor what was wrong with it. "Jammed so I
got a new one." Ten minutes with a pair of tweezers and some WD-40 and it
was as good as new. I think it was the adhesive that some credit card
companies glue their sample credit cards with that jammed it. Nicer than
the one I bought. Has a window on the shredding bin and a CD cutter.

When I went to look for info on cleaning it, I found this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DARPA_S...Challenge_2011

DARPA Shredder Challenge 2011 was a prize competition for exploring
methods to reconstruct documents shredded by a variety of paper shredding
techniques. . . . The San Francisco-based team "All Your Shreds are Belong
to U.S." won the competition 32 days after the competition went live, or 3
days ahead of schedule. The team used a combination of techniques to solve
the puzzles: custom-coded computer-vision algorithm were created to suggest
fragment pairings to human assemblers for verification

I'm betting that the NSA already has a automated reconstructor and sponsored
the contest to see if they could buy some cheap consulting on improving
their algorithms. (-:

--
Bobby G.

Well, the heater cord has already been replaced by a new cord that I had in my shop, sufficiently heavy to do the job with no heating. The heater cord was not plugged into an extension cord.

The wall outlet is fine, it was the cruddy plug blades that caused the heating. The wall outlet will be checked carefully after the temperatures get above the minus numbers we are having in the Chicago suburbs for the next 6 days. In the meantime, I am using a whole different outlet on the same GFI for the heater.

Appreciate all the polite comments.

Metspitzer wrote:
On Fri, 24 Jan 2014 12:38:19 -0800, Oren wrote:

On Fri, 24 Jan 2014 14:28:15 -0600, philo wrote:

On 01/24/2014 02:18 PM, Oren wrote:
On Fri, 24 Jan 2014 12:05:06 -0800 (PST), "
wrote:

(Preface) This morning I decided to do a little woodworking in my
garage that is attached to the house but only connected to the house
on one side wall. At -6F outside and 32.5F in the garage this
morning when I got up, I decided to preheat the garage to get it a
few degrees above freezing. I pulled out my trusty 1300 watt
fan-helped floor electric heater, plugged it in and went about doing
somwe other garage chores, and then did my woodworking.

When I was done, about 2 hours later, I turned off and unplugged the
heater. To my surprise, the plug was warm, not hot, but definitely
warm to the touch. I took a closer look and realized that the prongs
of the plug were badly tarnished/corroded. An even closer look
showed that the insulation on the power cord itself was badly cracked
and fallling off(from overheating maybe) for the first inch or so
where it comes out of the plug.

Needless to say, I was thankful that nothing bad had happened. I
could have gotten a shock from the power cord before the GFI for the
garage circuits kicked out, or even a small fire if the cord had
ignited some stray sawhust laying around. I am normally quite safety
sensitive, so this was a wake-up call to think about safety a little
more than I have apparently been doing lately!!!

I have an electric space heater for my garage. Had a ext. cord heat,
like in your experience.

Reading the other day that ext. cords are NOT recommended for these
space heaters.




The OP made no mention of an extension cord that I saw.

My bad. I used a 12 gauge 25' ext. cord on my space heater - still
got hot a scorched the cord end.

What causes the heat and scorching; with or without an ext. cord?

It shouldn't have.

Here are two good answers from the Internet

If only the plug is getting hot (not the actual cord) then some of the
wire strands in the plug itself have been broken - almost always by
pulling on the cord to unplug it instead of gripping the plug itself.
Lots of people do that and it usually won't matter on small appliances
like radios or clocks. But pulling by the wire on appliances (like
kettles, toasters, electric heaters) that use a lot of current you're
asking for a fire someday. If this is the ONLY problem then replacing
the plug will cure it.

- Ensure the plug is clean and fits the outlet tightly.
(Loose plug to outlet connection will sometimes cause this.)

I was looking at a 14 gauge extension. I was looking through the clear
plug. Another possibility is those crimped connections. The cord was a bit
warm 2-3 inches up. Worse case would be dirty connection, poor crimp,
frayed wires.

Greg

On Fri, 24 Jan 2014 18:54:58 -0500, "Robert Green"
wrote:

wrote in message
...

When I was done, about 2 hours later, I turned off and unplugged the
heater. To my surprise, the plug was warm, not hot, but definitely warm to
the touch. I took a closer look and realized that the prongs of the plug
were badly tarnished/corroded. An even closer look showed that the
insulation on the power cord itself was badly cracked and falling off(from
overheating maybe) for the first inch or so where it comes out of the plug.


Yow! I've had a similar experience with a space heater and it's why I often
use two of them set to the low power settings warm a room. (Buying an extra
unit is a lot cheaper than dealing with a fire.) I have also put the space
heaters I use regularly on AFCI outlets in the hope that they will detect
and interrupt the arcing that usually causes cords to melt (and worse)
before it starts a fire. While most outlets are rated for 15A and some even
20A, I've found that pulling that much current often leads to the kind of
problem you experienced.

When I used to run the workshop heater at 1500W I melted a powerstrip and a
six way outlet whose internal "bus bar" was a thin piece of copper strip
connected by a pop rivet. A stinking pop rivet that wasn't crimped tightly
enough to even keep the two strips in good contact and that melted down from
the current passing through it. That's when I decided to get a second space
heater ($15 at TruValue) and distribute the load between two set at 750W.

Space heaters really test the integrity of your household wiring when
running at full blast. The high current can cause arcing in poorly made wire
nut connections and especially in back-stab outlets. In the workshop mine
runs under an aluminum crate to keep it from getting knocked over or
accidentally blocked. So far, so good.

The only issue I would have now if I were you would be whether I felt the
need to remove and inspect the outlet. While they're made of much more
heat-resistant materials, generally, there still may have been heat related
damage to the outlet. Is there a clear point of arcing on the plug blades?
That might tell you where to expect damage to the outlet's mating connector.
If there's substantial pitting on the plug blades, I'd definitely pull the
outlet.

Count your blessings, HR. These sorts of incidents can end up with severe
consequences and their all-to-frequent occurrence is one reason the NEC will
probably require AFCI breakers in all new construction eventually. From
what I read when researching them, arc-fault fires are the last big category
of adverse electrical events that's left to deal with in the code. We've
come a long way from people burning down their houses by sticking pennies in
screw-in fuse boxes.
The few times I heat my garage I use a 4500 watt "construction
heater" with a 30 amp monster 220 volt plug the size of a hockey pock,
connected to a 10 ga extention cord.

"Robert Green" wrote in message ...



outlet.

Count your blessings, HR. These sorts of incidents can end up with severe
consequences and their all-to-frequent occurrence is one reason the NEC will
probably require AFCI breakers in all new construction eventually. From
what I read when researching them, arc-fault fires are the last big category
of adverse electrical events that's left to deal with in the code. We've
come a long way from people burning down their houses by sticking pennies in
screw-in fuse boxes.

--
Bobby G.

When I worked for a electric utility company taking trouble calls. One call
tripping fused circuit. Room had been painted and when painter replaced
ceiling fixture he connected all the wires together. Total short tripped
fuse. I reconnected right way. and new fuse worked. Whenever a call had
fuses I remove all fuses to be sure no pennies were there .On this box I
found a Indian Head penny.If I recall it was a 1910 marking. Asked customer
how long they lived in this house. About 25 years. Lucky they never had a
shorted item on that circuit WW.

"Oren" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 24 Jan 2014 12:05:06 -0800 (PST), "
wrote:

(Preface) This morning I decided to do a little woodworking in my garage
that is attached to the house but only connected to the house on one side
wall. At -6F outside and 32.5F in the garage this morning when I got up,
I decided to preheat the garage to get it a few degrees above freezing. I
pulled out my trusty 1300 watt fan-helped floor electric heater, plugged
it in and went about doing somwe other garage chores, and then did my
woodworking.

When I was done, about 2 hours later, I turned off and unplugged the
heater. To my surprise, the plug was warm, not hot, but definitely warm
to the touch. I took a closer look and realized that the prongs of the
plug were badly tarnished/corroded. An even closer look showed that the
insulation on the power cord itself was badly cracked and fallling
off(from overheating maybe) for the first inch or so where it comes out of
the plug.

Needless to say, I was thankful that nothing bad had happened. I could
have gotten a shock from the power cord before the GFI for the garage
circuits kicked out, or even a small fire if the cord had ignited some
stray sawhust laying around. I am normally quite safety sensitive, so
this was a wake-up call to think about safety a little more than I have
apparently been doing lately!!!

I have an electric space heater for my garage. Had a ext. cord heat,
like in your experience.

Reading the other day that ext. cords are NOT recommended for these
space heaters.
I bought a little heater and it says it must not be used with an extension
cord.

On Fri, 24 Jan 2014 12:05:06 -0800 (PST), "
wrote:

(Preface) This morning I decided to do a little woodworking in my garage that is attached to the house but only connected to the house on one side wall. At -6F outside and 32.5F in the garage this morning when I got up, I decided to preheat the garage to get it a few degrees above freezing. I pulled out my trusty 1300 watt fan-helped floor electric heater, plugged it in and went about doing somwe other garage chores, and then did my woodworking.

When I was done, about 2 hours later, I turned off and unplugged the heater. To my surprise, the plug was warm, not hot, but definitely warm to the touch. I took a closer look and realized that the prongs of the plug were badly tarnished/corroded. An even closer look showed that the insulation on the power cord itself was badly cracked and fallling off(from overheating maybe) for the first inch or so where it comes out of the plug.

Needless to say, I was thankful that nothing bad had happened. I could have gotten a shock from the power cord before the GFI for the garage circuits kicked out, or even a small fire if the cord had ignited some stray sawhust laying around.

Yes, indeed.

I am normally quite safety sensitive, so this was a wake-up call to
think about safety a little more than I have apparently been doing
lately!!!

I had a similar problem. Around 1980, on very cold nights, I
supplemented the apt. building heat with an electric heater, no ext.
cord needed.

Woke up one morning to find 1 or 2 inch flames coming from the heater
plug, made of hard black rubber. I rarely panic, and this time I did
the proper thing, reach for the cord to pull the plug out, I couldn't
reach the plug itself, and even if I could, it was on fire! But a
girl was between me and the cord and every time I reached for it, she
grabbed my arm and pulled it back. I don't know why. The third time I
was prepared, and I pushed my arm harder than she could pull it, and I
pulled out the plug and the flame subsided almost immediately.

I had a six-room apt, building built in 1930, 50 years earlier, and I
was sleeping in the maid's room, right off the kitchen. For some
reason, the receptacle only had space for one plug, and the plug from
the heater fit very loosely. That was my mistake, not paying enough
attention to that. . I never used the heater there again but I still
have it, and if I needed it, it would work fine in my 1979 receptacles.
But I'll feel the plug, to make sure it's not hot.

Sometimes one can put a knife or small screwdriver in the plug prongs,
if they are folded over, and spread each prong so it's thicker, but
frankly that hasn't helped much.

I had used the heater at 15 or 20 times before in the 11 years I lived
there, with no problems. Maybe it was waiting until there was a girl
there, so I could watch her panic.


On another occaision, my car would stop and when I went out to jiggle
the battery clamps, one was hot. From cranking the engine. That was
the one that was loose and that was the reason the car stopped.

Hot may mean broken strands but it also can mean bad, loose, or dirty
connection.

On Fri, 24 Jan 2014 16:48:57 -0600, philo* wrote:

On 01/24/2014 04:44 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:


Many years ago my teenage son was helping some rich guy clean out his
garage. When I went to pick him up I saw a 25' 12 gauge extension cord - on
a cord reel - on the pile of of "trash". I asked my son why it was being
thrown out. "The guy said it was cut."

I took it home and found that it was cut about 8' from the receptacle end.
I cut the section off, put a plug on the end of the 8' section and a
receptacle on the end of the 17’ section and had 2 heavy duty expansion
cords.

I would love a heavy duty expansion cord. But I think I need your
spell checker to get one.

The 8' section is something I use all the time and right now it's
hooked up to a oil-filled space heater used to keep the garage a little
warmer for the dogs.


Yep.

One day my wife and I walked past the house of a friend of ours who has
way too much money. She was taking stuff out of her house to make a trip
to the dump. My wife spotted a beautiful chandelier that is now in our
115 year old house ...and it is just perfect.

When my wife spotted it, she asked if we could have it and she was told:
"Sure, just one less piece of junk I need to haul!"


Amazing what people throw out.

Yes, it is. Not so amazing but for the record, most vacuum cleaners
in the trash work fine if you pull the big clump of threads etc out of
the internal pipe or the hose. I bought 12" tweezers, not knowing
what I'd use them for, but they work well for this sometimes. Other
things will work too.

On 01/24/2014 06:28 PM, Stormin Mormon wrote:
On 1/24/2014 4:24 PM, Erik wrote:

Far as the cord's female end goes, if you get a 2 outlet metal box and
all the correct hardware, it'll give you 4 outlets... making the cord
much handier. You can even put in a GFCI if you like. Just don't exceed
the cords capacity.

As another poster mentioned, the outlet where the cord was plugged
during the overheat 'event' should be closely examined... personally I'd
replace it no matter how it looks. Heavy duty outlets are available, and
not a bad idea for frequently used outlets, like a shop or whatnot. They
cost a little more, but only like 2 or 3 bucks.

Erik

One time, someone mentioned (probably here) that
it's not legal to repair extension cords used in
business. I called the question and got sent to
OSHA (dot gov) web site. Sure enough. Tape and
other repairs of electrical extension cords not
legal. Got to pitch em out and buy new. Also the
gang box on the end of the cord not legal (and
was mentioned specifically) for cords used for
work. Aparently, the Fatherland knows best.




As a contractor, if I was at a customer using an extension cord that was
taped, I could be kicked out of the plant.

None of my customers had any prohibitions about using a cord that was
repaired by the replacement of the "plug" or "receptacle" end however.

"Julie Bove" wrote:
"Oren" wrote in message ...
On Fri, 24 Jan 2014 12:05:06 -0800 (PST), "
wrote:

(Preface) This morning I decided to do a little woodworking in my
garage that is attached to the house but only connected to the house
on one side wall. At -6F outside and 32.5F in the garage this
morning when I got up, I decided to preheat the garage to get it a
few degrees above freezing. I pulled out my trusty 1300 watt
fan-helped floor electric heater, plugged it in and went about doing
somwe other garage chores, and then did my woodworking.

When I was done, about 2 hours later, I turned off and unplugged the
heater. To my surprise, the plug was warm, not hot, but definitely
warm to the touch. I took a closer look and realized that the
prongs of the plug were badly tarnished/corroded. An even closer
look showed that the insulation on the power cord itself was badly
cracked and fallling off(from overheating maybe) for the first inch
or so where it comes out of the plug.

Needless to say, I was thankful that nothing bad had happened. I could
have gotten a shock from the power cord before the GFI for the garage
circuits kicked out, or even a small fire if the cord had ignited
some stray sawhust laying around. I am normally quite safety
sensitive, so this was a wake-up call to think about safety a
little more than I have apparently been doing lately!!!

I have an electric space heater for my garage. Had a ext. cord heat,
like in your experience.

Reading the other day that ext. cords are NOT recommended for these
space heaters.
I bought a little heater and it says it must not be used with an extension cord.

From a liability standpoint I can understand them putting that on the
label. However, from an electrical standpoint, there's no reason an
extension cord - of the proper size and quality - can't be used.

Assuming proper house wiring, if the extension cord is at least the same
gauge as the house wiring and the cord/receptacle and cord/heater
connections are solid, then all you're are doing is essentially moving the
wall receptacle to another location - the end of the extension cord. In
other words, if you plug the heater into the first receptacle in a series
of receptacles and then move it to the second or third receptacle, aren't
you essentially using an "extension cord" that just happens to be inside
the wall?

The one other consideration is to ensure proper air flow around the
extension cord. You wouldn't want to leave a 50' cord tightly wrapped
around a cord reel. You want the extension cord spread out so any heat that
is generated is disbursed.

On 1/25/2014 1:01 AM, WW wrote:

When I worked for a electric utility company taking trouble calls. One
call tripping fused circuit. Room had been painted and when painter
replaced ceiling fixture he connected all the wires together. Total
short tripped fuse. I reconnected right way. and new fuse worked.
Whenever a call had fuses I remove all fuses to be sure no pennies were
there .On this box I found a Indian Head penny.If I recall it was a 1910
marking. Asked customer how long they lived in this house. About 25
years. Lucky they never had a shorted item on that circuit WW.

Mom's house had a fuse go bad, a couple days ago.
I went and replaced a twenty amper. Didn't occur
to me to check for pennies. Thank you, I've go to
do that some day soon. Dad (RIP) would not have
done that, but he'd also not have checked for
pennies from the last people.


--
..
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

On 1/25/2014 7:56 AM, philo wrote:
One time, someone mentioned (probably here) that
it's not legal to repair extension cords used in
business. I called the question and got sent to
work. Aparently, the Fatherland knows best.

As a contractor, if I was at a customer using an extension cord that was
taped, I could be kicked out of the plant.

None of my customers had any prohibitions about using a cord that was
repaired by the replacement of the "plug" or "receptacle" end however.

I'll admit, I've never had a customer insist on
inspecting my extension cords. Most customers are
more intelligent than most government regulations.

--
..
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

On Sat, 25 Jan 2014 08:40:56 -0700, Stormin Mormon
wrote:

...snip....
Mom's house had a fuse go bad, a couple days ago.
I went and replaced a twenty amper. Didn't occur
to me to check for pennies. Thank you, I've go to
do that some day soon. Dad (RIP) would not have
done that, but he'd also not have checked for
pennies from the last people.



and look at the money you might make!

"Julie Bove" wrote in message Reading the other
day that ext. cords are NOT recommended for these
space heaters.
I bought a little heater and it says it must not be used with an extension
cord.

That is to help protect them from law suits.

Just as you will see ads on TV recommending some drugs. They want you to
take them, but list all kinds of side effects including death.

As many homes will have the recepticals wired with # 14 wire for 15 amp
breakers if you use an extension cord of #14 or larger there should not be
a problem. That is unless you start going to extremly long lengths of say
over 25 feet.
I doubt there would be a problem then with the wiring,but the heater may not
get enough power to work correctly.




---
This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active.
http://www.avast.com

On 1/25/14, 8:09 AM, Ralph Mowery wrote:

"Julie Bove" wrote in message Reading the other
day that ext. cords are NOT recommended for these
space heaters.
I bought a little heater and it says it must not be used with an extension
cord.

That is to help protect them from law suits.

Just as you will see ads on TV recommending some drugs. They want you to
take them, but list all kinds of side effects including death.

As many homes will have the recepticals wired with # 14 wire for 15 amp
breakers if you use an extension cord of #14 or larger there should not be
a problem. That is unless you start going to extremly long lengths of say
over 25 feet.
I doubt there would be a problem then with the wiring,but the heater may not
get enough power to work correctly.




---
This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active.
http://www.avast.com


Reminds me... remember years ago most portable power tools started
coming with short, 4 or 5" cords?

I heard (but don't know for sure) it was done to appease manufactures
legal staffs... as it's for all practical purposes impossible to cut or
drill through the manufactures installed cord... and left the consumer
responsible for cutting/drilling his/her own cord.

Saved a few cents per unit as well...

Erik

Erik wrote:
On 1/25/14, 8:09 AM, Ralph Mowery wrote:

"Julie Bove" wrote in message Reading the other
day that ext. cords are NOT recommended for these
space heaters.
I bought a little heater and it says it must not be used with an extension
cord.

That is to help protect them from law suits.

Just as you will see ads on TV recommending some drugs. They want you to
take them, but list all kinds of side effects including death.

As many homes will have the recepticals wired with # 14 wire for 15 amp
breakers if you use an extension cord of #14 or larger there should not be
a problem. That is unless you start going to extremly long lengths of say
over 25 feet.
I doubt there would be a problem then with the wiring,but the heater may not
get enough power to work correctly.




---
This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active.
http://www.avast.com


Reminds me... remember years ago most portable power tools started coming
with short, 4 or 5" cords?

I heard (but don't know for sure) it was done to appease manufactures
legal staffs... as it's for all practical purposes impossible to cut or
drill through the manufactures installed cord... and left the consumer
responsible for cutting/drilling his/her own cord.

Saved a few cents per unit as well...

Erik

Many years ago, before cordless tools were readily available, I helped a
friend build a cabin - actually a house with a loft sleeping area, covered
porch, etc. Over the course of the summer, friends and family from all over
the country came to the land to help, some for a few days, some, like my
family, for a few weeks. We camped on the land in tents or campers. The
women tended to the kids during the day while the men trudged up the hill
to the building site. Evenings were spent around the bonfire singing songs
accompanied by banjos, guitars, harmonicas, etc. 30 years later and it
still ranks as the best vacation I ever took.

Anyway, we used a couple of generators to run the power tools. Apparently,
the week before I got there, one of the guys had put a circular saw down on
the cord and cut it. After that it became kind a "battle cry" for guys to
yell out "Don't cut the cord" whenever a circular saw was shut down. Guys
on the deck, guys hanging from the rafters, guys installing windows would
start a round robin chorus of "Don't cut the cord!", "Don't cut the cord!",
"Don't cut the cord!"

Well, the last day that I was there what did I do? I put the circular saw
down on the cord, wrapped it around the spindle and cut it. As the rest of
the guys heard the strange sound from the circular saw (and the generator)
they began a chorus, in the exact same cadence as before, except this time
they were saying. "He cut the cord!", "He cut the cord!", "He cut the
cord!" As embarrassing as it was, the laughter on the job site after the
perfectly timed chorus made up for it.

On 1/25/2014 2:15 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:

Many years ago, before cordless tools were readily available, I helped a
friend build a cabin - actually a house with a loft sleeping area, covered
porch, etc. Over the course of the summer, friends and family from all over
the country came to the land to help, some for a few days, some, like my
family, for a few weeks. We camped on the land in tents or campers. The
women tended to the kids during the day while the men trudged up the hill
to the building site. Evenings were spent around the bonfire singing songs
accompanied by banjos, guitars, harmonicas, etc. 30 years later and it
still ranks as the best vacation I ever took.

Anyway, we used a couple of generators to run the power tools. Apparently,
the week before I got there, one of the guys had put a circular saw down on
the cord and cut it. After that it became kind a "battle cry" for guys to
yell out "Don't cut the cord" whenever a circular saw was shut down. Guys
on the deck, guys hanging from the rafters, guys installing windows would
start a round robin chorus of "Don't cut the cord!", "Don't cut the cord!",
"Don't cut the cord!"

Well, the last day that I was there what did I do? I put the circular saw
down on the cord, wrapped it around the spindle and cut it. As the rest of
the guys heard the strange sound from the circular saw (and the generator)
they began a chorus, in the exact same cadence as before, except this time
they were saying. "He cut the cord!", "He cut the cord!", "He cut the
cord!" As embarrassing as it was, the laughter on the job site after the
perfectly timed chorus made up for it.


Glad to hear I'm not the only person to have made mix
ups on the job. Can't say as I've ever cut a cord. But,
I've drilled holes in houses in the wrong places. Hint:
When you want a hole on "this" side of "this" window,
take a piece of tape (I love my yellow vinyl tape) and
put it on "this" side of "this" window on the inside.
When you get out doors, you can see the yellow tape
you put on the other side of the glass. Really reduces
chance of embarssment.

I'm remembering years ago, a young family having roof
work done. The toddler daughter was addicted to this one
video, which repeated all day. They noticed the video was
a bit much when the roofers joined into the chorus of
"bibbity bobbity boo".

--
..
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

On 01/25/2014 09:46 AM, Stormin Mormon wrote:
On 1/25/2014 7:56 AM, philo wrote:
One time, someone mentioned (probably here) that
it's not legal to repair extension cords used in
business. I called the question and got sent to
work. Aparently, the Fatherland knows best.

As a contractor, if I was at a customer using an extension cord that was
taped, I could be kicked out of the plant.

None of my customers had any prohibitions about using a cord that was
repaired by the replacement of the "plug" or "receptacle" end however.

I'll admit, I've never had a customer insist on
inspecting my extension cords. Most customers are
more intelligent than most government regulations.




I was not dealing with individuals, I was dealing with large
corporations that have safety regulations.


Cargill even has stricter safety regulations than are required by law.

wrote in message

stuff snipped

The few times I heat my garage I use a 4500 watt "construction
heater" with a 30 amp monster 220 volt plug the size of a hockey pock,
connected to a 10 ga extention cord.

That would be nice but I doubt I could find one for $16 at Tru-Value! (-:

When I switched home insurers the rep asked me a number of questions: did I
own a dog, did I run a business out of my home and did I use a space heater
were among the questions that stood out. I answered honestly that I used
them - it didn't cause them to reject me but I'll bet it cost a few bucks
more in the annual premium.

I'll bet thirty amps does the trick because 1000Ws (two units running at
500W each) doesn't quite do it - but it's better than nothing. With the
nights getting down to 9F the basement is so cold soaked that I doubt
anything short of 4500W would warm it. We just had a huge water main break
half a mile away. While those pipes are supposed to be below the frost
line, I'm sure the cold had something to do with it. Those tanks that
polluted the drinking water in West VA ruptured because a small leak froze,
or so I recall from reading the article.

--
Bobby G.

On Sat, 25 Jan 2014 15:58:13 -0500, "Robert Green"
wrote:

wrote in message

stuff snipped

The few times I heat my garage I use a 4500 watt "construction
heater" with a 30 amp monster 220 volt plug the size of a hockey pock,
connected to a 10 ga extention cord.

That would be nice but I doubt I could find one for $16 at Tru-Value! (-:

Picked mine up for $15 at a garage sale - had a non-standard 20 amp
220 volt plug on it. Cost me $18 for the plug to fit the line in the
garage (also runs the compressor)

When I switched home insurers the rep asked me a number of questions: did I
own a dog, did I run a business out of my home and did I use a space heater
were among the questions that stood out. I answered honestly that I used
them - it didn't cause them to reject me but I'll bet it cost a few bucks
more in the annual premium.

I'll bet thirty amps does the trick because 1000Ws (two units running at
500W each) doesn't quite do it - but it's better than nothing. With the
nights getting down to 9F the basement is so cold soaked that I doubt
anything short of 4500W would warm it. We just had a huge water main break
half a mile away. While those pipes are supposed to be below the frost
line, I'm sure the cold had something to do with it. Those tanks that
polluted the drinking water in West VA ruptured because a small leak froze,
or so I recall from reading the article.

I figure if the furnace gave me touble I could keep the house
reasonably comfortable with the 4500 as long as I could keep the
furnace blower running. That's 15000 BTUs and my 35000 BTU furnace
runs about 33% of the time in this really nasty cold weather. Just
have to throw together an extention cord to run 15 feet from the drier
plug to the furnace.. I've got lots of teck cable around that is
plenty heavy enough - just need the connectors (about $50)