Conference 7.286::home_work

Our popcorn popper's plug got real hot last time we used it - the end that
plugs into the popper, not the wall - the rest of the cord felt ok.

I'm pretty sure I can get a replacement power cord, but I'm concerned that the
problem is in the popper, not the cord.

What should I look for that is fixable - wires with no insulation, bare wires
touching each other, etc?

Not an  uc-common problem in counter appliances and electric shavers.  

If the appliance was running without this symptom for a while, then...

The cord gets flexed quite a bit during use and the  flex  point is often where
the wires enter the hard, molded end.  Enough flexing, and some  of  the  wires
inside each or both sides of the cord break.  This causes the  same  amount  of
current to flow through an effectively smaller wire causing heat.

It could also be that the base of the popper is getting too hot and the heat is
transferring to the cord.  However, I usually fix the  problem by replacing the
cord.

Luck,
Dave

Another likely problem is minor crud on the plug and socket at the appliance.
This crud (oil from the popcorn popper is a good candidate) causes
a slightly higher resistance path at the plug, generating the heat.
The effect is the same as the broken wires.  Slide the plug  into and out of
the socket briskly a few times, then wipe off the contacts, maybe with
a Q-tip or a tissue.  Note that if you replace the cord, the socket
at the appliance will remain dirty, so a new cord is only half the fix.

- tom]

One other thing - DO NOT - REPEAT - DO NOT - go out and buy one of those 100 ft
16 gauge extension cords and then do a bunch of cutting with the saw on that
cord.  Given the amperage a saw draws, there is just too much voltage drop,
and you'll burn out even a good motor.  I have a 100 ft 10 gauge cord that I
use for the saw.  It was $60, but it has saved me more than that in tools that
weren't destroyed.

Paul

    
    That's a very good point. BTW, I was using a 50 foot 12G cord when the
    B&D went south.
    
    For the given power the saw is drawing to get through the piece of
    wood; when the voltage drops, the current increases, until you either
    a) trip the breaker or b) burn up the motor. Long, undersized cords
    cause voltage drops.
    
    CdH
    
    

    I plan on building a workbench in my basement and I originally thought
    that one of those 6-outlet power strips (the kind with its own circuit
    breaker built in/ available everywhere) would be good enough to
    handle a circular saw as well as all my other tools.  It seems sturdy
    enough, but the cord from the power strip it self doesn't seem _that_
    thick.  I'll have to check its size.  The convienience of 6 outlets
    would be nice.
    
    Would this power strip hurt the brand new but chances-are-only-10amp
    saw I'm planning to buy this weekend?  Coincidently the house came
    with an extension cord that I found in the basement that is at _least_
    1/2 inch thick with a 4 outlet square box in the end.  I would just assume
    use this for the bench but I'd rather use it for outside and change
    the 4 outlet box to just a heavy duty single weather resistant socket.
    With out having the thick cord dedicated permanently to the bench.
    
    Will the built in breaker in the power strip save the new saw some life? 
    I think the breaker is a 15 amp.
    
    Steve...........................

Re: .17

Those outlet strips typically have 14-gauge wire, but over a 6-foot
length, it's not something to worry about.

The breaker in the strip won't do anything for the saw one way or another.

			Steve

       <<< SERENA::SERENA$DUA2:[000000.NOTES$LIBRARY]HOME_WORK.NOTE;1 >>>
                         -< Better living through DIY >-
================================================================================
Note 3985.14                      Circular saws                         14 of 19
VMSDEV::PAULKM::WEISS "Trade freedom for security-l" 16 lines  27-SEP-1990 13:38
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can use the smaller blades no problem, they all have a 5/8" arbor.  You'll
just get a little shallower depth of cut.  But why are you constantly buying
blades anyway?  I bought a good Oldham carbide blade when I got the saw, and
I've had it sharpened a couple of times since then.  I expect the blade to last
nearly my lifetime, unless I build a couple more houses.

The cord probably has the gauge stamped on it somewhere.  But if you didn't
specifically look for a heavy gauge cord, then you don't have one.  My 10 gauge
cord is about 1/2" in diameter.

The standard orange cords that most places sell - the one where the cord is a
little more than 1/4" in diameter - is usually 16 gauge.  This is fine for a
short cord - like 15 feet or so.  The 100 foot cord is also fine for low-draw
tools like a string trimmer.

Paul

    .re .5
    
    You might want to review some additional notes for your side topics.
    
    Bench Plans/ideas 	179, 846, 1730, 2438
    Power for Shop	816, 1037, 2987

I looked up the resistance of (copper) wire, to see how much better the
large gauge cords were, and listed it below.  I also computed the length of
cord that has the same resistance as Paul's 100' of #10 cord.

The resistance doesn't count whatever the plug/socket contributes.  I don't
know how much that is except it's better to use 1 100' cord instead of 2
50' cords of the same gauge.

re .2:  Is that cord homemade?  I've never seen larger than #12 for sale as
premade cord.

Wire    |    Ohms per    |  Length of cord with same
Gauge   |    1000 feet   |  resistance as 100' of #10 cord
--------+----------------+----------------------------------
   8    |    0.6405      |  158.9 ft.  (!)
  10    |    1.018       |  100 ft.
  12    |    1.619       |  61.7 ft.
  14    |    2.575       |  38.8 ft.
  16    |    4.094       |  24.4 ft.
  18    |    6.510       |  15.6 ft.  (normal 'lamp cord' extension cord)

-Mike

> re .2:  Is that cord homemade?  I've never seen larger than #12 for sale as
> premade cord.

Nope.  Bought it at my local building supply (East Coast Lumber) about 7 years
ago.  Although I agree that I have seldom seen 10 guage cords elsewhere, and I
have no idea whether East Coast still has them.

I believe that the resistance of the wires is slightly higher than that listed,
because they are stranded wire.  That does increase the resistance, no?  The
table you have is probably for solid wire, and extension cords need to be
stranded for flexibility.

Paul

    I was in Home Depot this week and since I have been using an 100' and a
    50' 16-3 extension cords for the past 8 weeks while building my shed, I
    checked to see if they carried anything other than 16-3.
    
    Home Depot has 12-3 in both 50' and 100' lengths.  The pricing seems a
    bit strange.  The 100' is $35 and the 50' is $38.  I guess they sell
    more 100' so can offer a price break.  They also were pushing 16-3 and
    reels for long cords.  The largest I saw in stock was 12-3 but they had
    relatively few in comparsion to the number of 16-3 and smaller guage
    cords.
    

re .9:

>I believe that the resistance of the wires is slightly higher than that listed,
>because they are stranded wire.  That does increase the resistance, no?

The resistance depends on the material and the total cross-section of the wire.
As long as the total cross-section of all the strands in a "#12" cord add up
to the same as #12 solid, the resistance should be the same.  However, the
copper used may be an alloy with higher flexibility than straight copper, and
if this has a higher resistivity than straight copper THAT will increase the
cord's resistance.

I got 100' of 12-3 from Spags a few months ago for $26.50.  I think they want
a little more for them now.

-Mike

    re:  .10
    
    Bruce- the difference may be in the receptacles.  The price of a good,
    short extension with a triple outlet is MUCH higher than the single
    outlet, longer cord.
    
    	-Barry-
    

    Also see note 4116 for some specific examples of this idea.

    
    I looked through the electrical directories and couldn't find a note about
    this subject so here goes. Yesterday when I plugged in my electric
    hedge trimmer it blew a fuse. The trimmer wasn't on when I plugged it
    in so I don't think the problem is there. There were two extension
    cords plugged into each other, when I removed the longest one, it
    worked fine (but it won't reach the hedges that I need to trim :-[).
    Could it be a bad extension cord? I don't think it's very old, maybe a
    couple of years and hasn't been used a whole lot. Or could it be that
    I'm trying to use too long an extension cord for the circuit? 
    
    Steve B. 

    An extension cord which is too long wont blow fuses. It will cause a
    larger voltage drop than desirable, so whatever you connect to the end
    may not work too well.
    
    If it blows a fuse it is bad. It could well be the connector at one end
    or then other, so you could try replacing that. Otherwise look for
    signs of physical damage. If you can find the bad section then you can
    cut it out and join the cable with a plug and socket or a one piece
    connector. (If you intend to use it outdoors then make sure your
    connectors are suitable). It may be cheaper just to replace it.
    
    Andrew

      I agree with .1 -- you have a bad extension cord.
      
      At  least  one  of  three things is bad; maybe two or possibly all
      three.
          
          1) the plug on one end of the extension cord
          2) the socket on the other end
          3) the wire in between
      
      WITH THE CORD UNPLUGGED, check for signs of physical damage.  Does
      the plug or socket appear to have  been  crushed?   Is  either  on
      cracked?   Are  the  blades  and  grounding  pin on the plug bent?
      Loose?  Are there cuts or tears in the insulation of the wire?
      
      Does  the  cord  cause  the breaker to pop if you just plug in the
      cord by itself?  If so, it sounds like the socket might be bad  --
      causing a short when a plug is inserted.
      
      If the plug and/or socket looks bad you can replace it/them.  Cost
      should be around $2-3 each.   Check  your  friendly,  neighborhood
      hardware store.  CAUTION:  if the plug is grounded (three pins) or
      polarized (one blade wider) you *MUST* connect the wires correctly
      to preserve polarization.  If you don't understand how to do this,
      then don't undertake to replace the plug or socket yourself.
      
      If  the wire is bad consider cutting the bad piece off one end and
      having a shorter cord.  If its bad in the middle, considef cutting
      it out and making two shorter cords.
      
      And  also  consider  that for safety and piece of mind it might be
      better to just buy a new extension cord.  Might even cost less.

    
    I took apart the socket and voila! Mystery solved! For some reason,
    there weren't any wires connected to the terminals. I talked to my
    father (he gave me the cord, among other things when he sold his house)
    and he told me that he accidently cut the cord when he was trimming his
    hedges. He thought he had either bought a replacement or repaired it.
    I guess he just put the cut end back into the socket so he wouldn't
    lose it and then totally forgot about it. Two of the exposed wires were
    probably touching the same terminal in the socket causing the fuse to
    blow. 
    
    Anyway, the repair looks straightforward enough. I just need to know
    which wires to connect to which terminal. It's a polarized socket with
    a ground. The cord has a green wire and a black wire and a wire wrapped
    in a paper like material (I assume that's the ground). If I guess, I
    know I have a fifty percent chance of getting this right ;-). If any of
    you know which one is which (I'm sure a LOT of you do) I'd appreciate a
    reply. 
    
    Thanks,
    
    Steve B. 

    (someone else correct me if I'm wrong)
    
    Green is usually ground.
    Black is nuetral.
    The one with paper around is probably white (?) and would be "hot".
    
    (hows that sound?)
    
    Steve

    
     Wrong.... 
    
     Green is ground, White is neutral and black is hot. If this is a
    110v the neutral is on the left as you face the socket. It is bigger
    then the hot side. If it is 20amp outlet (110volt) the neutral looks
    like a sidways t. 
    
    		Wayne

re .4:

Black is hot and white is neutral in US electrical wiring.  You have this
backwards.

re .3:

I don't like this cord!  The ground is supposed to be green or bare, and
you have one of each!  As described, the cord has one hot, no neutrals, and
2 grounds!

In reality, the electrons don't care about the color of the insulation.
But if anyone else opens up the cord to modify/repair it, a dangerous
situation could result.

The most important connection to get right is the ground.  Determine with
an ohmmeter which wire is connected to the ground prong on the 'good' end.
That's the ground.  While you're at it, determine which wire goes to the
neutral (larger prong) and hook that to the larger slot.  You should have one
wire left, I think you can figure out where it goes.

-Mike

    Sorry guys.   (At least I had the green one right...)
    
    (I just figured white = hot like "whitehot" and so far at the house
     I've only added to existing wiring by adding white to white and black
     to black... Time to get a good home-electricity book..)
    
    Steve

    Re: 0.5
    
    And just to confuse things a little more, the larger prong (nuetral)
    is on the RIGHT-HAND side facing the outlet (new code) thus:
    
    			U
    			   I
    		     I	   I
    			   I
    
    As the ground lug is now installed UP.
    Sorry for the crude drawing.
    
    /Russ

    re: .7
    
    	Try thinking of BLACK = HOT as in the charred color you will be if
    you make a mistake with the black wire.

    In the PLUG, usually, the screws are coded to indicate which is
    which.
    
    The ground screw head attaching to the u shaped ground pin, is often
    lacquered Green.
    
    The neutral screw head is usually "silver" in colour, attaching to the 
    white or white paper wrapped wire.
    
    The hot screw head is usually "brass" in colour, attaching to the
    black (or VERY occasionally red).
    
    
    (Re wire colours, be thankful you aren't in Europe where Brown is hot,
    Blue is Neutral and Green or Gree/Yellow is ground!)
    
    
    Stuart

re .10:

>    (Re wire colours, be thankful you aren't in Europe where Brown is hot,
>    Blue is Neutral and Green or Gree/Yellow is ground!)

...or Japan, where red is ground!

p.s.  I have a US power cord color-coded with the above brown/blue/green color
code, not sure where it was made.

-Mike

    
    I made a bit of a mistake when I wrote the base note. I said that the
    white wire was wrapped in paper. When I stripped back some of the
    orange sheathing I found that the white wire was indeed insulated like
    the other two. So, if I have this correctly, the white wire gets
    connected to the wide blade (neutral) terminal, the black wire gets 
    connected to the small blade (hot) terminal and the green wire gets
    connected to the ground terminal. Before I plug it in, did I get it
    right?
    
    Steve B. 

    rep11.
    Mike,
    sounds like you have a DEC power cord.....  You didnt take one
    home did you....! :)
    
    JD

re .13:

>    Mike,
>    sounds like you have a DEC power cord.....  You didnt take one
>    home did you....! :)

Actually, it came with the house.  But previous owner _was_ a DEC employee,
and it does look like a DEC power cord, so...

-Mike

    I've always heard that it's a bad idea to use extension cords in a
    permanent situation but I'm not sure exactly why.  We have a TV, stereo
    receiver, CD player, turntable, and VCR plus a couple of 3-way lamps but
    not enough outlets within reach of the cords from these.  Here's the
    basic layout:
    
                ____________________________________O___
    		| BBBBBBBBB          VCR    TT         |
     		| BBBBBBBBB    L      TV    RCV     L  |
    		O                            CD        |
    		 
    	where O is an outlet
    	      B is a bookcase
    	      L is a lamp
    	      and the electronic stuff is stacked up in an entertainment
    	      center in two columns.
    
    The receiver has two outlets in the back of it so I can plug the
    TurnTable and CD player in there and then plug the receiver and the
    lamp to the right in the outlet to the right.  The TV and VCR will not
    reach the outlet to the left and if they did, there would still be no
    place to plug in the lamp to the left.
    
    So, I thought maybe one of those power strips that are used for
    computer equipment might be the way to go.  Is there any reason not to
    use one here?  Any other ideas besides moving things around which is
    not an option?
    
    							John

    
    I'll take a stab at one reason:
    
    Because power cords are stranded wire and as they break down from
    use/age the electrical resistance of the cord will increase?  House 
    wiring is solid wire.

    
    Mostly because people overload them. Most home type extension cords
    ar 16 or 18 gauge....not exactly designed to handle an entertainment
    center, lights etc all at once. 
    
    Have an outlet added to the room withing 6 feet of where you want
    to place the stuff and the cords that come with the appliances will
    reach. Thats really the safest thing to do.
    
    BTW most commercial/industrial buildings are wired with stranded wire
    even on the branch circuits...but then again the gauges tend to be #12
    and up........
    
     
    
    

    I've used one of those power strips on my audio and video equipment for
    years and haven't had a problem.  The strips I have have built in
    circuit breakers so that should help at least notify me of overload.

Hi,

	The cords I was thinking of in my reply are the el-chepo types with
the molded plugs and receptacles. The kind you find for $1.98.

The power strips typically are made with a heavier cord. These should work fine 
within reason. They usually have a decent receptacle in them which makes
better contact with the blades of the plug that is plugged in. But there are 
terrible versions of these on the market also so you have to be careful when
you buy to get something of quality.

Later

Paul

    
      In actuality, it would be rather hard to overload a 'good' power
    strip unless you plug high draw appliances (such as Microwave, toaster,
    hairdryer) into them with a bunch of other stuff. Items such aas
    stereos and tvs etc use faily low amounts of power. For example, a
    decent power strip will be able to handle 1500 watts. A large tv will
    draw 250ish, stereos 50-300, cd players like 20 watts, VCRs like 50
    watts,  etc. That should give you an idea.
    
    				Kenny

�	The cords I was thinking of in my reply are the el-chepo types with
�the molded plugs and receptacles. The kind you find for $1.98.
�
    
    Well, the original question was regarding the power strips.

    Actually I was wondering about those $1.98 extension cords since my
    wife uses them occasionally and I wanted to be able to give her a good
    reason why she shouldn't use them in any permanent situation.
    
    But for the TV and stuff I thought the power strip would work fine and
    I'm glad to hear that it's acceptable for now.
    
    							John

    
    re .20 
    
    	Didn't catch the power strip first time around...
    
    	I must of had a brown-out :')
    
    
    

    I looked at the cheaper extension cords at Richs yesterday and they
    were rated at 1650 watts.  Just FYI
    
           Dean

I believe that one reason the electrical code requires an outlet within
6' of every point along a wall is so that people will not need extension
cords for consumer appliances with standard 6' cords.  I expect that this
rule was added to the code because of a high rate of burndowns that were
traced to the use and abuse of extension cords.

One of the problems with extension cords is that sometimes people route
them under rugs or in places where they can be stepped on.  Stepping on
them risks trip injury, breaking the conductors, or damaging the
insulation.  Putting them under a rug is an even worse fire hazard.  I
believe that the light gauge wires of a cheap extension cord heat up
significantly if you actually use them at anything near their max rated
voltage.  It is certainly the case that the cord attached to our electric
heater warms up significantly when it is in use, and it is heavier than
the standard cheap extension cord.  Having the extension cord heat up is
ok if:

    1)  the insulation is rated for that heat,
    2)	the cord is exposed to air so that it doesn't overheat, and
    3)  the electrical device can tolerate a voltage loss.

That's the case with lights and heaters (if the cord isn't under a rug).
And things like TVs and VCRs don't draw enough to heat up the cord.
A power strip, however, should be fine -- so long as its cord isn't 
where it can be stepped on regularly.

	Enjoy,
	Larry