• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Extension cable?

Dthcore

Dthcore

Guest
May 5, 2014
102
6
33
#1
Would it be stupid to use and extension cable to power up my rig? I was thinking about just connecting everything one there. (3 things) And keeping it in the back of my skb case.

I know i can get something specifically made for that but i have some of those extension cables laying around ahah.
 
#6
The wire gauge makes a big difference. According to electrical code, 14 gauge wire is rated up to 15 amps for an extension. You can probably cheat up to 20 amps (which is all most residential circuits will handle) without creating a meltdown....but electrical code requires 12 gauge wire for 20 amps. You can always plug a triple-connection adapter into the end, but most of the ones I found while researching this post are rated only at 15 amps.

An AC strip has puny wire inside and is NOT a good device to put into the AC path for any equipment that draws a lot of amperage.

6957064555073lg.jpg


Price a 12 gauge extension cord on Amazon and you will be surprised at what they cost. If you buy one (I have a 100-foot 12-gauge cord for an electric snowblower) you will also find out that they are quite heavy. I think 14 makes more sense.

The diameter of the vinyl on the cable is NOT an indication of wire gauge. Lots of cheap extension cords use tiny (18 gauge) wire but make the cord fat by adding more vinyl.
 
#7
Pilgrim said:
The wire gauge makes a big difference. According to electrical code, 14 gauge wire is rated up to 15 amps for an extension. You can probably cheat up to 20 amps (which is all most residential circuits will handle) without creating a meltdown....but electrical code requires 12 gauge wire for 20 amps. You can always plug a triple-connection adapter into the end, but most of the ones I found while researching this post are rated only at 15 amps.

An AC strip has puny wire inside and is NOT a good device to put into the AC path for any equipment that draws a lot of amperage.

6957064555073lg.jpg


Price a 12 gauge extension cord on Amazon and you will be surprised at what they cost. If you buy one (I have a 100-foot 12-gauge cord for an electric snowblower) you will also find out that they are quite heavy. I think 14 makes more sense.

The diameter of the vinyl on the cable is NOT an indication of wire gauge. Lots of cheap extension cords use tiny (18 gauge) wire but make the cord fat by adding more vinyl.
Click to expand...

The length of the cord matters too. Not only does electric cable have resistance but, that resistance causes the line voltage to drop, that is expressed through the cable heating up. If your extension cord is 100 feet or so a 10 ga. conductor is recommended. A larger cable results in less voltage drop and as a result less heating.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Johnny Crab
#8
However, the voltage drop depends on the current being drawn. A 100 foot 14 gauge wire would be perfectly acceptable if it's only being used to power a weed trimmer drawing 4 amps. Voltage drop would be unacceptable if you're pulling 15 amps though.

This link has charts for various cord sizes and lengths, according to current draw (only starts at 10 amps though) [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bob Lee (QSC)
#9
A large Nashville church had two 100-foot 6-guage power cables made for a temporary lighting rig, used only for about 8-10 weeks back in 1990. Both cables came with dollys as they were several hundred pounds each. The plugs on each end were huge ones and required matching plugs on the lighting equipment. Total cost was about $3K. The cost was a lot less than having the power installed permanently. This setup had almost no power loss at the console end. I'm thinking the cables were about 1 1/2 inch in diameter. So yes the lower guage is expensive and heavy!
 
#11
dincz said:
What's the difference?
Click to expand...
Standard power strips are designed somewhat backward from what the common understanding is. They aren't necessarily designed to protect the things plugged into them. They have a relay that shuts off when more power is drawn than what they're rated for. Essentially a circuit breaker, usually rated at 15 amps, which is fine for household use, but music gear can pull much more than that, and don't even get me started on lights. Most places that have live music (unless they're idiots who like to run to the back room every five minutes) will have breakers rated at 20 or 30 amps each.

The thing is, in common household wiring, a power surge is extremely rare. Something pretty much has to get hit by lightning. A piece of gear will only draw what it needs to operate. So if you have too many things on a power strip it will probably shut off a lot. But the only thing it's protecting you from is the mains circuit breaker tripping. Nothing will be damaged if a little more current is drawn, worst case scenario is a house circuit breaker trips, and you reset it. Just like a power strip. Only the relays on most power strips are cheap, and wear out over time, tripping more easily. I've had a few power strips that became useless for anything more than one 40 watt lamp.


Sent from my iPad using TalkBass
 
#13
lowfreq33 said:
Standard power strips are designed somewhat backward from what the common understanding is. They aren't necessarily designed to protect the things plugged into them. They have a relay that shuts off when more power is drawn than what they're rated for. Essentially a circuit breaker, usually rated at 15 amps, which is fine for household use, but music gear can pull much more than that, and don't even get me started on lights. Most places that have live music (unless they're idiots who like to run to the back room every five minutes) will have breakers rated at 20 or 30 amps each.

The thing is, in common household wiring, a power surge is extremely rare. Something pretty much has to get hit by lightning. A piece of gear will only draw what it needs to operate. So if you have too many things on a power strip it will probably shut off a lot. But the only thing it's protecting you from is the mains circuit breaker tripping. Nothing will be damaged if a little more current is drawn, worst case scenario is a house circuit breaker trips, and you reset it. Just like a power strip. Only the relays on most power strips are cheap, and wear out over time, tripping more easily. I've had a few power strips that became useless for anything more than one 40 watt lamp.


Sent from my iPad using TalkBass
Click to expand...

I haven't ever seen a power strip that has a relay--only ones that have a circuit breaker.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back