When using variable power (600- 1500 watt) fan driven electrical box style heaters I often plug them into computer style power strips. In almost all cases I’ve found the female AC socket the male AC plug goes into become charred and slightly melted over time if the heater is used at full power. This has happened to virtually all of them.
This has been true even using different heaters and different power strips over time. Is this a universal thing that should be expected over time? Seems kind of dangerous for the typical use of an appliance.
I don’t think what your describing is anything unusual. You are going against the heater manufacturer’s recommendation and plugging it into an extention cord that isn’t rated for that type of amp draw. I’d expect overheating in that instance, which doe result in charing. Your power strip is probably not 14 Guage wire and the outlets on it probably don’t have enough copper to handle a 1500 watt load.
If you absolutely must use an extention cord for the heat use a single plug cord made with 14 gage or better wire. They sell extension cords for appliances.
An extension cord with #12 wire (or larger #10, #8) should work fine and not overheat. I assume the electrical cord attached to the heater is properly sized.
It’s your power strip that’s probably under-sized and heating up. Don’t use/plug other items on this power strip when you’re running the heater on high ?
At a recent fire inspection at my office, the only thing they cited us on was a space heater plugged into a power strip. They had no problem with the same heater being plugged directly into a wall socket.
So, as others have said, the strips are just not rated to supply that kind of power and they overheat. You can find extension cords at any hardware store that are rated for that if you need it.
This is an OSHA standard as well - the only thing you’re supposed to plug into power strips is stuff like computers, phone chargers, etc. Coffee pots, microwaves, heaters, and other high-current devices should be plugged directly into the wall.
'Course, that ignores the fact that 1500 watt computer PSUs exist. They aren’t common, and it’s even less likely that such a computer will draw the full load for significant periods of time, but they do exist…
Well, if you have that kind of computer, plug it into the wall directly…
For a computer to draw that much power, it would need to be something special. Probably 2-4 separate CPUs and 3-4 graphics cards, all ultra high end. Not very many people have or need that kind of computer. (for one thing, because ordinary applications cannot use it : you’d need very special software)
Exactly. It’s user error, not any failing of the equipment. You’re going to start a fire.
Household 120 volt outlets are generally rated at 15 amps. Your space heater is drawing 12.5 amps (1500W/120V=12.5A). Your power strip can’t handle that much draw.
Plug directly into the outlet, or get a better power strip or extension cord. Look for one rated at least 15 amps, with at least 14 gauge wire (preferably 12 gauge).
microwave ovens would have the same power draw as a space heater although they wouldn’t generally run the same amount of time. Shouldn’t burn up the strip but as you say, should be plugged in directly.
Yes, absolutely! There are different breeds of extension cords for good reason. I was over at a friend’s house a few days ago and discovered they had run their space heater on a light-duty extension cable (ye olde brown cord) and it had melted the plastic around all three sockets. I’m not prone to swooning, but I briefly considered it purely for dramatic effect. Regardless, I got them an appropriately hefty replacement cord.
#10 or #8 AWG (:eek:) is overkill for a portable household appliance. I would be astounded if a DIY or hardware store would stock a #8 extension cord, and if they did, it would likely have a non-standard plug on the end. Even a #10 cord is very heavy duty and you don’t normally see extension cords that size for household use. Heavier wire is usually reserved for stationary equipment that draws a heavier load. A power strip is not intended for heavy loading, particularly when there may be other things plugged into it. If an extension cord is going to be used for a heater, a standard single-plug cord of appropriate gauge is the way to go.
Not sure what you mean there. A standard garage-type premade extension cord (#14 or #12) should be fine. The factory installed plug ends are (hopefully) going to be rated for the wire gauge.
What we mean is a heavy-duty extension cord, with only a single plugable point at the end where you plug in the appliance (not the triple tap where up to 3 devices could be plugged into it, like on a normal extension cord). This is to emphasize that it’s to be used only for a single device, and remove the temptation to plug another device into this extension cord.
At the other end, you can safely plug it into 1 half of the normal duplex receptacle in the wall; you don’t need a single outlet receptacle. It’s probably best not to plug anything else into the other side of that duplex receptacle, but it’s likely safe even if you do. If the two devices combined pull enough to overload it, the breaker will trip just like it’s designed to do.
How close is the heater to the wall socket? Most wall sockets should handle 15 amps without a problem, but if your heater is too close, it could be adding to the heat generated within the wall socket and causing it issues.
Or, I suppose the socket could be misinstalled somehow, causing the overheating issues.
Overkill? Maybe, but you have a basic understanding of electricity and wouldn’t be caught dead overloading a circuit. Yes, the average power strip is not intended for heavy draw but that doesn’t mean that the uninformed isn’t going to unintentionally try to burn down the house. Sometimes too much is just enough (and probably safer)
Home Depot carries 12/3 and 10/3 extension cords. An electrical supply house or welding supply would probably carry 8/3 but more likely an 8/4 with locking plug.
One of the problems is that the cords on those devices tend to be only 18-24 inches long and won’t reach the outlet in most normal settings. The cord on our microwave is so short that the only way it will reach the wall outlet is to set it on the floor. The cord on my electric kettle is less than a foot long. Nearly impossible to use anywhere without an extension.