Extension Cord Hell

Factual Questions
1

I know Nikola Tesla was determined to find a way to transmit electricity wirelessly, but until he does, does anyone have an elegant alternative to extension cord?

The situation is this: I have one outlet with two sockets, the standard in North America, as far as I know.

The devices I need to be plugged in are as follows: a floor heater (Costco-type). A sanding rice-paper Ikea lamp. Three in-bookcase shelf-lighting fixtures, all LED. Three more backlight LED bulb lights.

So we don’t have a story here of large power demands – just, a bunch of little stuff, each that demands its own separate plug, and thus, its own outlet inlet.

What I have now looks like a Frankenstein’s tangle of dangling extension cords, individual inline on-off switches, and down at the bottom, the power outlet.

I know I could install one of those plugin outlet extenders – the plastic ones that have two 3-pronged pins that insert into the outlet to create six “inlets.” But I still have those individual cords going to the lights and heater that I can’t dispose of.

Are there any elegant solutions to this problem? I know I could just wrap all the cords into one bundle and shove them behind the bookcase, but they would all be sprouting out between the bookcase and the power outlet in the end.

Barring wireless electricity, what are my options? I saw some extension cords from Korea called “Multi-lines” but I can’t find a vendor for them, and in any case, they’re just a bandaid on a broken limb.

Advice much appreciated! I think it goes without saying that almost all the outlets in my house have the same problem.

2

I have no idea what a “Costco-type” floor heater is, but any sort of heater is not “little stuff”. It probably consumes 1000 or 1500 watts by itself.

3

AS long as everything else is minimal - and with LED bulbs, it’s probably less than 100W combined - it should be okay. But good point. Generally, one heater to a room circuit is a good limit.

We have similar issues. Can you use one slim extension cord to go to the lamps, and coil or hide wires plugging into it? Using one cord to get the connections to a place behind furniture or such can tidy things up a bit.

4

Yeah, if that’s an electric heater it’s going to be pulling a lot of current. But the other stuff is not a big deal, assuming all the lights are CFL or LED.

If possible, you should not use any extension cords at all to plug in that heater. For the other stuff, you could take advantage of a big power strip like this which you can mount on the wall, hidden behind the bookcases, perhaps.

5

If you own the house you can add as many outlets as you want–but this is going to get expensive–and most people here would only add outlets for things with heavy power demands–perhaps the heater.

6

yeah plug the heater only into the wall receptacle.

you can use power strips, multi receptacle extension cords, power squid (multiple receptacles on short cords) in any combination one after the other.

the important thing is to only use the amount of number of cords you need; e.g. one 20 foot cord is better than four 5 foot cords plugged together.

so use a power strip behind the bookcase. this can be plugged into an extension cord that comes from another extension cord or power strip that powers your light.

7

I have a 120V 60Hz 1200W electric heater which I used several hours daily before I read the warning tag about using extension cords. I cannot do without the extension cord, so I continued use since I am always in the room when the heater is on. Neither the cords nor the outlet become hot, the outlet maybe a little warm.

How big is the risk? Could the thing all of a sudden start arcing and smoking? Burning?

8

if you must use an extension cord then look for one called an appliance extension cord. it will be heavy duty and cost more.

some previous discussion.

9

What matters is the resistance of your copper conductors in your extension cord. Resistance = wasting electricity as heat. Enough heat can melt the extension cord’s insulation.

To lower resistance you can either use a better conductor material (unfeasible) or a thicker copper wire. Lots of thick wire extension cords exist… typically with a single plug on the end so you can plug in one high current device. If you find one rated for 120V 15A and only plug the one thing into it you’ll be fine.

10

Fairly large. YES!

The fact that the outlet gets “a little warm”, is very troubling. You should get this addressed ASAP! The fire can spread to become uncontrollable in seconds. Have a large BC fire extinguisher close. Not in the next room. Beside your chair would be good.

I agree use the shortest, largest amp rated, extension cord that you can buy. Do not skimp on this. Only plug the heater into this, nothing else. I would be very worried about the house wiring in the wall as well as the rating on the outlet being used.

If you doubt my answers above about the likelihood of a fire, go to your local firehouse & ask the experts about this.

PS. I lost my oldest sister to a house fire caused by this exact practice. She had done it for years with no problems. Do not get complacent about this. We want you around for a while longer!

11

Huh… missed that the first read-through.

Definitely listen to Willys. That’s the last thing that should be getting warm. That might mean wiring issues and should be looked into. A poor connection at the blades of your plug, or a poor connection between the in-wall wires and the terminals on the back of the plug, are both easily fixed and should not be left unchecked.

12

This.

It is not a problem to use an extension cord with a heater if it is properly rated. An extension cord constructed with 14 AWG or 12 AWG wires should be O.K., though (if I were you) I would only use an extension cord constructed with 12 AWG wires.

As mentioned by johnpost, an “appliance extension cord” should be safe to use with a heater, but I would check the AWG of the wires just to be sure. I also like the extension cords made by Iron Box (and offered by Amazon).

13

Most older USA homes today, IMHO, are pitifully under-wired with sufficient outlets and circuits.

Not to mention homes over 20 years old. Who could predict today’s electrical requirements 20 years ago?

I suggest either moving to propane-powered appliances :slight_smile: or biting the bullet and adding some circuits to your house where most needed. An electrician is in your future; make friends with him.

14

The heater is one of those floor models that can turn from side to side. It is quite powerful – I noticed that it’s plugged directly into an outlet, not an extension cord.

I did buy an awesome power strip a while back – it comes highly recommended, although it might be a bit of an overkill, but the problem is, it’s still a visible thing. I guess there is no way to get around that.

I also have this awesome extension cord – again, highly recommended – but I’m using them both elsewhere. Perhaps I should bring those in to take care of this problem.

I guess I was hoping for some cutting edge new technology that I hadn’t heard of that does away with wires, but lacking that, I suppose I should just try to make the best of what I do have and just try to conceal the wiring as much as possible.

Anyone who does come up with wireless electricity is going to make a fortune.

At any rate, many thanks for all the ideas!