# extension cord end getting hot



## dtbaker (Jan 5, 2008)

I have a 25', heavy duty 10ga extension cord for my charging says its rated for 15 amps. Elcon pfc-1500 pulls about 12amps from the wall. The cord itself doesn't get warm, nor does the wall end, but the male plug end gets quite warm to the touch.

This particular cord end is one with clear plastic and neon 'live' indicator light in it. Do ya'll this THAT is problematic? I'm considering chopping that off and putting on a plain non-lit end.....

comments?


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## Ziggythewiz (May 16, 2010)

So the male end doesn't go in the wall?

What does the warm end connect to, is it a recessed socket?


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## dtbaker (Jan 5, 2008)

Ziggythewiz said:


> So the male end doesn't go in the wall?
> 
> What does the warm end connect to, is it a recessed socket?




ooops, sorry, got that reversed. 
the wall outlet, MALE and non-lit end, doesn't get warm at all.
the car end, FEMALE neon lit clear plastic end, gets quite warm.

I just tried my old non lit smaller gauge extension and it didn't get warm at all.... so I guess I'm asking if other people have noticed these clear ended lit ends getting quite warm?


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## TheSGC (Nov 15, 2007)

Those lit ends are made of some really soft plastic and do get really hot. Within 3 weeks you will melt the end off. What I do is just cut off the lit ends and wire up an industrial 15A continuous plug.


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## onegreenev (May 18, 2012)

I'd go a larger diameter wire and a higher rated plug ends. I had the same issues where the ends got soft and mushy and ruined the ends. This is where cheap crap will cause problems. That is my issue with the whole 110 wall outlet for charging. Too much amperage for too long on a cheap cord. I built heavier duty extensions that never get hot. Be careful. Oh yeah, one of mine was not a cheap soft plastic end. It was one that should have taken 20 amps just fine. Nope. The cord is no longer used for charging. If those ends get too hot they can burn.


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## PStechPaul (May 1, 2012)

Some of those cords have crimped connections which may not be very good, and the soft plastic may interfere with the contact pressure of the female receptacles. A proper 15A wall receptacle is built with stronger springs, and a 20A industrial receptacle has so much pressure that it will pull the blades out of an ordinary extension cord male end. Most problems in electronics are caused by bad connections.


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## exchaoordo (Aug 4, 2010)

I have a 50' 12Ga cord and have never had it get hot. I'm assuming you've got just an LED in there, so that shouldn't do it. You probably already know this, but be sure you're going into at least a 20Amp circuit in the wall and that whatever your lighted end goes into is designed to take it. If you do chop off the end, please be sure to let us know if it worked!


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## dtbaker (Jan 5, 2008)

exchaoordo said:


> I have a 50' 12Ga cord and have never had it get hot. I'm assuming you've got just an LED in there, so that shouldn't do it. You probably already know this, but be sure you're going into at least a 20Amp circuit in the wall and that whatever your lighted end goes into is designed to take it. If you do chop off the end, please be sure to let us know if it worked!


yes, I chopped off the clear end and installed a 'regular' 15-amp plug end. It barely gets warm now, so *something* about the clear lit plug ends is not good for extended high-amp use. 

The elcon pfc-1500 pulls about 11 or 12 amps from the wall, so it's not overloading the circuit, or exceeding the actual extension cord wiring....


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## TheSGC (Nov 15, 2007)

dtbaker said:


> yes, I chopped off the clear end and installed a 'regular' 15-amp plug end. It barely gets warm now, so *something* about the clear lit plug ends is not good for extended high-amp use.
> 
> The elcon pfc-1500 pulls about 11 or 12 amps from the wall, so it's not overloading the circuit, or exceeding the actual extension cord wiring....


I went to Ace Hardware and got the industrial 15A plugs and my Elcon 2000+ pulls 15A from the wall and the plug doesn't get warm.


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## cts_casemod (Aug 23, 2012)

I would advise getting good quality plugs for both ends as most plugs arent rated for continuous use. Also, if you have a built in fuse, removing it does help the socket to stay cool, just make sure you have a working circuit brealer or other fuse on the circuit. I had a few high power devices that melted the plug like a tumble drier and a water heater, as the fuse overheated, so just a warning.


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## Ziggythewiz (May 16, 2010)

I melted several in-line fuse holders supposedly rated for 5-10x the amps, then went without for a year or two, then added a big fat external bussman.

I guess when it comes to charging continuous ratings aren't enough since we don't stop after 1 hour.


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## Salty9 (Jul 13, 2009)

Everybody probably knows this but is not good practice to have a coiled cord when in use.


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## cts_casemod (Aug 23, 2012)

Ziggythewiz said:


> I melted several in-line fuse holders supposedly rated for 5-10x the amps, then went without for a year or two, then added a big fat external bussman.
> 
> I guess when it comes to charging continuous ratings aren't enough since we don't stop after 1 hour.


Quite true. 
In the UK our plugs have built in fuses and this is what causes most of the issues as one of the terminals overheats, acting as a heatsink for the heat generated by the fuse.
I remember once my wife had the washing machine and the water heater at the same time from same socket, so about 25Amps for the short time when both thermostats were on. As this was on the kitchen there was a safety switch to disable to socket, which melted and cut power due to the heat the fuse was making.

I went to change the fuse but to my surprise it was fine with almost twice its rated power, so I had to change the switch! Whats the point then!? Save a fuse, change a socket  

The circuit breakers are all 32Amps, so the best advice Is to make sure the breakers are okay and just use a wire instead of fuse, when possible as the heat causes the metal to expand and loose pressure, causing less contact area, more heat and so on...

You guys in the USA should have a few issues with that. How much are the plugs rated for in there? 20A?


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## Ziggythewiz (May 16, 2010)

Most everything says 15A regardless of size. Some things will look like they can take 50 while for others 10 is questionable.


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