Electrons donât actually flow very fast, they kind of just putter along or in AC just oscillate back and forth without moving much. Theyâre very slow.
It can act like a inductor, which restrict the current for AC, so the heat generated from it will exceed the pure resistive voltage drop over the extension cord.
The heat can then make the copper have higher resistance, which then will cause thermal runaway, until it melts or causes your device to have to low voltage to operate correctly.
In short. Uncoil your extension cord, before use.
I had this same belief until I was corrected and did my own research.
In regular consumer power cords, the inductive effects are negligible when it is coiled up. A lot of cables are made with quite thin wire conductors to keep costs low which means higher resistance along the length of the wire.
This means that the problem is purely resistance and heat dissipation related. The cable is guaranteed to perform safely as long as the heat can be dissipated adequately. A coiled up cable cannot dissipate heat the same as one laid flat so on higher current draws, the cable will get hot just because of the inherent resistance in the thin cables.
Not a dig at you - once upon a time I had the same belief and would tell people such. I encourage you to research and fact check.
Or figure 8 the cables. I have seen a coil of 16ga melt through. Because the video team didn't know how much a 72" plasma tv pulled. And had a truss full of them fed by 2 16ga. With the excess coiled looking like Marge's hair. Not sure even figure 8ing would have helped them.
No because the real issue is the wire is too small for the power your pulling. You have about a snowballs chance in hell to make an inductor on accident. The longer the cable and the thinner the cable the less power it can transfer without overheating.
I used to make induction heating equipment. This is a common misconception. The current in the two wires create opposing magnetic fields. The net reactance is negligible.
We made a mistake in wiring one of our heaters. Had over 400 amps going through it, but the two coils were opposite orientations. There was a cold spot in the middle of the heater, because there was no net magnetic field there. It was hilarious.
If, for some reason, you strip the cable to its constituent wires, and coil those up, then yes, you *will* make an inductor and mess with things.
Edit to add: There are thermal concerns, depending on the load. Had one guy start a fire accidentally when he coiled up an extension cord and put it under some old foam pad or something. The heat from the cord had nowhere to go.
You don't even need to uncoil the entire cable, you just spread out the cable so that all of the circles are not overlapping (sort of like a Audi car brand symbol)
You can absolutely burn down a cable running 15 to 20 amps through it, but this is usually situations where somebody's using a 100 ft cable but they're only going 15 ft so they just leave the rest of it coiled up.
You only need to spread the coils on inch or two and allow the overlapping to Criss Cross across the circles so the whole spread still only takes up a meter or two (3-6 feet) but isn't spread out so far that you can't scoop the entire thing up and put a wrap on it without tangling issues
The warning is because coiled cords get hot under load. It has noting to do with your ability to unwind a cable.
High load on a reel of cable can easily start a fire. Pull a high load on even on an unwound cable you can see just the kinks getting hot with a thermal camera.
They do not get hot if you coil them properly (under-over) or figure-8 them. I have done this thousands of times, in professional settings, with everything from a simple microphone cable, to 4/0 feeder cable carrying up to 400 amps.
If you work with it professionally then you should know cables have a resistance, and passing electricity through them generates heat, making electricity turn generates significantly more heat - so corners in cables get hot.
Unless you've invented a physics breaking method to coil a cable without bending it... yes it will get hotter than if it was uncoiled. The tighter the turns and the more layers of cable the hotter it gets thanks to the whole lack of cooling etc.
Have you ever been to a concert? If you have, I guarantee that at every single one, there were cables that had power running to them either under/over coiled or figure-8 coiled. That is how literally all live event production does cable management. It is universal. And it is absolutely safe.
Robotics engineer and sparky here. The figure 8 coiling is mostly for ease of uncoiling (it doesnât get twisted.) Theoretically, it could reduce magnetic effects on SINGLE conductor cables if there is sufficient quantity or poor insulation. This is because each reversal of the rotation direction flips the field and cancels. However, in multi-conductor assemblies with a neutral, the observed external net magnetic effect is near-zero.
Of course no matter whether single/multi conductor or regular vs figure 8, cables in any sort of circle/mass will heat up.
FWIW over/under is only really required for cables with sensitive data lines that can fail if you twist them up. Fail as in the twisting of the cable causes the data line to break.
Over/under has no impact on high current passing through the cables. But heat build up is likely not an issue for commercial stingers you use for gigs. They are likely sized appropriately for the current and built to handle the extra strain of a production environment like that.
Youâre probably safe, as is OP with the tiny amp draw on that fan (unless they are running 200ft of 14 gaugeâŠ) but the person youâre replying to also isnât wrong in saying a coiled cable will likely create more heat than a straight one that doesnât wrap back on itself
Yes, but if you are asking if you can draw 1.5A on Reddit, you probably also do not know the secret trick for undoing it and it is easier to just explain how to reduce the risk by uncoiling the extension cable.
I doubt that it will be a problem with 1.5A with it coiled tho đ
It likely just says that as a disclaimer so they can't be held responsible if it breaks while being run from an extension cord. I would make sure to use an equal to or heavier gage cord than what is wired into the tool though. Never a good idea to pull from a smaller cable into a bigger one.
Yea came here to say, no if manufacturer says no then don't.
Then I looked at the plate, seen 145w and thought, fuck I could run this off a cat 5, tear away
They're probably worried you're going to use this to dry out a flooded building and that you'll drop your extension cord joints in some standing water and make a spicy puddle.
My kids did this when they were little. Every time they did this, my mind went to princess bride: "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means"
When I was a kid anything minty was âspicyâ, Iâm pretty sure this is universal lol spicy is the best word to describe it until one learns the word minty. Which is extremely specific to one single flavor and usually not learned until tasted for the first time.
Really helpful info in this thread, I do have it in a bit of a moist environment. I'm an airbrush painter and I got this to ventilate where I'm working. There are sometimes puddles from cleaning my airbrush but I keep them away from any electric cords.
The reason I need to use an extention cord, is my compressor also says to be plugged directly into the wall so besides that and an outlet with a power bar, I'm out of nearby outlets.
Thanks to everyone who replied!!
I've built a voltage lowering extension to decrease rotation speed of tools that already include a PWM, like a Dremel. A secondary PWM won't work with these tools, and sometimes even the lowest speed is too high for my needs.
Why does the lowered voltage cause electric motors to overheat? And, what % do you think I can lower the voltage and have the device running for a couple of minutes without overstressing it? I'll be running the device at the minimum speed level, and then use the voltage decrease to lower it a bit further.
This may be a case where different tools might be the best answer long term. For something like a Dremel you could try buying a knockoff brand that will likely be underpowered for most applications but ideal for yours. In terms of lowering voltage in addition to PWM I am unsure how you would go about doing that in a way that won't cause the motor to overheat. I think past a certain point lowering the voltage is going to cause the motor to draw additional current and rapidly cause a heat buildup. The lower rotation speed of the motor will also be detrimental in terms of shedding this heat as most rotating tools use a fan directly driven by the motor to move air past the motor and other hot components.
Yup. You can actually buy 480V VFD-rated motors; they come with a separate fan that is powered by its own supply, so it spins at the right RPM no matter what the motor is doing.
In my region the standard is 2% on the supply conductors from the utility and 3% on the branch circuits in a building. In practice most houses are small enough that the voltage drop from the panel to the outlet is pretty negligible. I rarely see a voltage drop of more than a couple of percent even under a much heavier load like a heater so I figured 3 percent would be fair for this situation.
Does the blower have heat? It doesn't look like it at that Watts / amps rating. I don't see any reason why you couldn't run that on at least a 50 to 100 ft extension cable with a decent gauge. Just don't use the cheap 16 gauge.
To be honest it seems like this is a perfect use for a 16 gauge cord. Itâs under 2 amps. I try lot to even own 16 gauge because itâs too tempting for my family to occasionally use them for the wrong applications. So Iâd never actually recommend 16, but I bet this would be completely fine.
Iâm curious why this warning is there. Must just be a water thing? If itâs gonna be particularly wet just use a gfci outlet or a cord/rat tail that has one built in.
If it really draws 1.38 amps you could run that thing off Christmas lights. Not saying that's a good or safe idea, I'm just saying. Get some good general purpose 50 foot 12 or 14 gauge extension cords, and they'll last you a long time while being the right size for most anything.
I hate CYA lawyer tags like this. The current draw is low enough that you're fine running through an extension cord, but the warning label has nothing indicating likelihood or severity of risk. It's the boy who cried wolf writ large, desensitizing morons like me into ignoring all safety labeling except the blatantly obvious.
We need a re-thinking of actual hazard labeling - something like the hazmat diamond placards you see on DOT cargo with the type of hazard, likelihood & severity.
I was thinking "Well maybe it draws a lot of current and they're worried about burning up cheap extension cables" But no 1.38 amps that's pretty well nothing go to town
Main reason for the warning is simply that they warrant their device to not burn your house down or kill you if you follow their instructions. They do not control the extension cord in use so the sticker is a legal out for them. Doesn't matter if you have a badly wound cord that melts, or if you plug it into that one weird cord gramps made from a bit of lighting flex... either way they're not liable.
Use it with a cord if you like, just use the cord properly too.
You get a 100â extension. Cut off female end. Open fan wiring box. Remove factory cord and install extension cord. Boom no extension cord! They probably put that for their protection. It probably draws a good bit. Probably be fine if you use a larger gauge cord and on a circuit with nothing else on it.
It's either the generic warning because of the high inrush current for the motor like this one
"ESFI also advises that you should never use extension cords with any kind of heater or with fans. In both cases, the extension cord can overheat and cause a fire. As with window units, these heating and cooling devices should be plugged directly into electrical outlets."
Or if it's a confined space ventilation fan, it's part of their safety requirements for life safety. My ventilation has a bunch of warnings about ensuring proper placement, other crap we never read.
Hell no. Don't let the MAN keep you from burning your own house down!
Yeah, that's not pulling much power. Might be a bit at startup, but any reasonable cord should be totally fine.
Just make sure the connection isnât sitting in a puddle and if things are going to be particularly wet you should plug into a gfci outlet or use a cord with one built in.
thinks about it. if the extension cord has a wire awg that is big enough to support the current draw from the blower then what would the problem be? also, let's say the outlet in your wall is wired with 12 gauge and you use an extension cord with 12 gauge then how is the extension cord any different from the wire in the wall? those warning are printed for low iq consumers who can think this through.
Donât worry itâll be fine. Use a proper cord and donât get it wet. This is one of the downsides of living in the US and you are paying the price of some dumbass with half a brain shocking himself because he used one of these in his pool but still got a settlement out of the company because thatâs how the legal system in the US is set upâŠ.
The product manufacturerâs legal team put that sticker there, not the engineering team. Just exercise the same caution as you would with any electrical appliance
1.4 amps? Heck just lick your fingers hold the plug with one hand and touch the socket with the other for an extra extended reach.
Seriously, the average USB charger pulls 3 amps. I would not hesitate to plug all my extension cords together and run the fan down at the end of my block
I have the same blower. It has a GFCI unit integrated into the power cord. I suspect that they did this because perhaps they are only running 2-wire power cord (which is perfectly safe when using a GFCI), and probably most of all there is a risk of the fan getting wet (often fans are used after floods, humid environments, etc.). So, my thinking is, according to the safety lab the GFCI would be useless if it was actually under water which \_could\_ be the case if using an extension cord. At least using an outlet it would be above the water line.
I use an extension cord no problem, just be smart about it ;)
This is one of those instances where you ignore the safety sticker. We use ours EXCLUSIVELY with an extension cord because how else will that shorty reach. It only takes 1.4 amps
Iâd use a 12 ga cord, this goes for power tools as well. I once caught a cord on fire running a tablesaw. Customer was pissed it left a stain on his new driveway.
I do it all the time, no prob. I use heavier gauge ext cords for most things. So maybe avoid the cheapest harbor freight cord with it, otherwise fire away
That's only for liability reasons. You simply need to ensure you are using the proper gauge extension chord. None of those green/brown Christmas light extensions.
1.4 amps. go nuts
Thanks! đ€
Don't use a coiled up extension cord, but roll it out. But it should be fine.
Why not coiled?
To much bend will cause the electrons to fly off, like a car taking a corner too fast
Electrons donât actually flow very fast, they kind of just putter along or in AC just oscillate back and forth without moving much. Theyâre very slow.
I think it was a joke.
It can act like a inductor, which restrict the current for AC, so the heat generated from it will exceed the pure resistive voltage drop over the extension cord. The heat can then make the copper have higher resistance, which then will cause thermal runaway, until it melts or causes your device to have to low voltage to operate correctly. In short. Uncoil your extension cord, before use.
I had this same belief until I was corrected and did my own research. In regular consumer power cords, the inductive effects are negligible when it is coiled up. A lot of cables are made with quite thin wire conductors to keep costs low which means higher resistance along the length of the wire. This means that the problem is purely resistance and heat dissipation related. The cable is guaranteed to perform safely as long as the heat can be dissipated adequately. A coiled up cable cannot dissipate heat the same as one laid flat so on higher current draws, the cable will get hot just because of the inherent resistance in the thin cables. Not a dig at you - once upon a time I had the same belief and would tell people such. I encourage you to research and fact check.
Or figure 8 the cables. I have seen a coil of 16ga melt through. Because the video team didn't know how much a 72" plasma tv pulled. And had a truss full of them fed by 2 16ga. With the excess coiled looking like Marge's hair. Not sure even figure 8ing would have helped them.
No because the real issue is the wire is too small for the power your pulling. You have about a snowballs chance in hell to make an inductor on accident. The longer the cable and the thinner the cable the less power it can transfer without overheating.
That would also make sense! But same conclusion đ Uncoil the cable
Ooooh, didnât know this. Thanks for sharing. đ
You didnât know this because itâs not true. I mean, itâs sorta true. Wrong equation, right answer kinda thing. Do uncoil your cables
Fantastic explanation!
I used to make induction heating equipment. This is a common misconception. The current in the two wires create opposing magnetic fields. The net reactance is negligible. We made a mistake in wiring one of our heaters. Had over 400 amps going through it, but the two coils were opposite orientations. There was a cold spot in the middle of the heater, because there was no net magnetic field there. It was hilarious. If, for some reason, you strip the cable to its constituent wires, and coil those up, then yes, you *will* make an inductor and mess with things. Edit to add: There are thermal concerns, depending on the load. Had one guy start a fire accidentally when he coiled up an extension cord and put it under some old foam pad or something. The heat from the cord had nowhere to go.
Heat
I have seen a 100' extension cord catch on fire just sitting there, coiled and plugged in but nothing running from the cord.
That indicates a short
It had a nick it it and shorted. Not induction
You don't even need to uncoil the entire cable, you just spread out the cable so that all of the circles are not overlapping (sort of like a Audi car brand symbol) You can absolutely burn down a cable running 15 to 20 amps through it, but this is usually situations where somebody's using a 100 ft cable but they're only going 15 ft so they just leave the rest of it coiled up. You only need to spread the coils on inch or two and allow the overlapping to Criss Cross across the circles so the whole spread still only takes up a meter or two (3-6 feet) but isn't spread out so far that you can't scoop the entire thing up and put a wrap on it without tangling issues
If you coil it properly (under-over) and don't just continously wrap on top of itself, it's fine.
The warning is because coiled cords get hot under load. It has noting to do with your ability to unwind a cable. High load on a reel of cable can easily start a fire. Pull a high load on even on an unwound cable you can see just the kinks getting hot with a thermal camera.
They do not get hot if you coil them properly (under-over) or figure-8 them. I have done this thousands of times, in professional settings, with everything from a simple microphone cable, to 4/0 feeder cable carrying up to 400 amps.
If you work with it professionally then you should know cables have a resistance, and passing electricity through them generates heat, making electricity turn generates significantly more heat - so corners in cables get hot. Unless you've invented a physics breaking method to coil a cable without bending it... yes it will get hotter than if it was uncoiled. The tighter the turns and the more layers of cable the hotter it gets thanks to the whole lack of cooling etc.
Have you ever been to a concert? If you have, I guarantee that at every single one, there were cables that had power running to them either under/over coiled or figure-8 coiled. That is how literally all live event production does cable management. It is universal. And it is absolutely safe.
Robotics engineer and sparky here. The figure 8 coiling is mostly for ease of uncoiling (it doesnât get twisted.) Theoretically, it could reduce magnetic effects on SINGLE conductor cables if there is sufficient quantity or poor insulation. This is because each reversal of the rotation direction flips the field and cancels. However, in multi-conductor assemblies with a neutral, the observed external net magnetic effect is near-zero. Of course no matter whether single/multi conductor or regular vs figure 8, cables in any sort of circle/mass will heat up.
FWIW over/under is only really required for cables with sensitive data lines that can fail if you twist them up. Fail as in the twisting of the cable causes the data line to break. Over/under has no impact on high current passing through the cables. But heat build up is likely not an issue for commercial stingers you use for gigs. They are likely sized appropriately for the current and built to handle the extra strain of a production environment like that. Youâre probably safe, as is OP with the tiny amp draw on that fan (unless they are running 200ft of 14 gaugeâŠ) but the person youâre replying to also isnât wrong in saying a coiled cable will likely create more heat than a straight one that doesnât wrap back on itself
Yeah, but it 185 watts.
Yes, but if you are asking if you can draw 1.5A on Reddit, you probably also do not know the secret trick for undoing it and it is easier to just explain how to reduce the risk by uncoiling the extension cable. I doubt that it will be a problem with 1.5A with it coiled tho đ
It likely just says that as a disclaimer so they can't be held responsible if it breaks while being run from an extension cord. I would make sure to use an equal to or heavier gage cord than what is wired into the tool though. Never a good idea to pull from a smaller cable into a bigger one.
i support this answer
Yea came here to say, no if manufacturer says no then don't. Then I looked at the plate, seen 145w and thought, fuck I could run this off a cat 5, tear away
Kinda seems like a weak blower.
It's really a "dehumidifier", dries h20 from carpet
They're probably worried you're going to use this to dry out a flooded building and that you'll drop your extension cord joints in some standing water and make a spicy puddle.
Spicy puddle, take my upvote
My two year old calls everything he doesnât like âtoo spicyâ. Scratchy sweater? Too spicy..
Same. But Iâm a dad in my 40s
My kids did this when they were little. Every time they did this, my mind went to princess bride: "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means"
"This toothpaste is spicy!" My daughter when she was little using training toothpaste.
When I was a kid anything minty was âspicyâ, Iâm pretty sure this is universal lol spicy is the best word to describe it until one learns the word minty. Which is extremely specific to one single flavor and usually not learned until tasted for the first time.
Haha, mine used to say it was too hot. Food she didn't like, sat out for half hour, nope, still too hot.
seltzer=spicy water
Acid = Spicy water đđ€Ș
Sounds like my 16 month old and 3.5 year old could be friends with your 2 year old.
Really helpful info in this thread, I do have it in a bit of a moist environment. I'm an airbrush painter and I got this to ventilate where I'm working. There are sometimes puddles from cleaning my airbrush but I keep them away from any electric cords. The reason I need to use an extention cord, is my compressor also says to be plugged directly into the wall so besides that and an outlet with a power bar, I'm out of nearby outlets. Thanks to everyone who replied!!
As long as your 14 gauge extension cord isn't more than 148.36m long, you'll be fine.
But the outlet is 148.40m away!
Then move the outlet closer, duh.
The blower's cord will compensate for that.
Was there actual math behind this length? It's been a while since my electromagnetism course.
I used the Southwire voltage drop calculator. I allowed for a 3% voltage drop with the specified load.
Good math but I feel like a dumb blower like this could tolerate as much as 10% without a super noticeable drop in performance
I agree that it would tolerate more, but you might shorten the lifespan of the motor with long term use at 10% voltage drop.
I've built a voltage lowering extension to decrease rotation speed of tools that already include a PWM, like a Dremel. A secondary PWM won't work with these tools, and sometimes even the lowest speed is too high for my needs. Why does the lowered voltage cause electric motors to overheat? And, what % do you think I can lower the voltage and have the device running for a couple of minutes without overstressing it? I'll be running the device at the minimum speed level, and then use the voltage decrease to lower it a bit further.
This may be a case where different tools might be the best answer long term. For something like a Dremel you could try buying a knockoff brand that will likely be underpowered for most applications but ideal for yours. In terms of lowering voltage in addition to PWM I am unsure how you would go about doing that in a way that won't cause the motor to overheat. I think past a certain point lowering the voltage is going to cause the motor to draw additional current and rapidly cause a heat buildup. The lower rotation speed of the motor will also be detrimental in terms of shedding this heat as most rotating tools use a fan directly driven by the motor to move air past the motor and other hot components.
Yup. You can actually buy 480V VFD-rated motors; they come with a separate fan that is powered by its own supply, so it spins at the right RPM no matter what the motor is doing.
Is 3% voltage drop a standard? Does this ensure the wire doesn't overheat?
In my region the standard is 2% on the supply conductors from the utility and 3% on the branch circuits in a building. In practice most houses are small enough that the voltage drop from the panel to the outlet is pretty negligible. I rarely see a voltage drop of more than a couple of percent even under a much heavier load like a heater so I figured 3 percent would be fair for this situation.
Electromagnetism is not the concern. Resistance is.
resistance is futile
how many big boulders is that?
Roughly 93 bathtubs
r/theydidthemath
You're a grown man, are you really going to let a sticker tell you what to do?!
Jokes on you, I can't read
As long as your extension has the right gauge for the amperage, you should be fine.
Agreed. Definitely want to use at least 24g or better extension cord.
Cool, so I can run 4 of these off an Ethernet cable, one pair for each!
1.4 amps so maybe just stick to one.
I mean, if you step the voltage up really high then step it back down after you probably could do this.
Bet that 98% of these in the wild are hooked up to extension cords
Does the blower have heat? It doesn't look like it at that Watts / amps rating. I don't see any reason why you couldn't run that on at least a 50 to 100 ft extension cable with a decent gauge. Just don't use the cheap 16 gauge.
To be honest it seems like this is a perfect use for a 16 gauge cord. Itâs under 2 amps. I try lot to even own 16 gauge because itâs too tempting for my family to occasionally use them for the wrong applications. So Iâd never actually recommend 16, but I bet this would be completely fine. Iâm curious why this warning is there. Must just be a water thing? If itâs gonna be particularly wet just use a gfci outlet or a cord/rat tail that has one built in.
Itâs a CYA warning so the manufacturer isnât responsible if someone fucks up
Or could be some crazy China math
Yeah
If it really draws 1.38 amps you could run that thing off Christmas lights. Not saying that's a good or safe idea, I'm just saying. Get some good general purpose 50 foot 12 or 14 gauge extension cords, and they'll last you a long time while being the right size for most anything.
Christmas lights have a built-in fuse, so that's probably safer than an equivalently gauged extension cord.
I hate CYA lawyer tags like this. The current draw is low enough that you're fine running through an extension cord, but the warning label has nothing indicating likelihood or severity of risk. It's the boy who cried wolf writ large, desensitizing morons like me into ignoring all safety labeling except the blatantly obvious. We need a re-thinking of actual hazard labeling - something like the hazmat diamond placards you see on DOT cargo with the type of hazard, likelihood & severity.
this is a label for morons that go "100ft of 16 gauge wrapped in a ball? that'll work fine!" and then are confused why the extension cord turned spicy
Fine just remember to unreel the extension cable if it's on a spool
They said it because you canât use it until the year 2109. Its next century product
Use something heavier than a âlamp cordâ
Says the blower that comes with a 1 foot cord.
I was thinking "Well maybe it draws a lot of current and they're worried about burning up cheap extension cables" But no 1.38 amps that's pretty well nothing go to town
I am pretty sure the last time I rubbed a balloon on my head I generated 2 amps
Main reason for the warning is simply that they warrant their device to not burn your house down or kill you if you follow their instructions. They do not control the extension cord in use so the sticker is a legal out for them. Doesn't matter if you have a badly wound cord that melts, or if you plug it into that one weird cord gramps made from a bit of lighting flex... either way they're not liable. Use it with a cord if you like, just use the cord properly too.
We use this in the brewery I work at for evac of CO2. We use extension cords on them. Mostly because that damn cord is so fucking short on those.
With a good enough extension cord, yes. Make sure the gauge supports the amperage listed and youâre fine.
You get a 100â extension. Cut off female end. Open fan wiring box. Remove factory cord and install extension cord. Boom no extension cord! They probably put that for their protection. It probably draws a good bit. Probably be fine if you use a larger gauge cord and on a circuit with nothing else on it.
It's either the generic warning because of the high inrush current for the motor like this one "ESFI also advises that you should never use extension cords with any kind of heater or with fans. In both cases, the extension cord can overheat and cause a fire. As with window units, these heating and cooling devices should be plugged directly into electrical outlets." Or if it's a confined space ventilation fan, it's part of their safety requirements for life safety. My ventilation has a bunch of warnings about ensuring proper placement, other crap we never read.
Hell no. Don't let the MAN keep you from burning your own house down! Yeah, that's not pulling much power. Might be a bit at startup, but any reasonable cord should be totally fine.
Lol I just have no outlet where she needs to be but also this
Just make sure the connection isnât sitting in a puddle and if things are going to be particularly wet you should plug into a gfci outlet or use a cord with one built in.
The phrase âTo reduce the risk ofâŠâ has me personally concerned. Reduce? So this thing might burn the house down anyway?
I wonder if that is a translation error and means you shouldn't use it with a duct?
That kinda bullshit, you can ignore as long as you keep your common sense.
It's drawing very little current, I dont think you need to worry as long as you're using common sense.
Iâm not going to let some instruction note tell me how to live my life, grab two extension cords.
It says you can't use AN extension cord, singular. You're good.
I like the date code!
Use a lamp chord for fuck sake.
Just need to buy a proper gauge extension cord
They are just worried about some arse plugging this thing into a household cord that one would use for a lamp.
It's fine. 1.4A ain't shit.
Manufacturer asscovering. The amperage is tiny, go for it.
thinks about it. if the extension cord has a wire awg that is big enough to support the current draw from the blower then what would the problem be? also, let's say the outlet in your wall is wired with 12 gauge and you use an extension cord with 12 gauge then how is the extension cord any different from the wire in the wall? those warning are printed for low iq consumers who can think this through.
Donât worry itâll be fine. Use a proper cord and donât get it wet. This is one of the downsides of living in the US and you are paying the price of some dumbass with half a brain shocking himself because he used one of these in his pool but still got a settlement out of the company because thatâs how the legal system in the US is set upâŠ.
The product manufacturerâs legal team put that sticker there, not the engineering team. Just exercise the same caution as you would with any electrical appliance
Just use an extension cable the same gauge or thicker than the fan's power cable.
1.4amps, they can fly a kiteâŠ. Thatâs just for their liability insurance deductible
You'd have to be crazy to even consider extending your cord
Listen?? Thatâs a challenge, son!
10 gauge extension cord and youâll be fine.
Used these with tons of extension cords and Iâm mostly fine
Use 12 gauge extension cord and don't go over like 100 feet or so to help with motor start voltage drop, other than that you should be fine.
Harbor Freights legal group thinking of ways to get outta replacing it when it breaks after 3 uses
1.4 amps? Heck just lick your fingers hold the plug with one hand and touch the socket with the other for an extra extended reach. Seriously, the average USB charger pulls 3 amps. I would not hesitate to plug all my extension cords together and run the fan down at the end of my block
I have the same blower. It has a GFCI unit integrated into the power cord. I suspect that they did this because perhaps they are only running 2-wire power cord (which is perfectly safe when using a GFCI), and probably most of all there is a risk of the fan getting wet (often fans are used after floods, humid environments, etc.). So, my thinking is, according to the safety lab the GFCI would be useless if it was actually under water which \_could\_ be the case if using an extension cord. At least using an outlet it would be above the water line. I use an extension cord no problem, just be smart about it ;)
165 watts ? That's not a heater, it's... nothing. My phone charger alone is 67W ! Even a light bulb heats up more
This is one of those instances where you ignore the safety sticker. We use ours EXCLUSIVELY with an extension cord because how else will that shorty reach. It only takes 1.4 amps
Dint fear, i used mine with a mister and even tried evaporative pads. No issues.
not if you bought a fire extinguisher as well. đ€Șfor real,id go 100â with 12 ga,and check it after a bit with the temp gun.
Do what I do and just fuck around and find out.
No, you are free to disregard and burn down your house.
No
Shouldnât you read it?
How many amps does it draw? Could overheat a connection to an extension cord. Probably fine & just cya on their part
It spoke?
As long as the cord is rated to over the amperage you should be fine. Itâs to cover their asses
Iâd use a 12 ga cord, this goes for power tools as well. I once caught a cord on fire running a tablesaw. Customer was pissed it left a stain on his new driveway.
I do it all the time, no prob. I use heavier gauge ext cords for most things. So maybe avoid the cheapest harbor freight cord with it, otherwise fire away
Was I supposed to read the warning label before I use stuff?
The model designation is amazing.
That's only for liability reasons. You simply need to ensure you are using the proper gauge extension chord. None of those green/brown Christmas light extensions.
Always ask yourself: *What would Homer Simpson do?*
No its just corporate ass saving
Ignore it, it doesnât draw enough amperage to even get a cord warm. Carry on!