Electricity question

[Teunis]

Yes I read the reason, your ways cable most be hard to come by

[logan01]

Yes, I understand. I was just covering all bases.

[DoYouKubuntu]

Yes I read the reason, your ways cable most be hard to come by

Indeed. Here in the wilderness known as Los Angeles, it's IMPOSSIBLE to get extension cords!! (But seriously, I was under the impression that using extension cords with heaters was not a good idea.)

[Teunis]

Extension cords are no problem for heaters or anything else, providing they can handle the current, the Amps.
In the US this is due to your low Voltage and design of plugs & sockets a bit of a challenge, for the same power you need double the current we do in Europe.
Just have a good look at the label so the cord and plugs are fit for the required current + a bit spare (nominal 15-16 Amps) and you're safe.

In my younger days I used to be a licensed electrician

[sithlord48]

if you want an extention cord you need to buy one with at least 14 Gauge wire inside of it although to be safer i would get (or make) one w/ 12 Gauge (i.e rated for 20AMP). The Reason they say not to use an extenion cord in the book is because the common wire sizes for them are 18 or 16 gauge both of them are way under rated for this device. It also says in the book not to plug it into a surge protector or power strip and my assumption is because most of them will trip with the device. The user guide does not say its total draw so we need to find that. There will be a sticker on the heater showing its V and A use i don't think the 1500W is total draw of this device. I suspect that 1500W is only for the heater portion and not the fan.

When you plug that thing into the wall you might blow the breaker for that circut . its gonna depend on what else is on that circut. if im reading this correct we have on it

1500W heater, 3x 60W bulbs , 40W bulb , TV( varies but avg is around 300W) , a fan (usually between 60W and 120W) , DVR ( not sure but lets say about 200-300W) if thats all one the circut its gonna be to much draw..

Since W= A*V and we know the W and V we can figure out how many amps are on that circut.

(1500W+ (60W*3) + 40W +300W + 120W + 300W) / 120V = 20.41 Amps you would need at least 10 Gauge wire in your walls and a 25Amp mininum breaker to not trip that . you NEVER want to use the full rating of the circut its a common practace to leave it at least 20% under its trip point.

Im gonna guess you have either CFL or LED bulbs in those lamps. Since incandecent have a short life time and are hard to find now . So with CFL your really using about 13W to make the same Lumens worth of light that a 60W incandecent can make ~500 iirc. and even less for the LED (my 800 Lumen LED bulbs use 10.5W) so you could have a bit less use then above.

The "problem" as i stated a few posts back is that heater is using (at least) 1500W so its 12.5 Amps and a common household circut is 15Amp so it really should be the only thing on the circut. Im also guessing that your surge protector is tripping at more around 13AMP and that could be with a peek use perhaps w/ the heating element and fan running at the same time on the heater

[vsreeser]

I bought a Lasko oscillating ceramic heater and plugged it into a surge protector. When I used it for the first time this morning, it ran for a few hours with no issues. Tonight, however, after only about 20-30 minutes, it tripped the surge protector. According to its user manual:



So the fact that what's described above did NOT happen, and instead the surge protector got tripped, what should I make of this? Do I need an electrician...again? (I recently had a major rewiring job done to put in a dedicated 208-230V line for a 24,500 BTU window A/C unit.) Can I plug the heater into the outlet that's for the A/C unit? Should I return the heater? WHAT WHAT WHAT??!!

Never plug a heater or a laser printer into a surge protector. They draw too much power. If you use an extension cord, make sure it's heavy duty one. Best rule of thumb, heaters and laser printers straight to the wall. Don't use extension cords or plug multipliers on heaters either. Fire hazard

[Teunis]

Yes I realise this plays on the eastern coast of the Pacific but such a wire for up to 16 Amps would in Real Terms measure 2.5 mm2

[DoYouKubuntu]

Quick check-in guys (and any other stray gals): I've been *SICK* for the last couple days; awful diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and chills. I have no idea what hit me, but something did. This is the first time I've felt good enough to sit up for two minutes to check my mail and pop in here. In the words of our former Governator, I'll be back!!

[Qqmike]

Get well DYK! Hope you get well enough for at least a little bit of Christmas cheer & goodies. (I am fighting off some kind of bug, and so far I seem to be winning--but it is letting me know it hasn't given up yet.)

[DoYouKubuntu]

Get well DYK! Hope you get well enough for at least a little bit of Christmas cheer & goodies.

I can VERY HAPPILY report that I'm about 95% recovered now! I'm still feeling pretty washed out, but all things considered I'll gladly take that over what I had a few days ago, you know?

(I am fighting off some kind of bug, and so far I seem to be winning--but it is letting me know it hasn't given up yet.)

Oh, no! I REALLY hope it didn't progress into the awful thing I had, or anything similar. How are you feeling now? Hope you're okay!

PS I'm now going to catch up on the posts in this thread pertaining to my question. However, I want to mention that I've been running the heater--plugged directly into a wall outlet--for several hours each day without issue, so it's looking like the surge protector was the problem all along.

[Qqmike]

Oh, no! I REALLY hope it didn't progress into the awful thing I had, or anything similar. How are you feeling now? Hope you're okay!

It never progressed into anything like a cold or flu, luckily. A nurse-friend speculates that I did have a virus, but I was successfully keeping it down to where it didn't manifest in any worse symptoms. I changed the brand of beer I drink, and that helped! Or maybe it was all the posole (with hot red, ground chile peppers.)

[DoYouKubuntu]

It never progressed into anything like a cold or flu, luckily. A nurse-friend speculates that I did have a virus, but I was successfully keeping it down to where it didn't manifest in any worse symptoms. I changed the brand of beer I drink, and that helped!

I'm glad to hear you're better, and it didn't turn into something really awful. As for the beer remedy...well, I don't drink, so I haven't tried that!

Or maybe it was all the posole (with hot red, ground chile peppers.)

My favorite condiment is ground red cayenne pepper, and as soon as I started eating again I put lots of it on everything.