Advice for Newbies using OBS with extension cords

[cajunboudreaux]

Just keep in mind using long Extension Cords can reduce power to your Smoker.. You want to try and keep your unit plugged in as close as possible to a main power outlet. Mine is usually plugged in directly but i had to move it this weekend due to company wanting to take a looksy in the smoker(NO NO) so i moved it about 70' and the smoker would not heat over 180 once i moved it back to its original power source the heat kicked up right away..

Just a tip- incase you are having a problem getting your unit hot..

Hope everyone had a great newyear..

[RFT]

I use a 12g Heavy duty  extension cord with no problems.

[TMB]

For my 2 cents worth, I had a #10 cord made up that's 10 ft long.  Hey overkill but I don't have to ever be concerned about the cord  8)

[TomW]

Extension cords have amperage ratings on the packaging.  The outlet you plug it into (residential) is either a 15 or 20 amp outlet.  The wires in the house (usually 12 or 14 gauge) between the breaker box and outlet are rated to carry the amperage that the breaker provides (usually 15 or 20 amps).  Any extension cord that is rated 15 amps is all you need.  Anything bigger is overkill...

A 500 watt Bradley will draw a little over 4 amps max, so a 16 gauge extension cord or larger is adequate (16 gauge is rated about 10 amps).

Tom

[TMB]

I like overkill,  8)  I thought everone knew that.   ;)

No really, the # 10 cord was built for my Ele-Big Easy or BEESR as it is now called.  That little unit really works well with the #10 cord vs. the #12 or #14 cord.  Don't see why, when you do the math it should not matter but it does.   

[TomW]

I agree. Sometimes personal experience outweighs physics.  If I had to keep only one cord, it would be my 100 foot 3 wire with ground, #8 cord, wired for 220vac and 120vac  !

Tom

[squirtthecat]

I bet that is a bugger to coil up and stash under your workbench..   ;D

I have a 40 foot 'contractor grade' ($$) code to run my Bradley, MAK and Traeger. 

[beefmann]

I run 14 gage to my bradley, then again im running a 900 watt heater, a blower at another 100 watts, a 20 watt fan, 5 watt Pid timer controller and 125 watt smoke generator totaling 1250 watts so it depends on exactly what  you are running on your bradley and 14 gage  will handle 1800 watts easily,

[TedEbear]

Remember, it's not just the size of the load (amps) but the length of the extension cord also determines the size of the conductors it should have.  Here's an article on how to determine what you need.

Extension Cords Size Chart