Extension cord issue mentioned

There are a lot of threads on here about heat/power loss with an extension cord.

Some of the more knowledgable folks on here have said that if it is the same gauge[or larger] as your house wiring,the attached Cookshack wiring,and as short as possible it " should" be ok.

There are meters to check this and also you can check the performance of the cooker pre and post extension cord.

IMHO the best approach would be not to use it ,if not absolutely necessary.

If you are using the Smokette, you really don't need a real heavy duty cord for a run of 25 ft. or less. It only uses 500 watts which is barely more than a multiple bulb light fixture. You probably don't need over a 14 guage cord. For a model 50 which uses I believe 1100 watts, you would probably want to go with a 12 guage cord.

MN Que

Here's a guideline I have from a compressor to minimize power loss and heat generation with extension cords:

Extension Cord Length Wire Gauge
Up to 25 ft 12 AWG
Up to 100 ft 10 AWG
Up to 150 ft 8 AWG
Up to 250 ft 6 AWG

If you're using a long cord, coiling it increases power loss over having it straight.

Hope this helps;
gk

A compressor is one thing. A smokette is another. A good sized compressor draws 3-4 times the wattage as a smokette. The lower the draw, the smaller the wire or the longer the length of wire you can use.

According to my official wiring code manuel, you should be able to run 90 feet on 14 guage wire at 5 amps (or 600 watts) power draw with 2% voltage drop (apparently a percentage deemed reasonable without negative consequences). Now the 500 watts that the smokette draws is only 83 percent of the amount from the table, so theoretically you should be able to have a longer cord or will experience less voltage drop with 500 watts.

What also comes into play here is the distance from the main panel to the plug-in in terms of actual wire length. That must also be considered in the voltage drop. But being that almost all outlets are wired with 12 guage wire, the voltage drop to the outlet should be minimal. One other thing that must be considered is any other draw that is ahead of the smokette on the same circuit. This will produce a voltage drop and the total wattage draw on the circuit must be considered then.

Hope this helps.

Mn Que

Smokin? you got any of those aspirin left??????

See,I told ya I'm just a cook,but if ya hung around awhile somebody that knew stuff would show up.

I defer to the electrician. Cripes, where's a beer when you need one?

man, nothing is simple in this wold except the fact I put meat in a CS box/go to bed/wake up. Meat cooked!!!!


Now that is simple