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[Shop-talk] 220V extension cord with breaker

Subject: [Shop-talk] 220V extension cord with breaker
From: strovato at optonline.net (Steven Trovato)
Date: Thu, 31 Mar 2011 00:15:32 -0400
References: <361299374.281825.1301516459043.JavaMail.root@sz0129a.westchester.pa.mail.comcast.net> <1998817713.281864.1301516497416.JavaMail.root@sz0129a.westchester.pa.mail.comcast.net> <006a01cbef19$4e71c1d0$eb554570$@com> <2968A0FF9B6E7A4EB08A6B3FED65DBC67B16E5@bnaexg01.cci-ir.com> <0LIW004DPGKRHJ00@mta1.srv.hcvlny.cv.net> <DF70E92AB78F438D82CECC0B3781A071@HP62011>
Yes, that's exactly what I said to my electrician friend.  The answer 
is that your clock radio is designed to handle faults involving up to 
20 Amps.  That is, if something goes wrong inside, it is supposed to 
hang together without setting your night table on fire until the 
breaker blows.  Now, nothing's perfect, otherwise all those nice 
firemen could take early retirement.  But all those normal household 
devices are supposed to be designed to handle faults that might 
happen until the breaker trips.  Now if you were to plug those 
devices into a higher amperage circuit, then they would have to 
handle fault conditions longer with higher current.  Same idea with 
the saw.  Perhaps if the saw motor shorts out a bunch of smoke comes 
out and the 30 amp breaker trips.  Or smoke comes out and flames 
shoot out the back and the 50 amp breaker trips.  Now neither of 
these is likely to happen.  But that's the way a lot of safety stuff 
is.  They try to make relatively unlikely bad things be even less 
likely to happen.

-Steve

At 11:39 PM 3/30/2011, Arvid Jedlicka wrote:

>Sorry but I need a little education here ...
>
>How then does every lamp, laptop power supply, corded electric power 
>tool and every other thing that I have in my house meet code? None 
>of them have 12 gauge wire on them yet they all plug into the 
>outlets in my house that are rated for 20 amps? Heck, some of the 
>devices seem to only have 20 gauge wire on them and are rated to 
>draw only half an amp or less.
>
>Just curious? And I suspect your house has many situations that are 
>similar to mine. That or you have a much more robust clock radio 
>next to your bed than I do.
>
>Arvid

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