Extension cord riddle
5 Jun 2021 12:15:13 UTC
Topic 225524
(moderation:
Riddle me this:
I have a 12 gauge 100 foot extension cord (rated for 300 V, 15 amps), with a power-on LED in the female-end plug. This has worked great for my electric mower and edger. The edger died, so I bought a new one, different brand, with a 12 amp motor. Plug in the new edger, pull the switch, and nothing - the cord's LED power indicator in turns off when the switch is pulled. When I use instead a standard 14 gauge 50 ft extension cord, the edger works fine, but the cord is too short for my yard. So, my clever wife says, "Plug the cord that doesn't work into the cord that does." Yeah, right, thinks I, but I try it for the sake of domestic harmony, et voilà, having the cords in series works! Does anybody have any idea what's going on here?
Ideas are not fixed, nor should they be; we live in model-dependent reality.
Some sockets aren't quite
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Some sockets aren't quite tight enough to get a grip on some prongs. Could that be it?
Ah, that's possible. The
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Ah, that's possible. The in-series setup works in both orientations (either cord plugged into the edger), but I have noticed an occasional loss of power while in-series that can be regained if I reposition the female plug end of the bothersome cord. It didn't seem to be an internal wire issue, but I hadn't considered prong connections. I'll give that a play.
Ideas are not fixed, nor should they be; we live in model-dependent reality.