extension cord saftey

[Col. Skillz]

I'm wondering if i can plug in one of those power surge protectors to a grounded extension cord.

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=70371-57775-2909&lpage=none

thats my cord

http://www.unitedsale.com/products/image-02/Fellowes-Basic-Series-Surge-Protector-FEL99012.jpg

thats the kind of power surge protector im talking about

I just want to know if its safe to plug that into the cord, and then a few things into the surge protector

[Col. Skillz]

this is what an "electrician" on yahoo answers told me,

what is the wattage on your glue gun and soldering iron?
to get amps from watts(needs to be under under 13amps in this case)
just take your total wattage and divide by voltage(usually 120v)

he also said a 16AWG cord isn't very strong, and would recommend 14-12A, and that it could result in a drop of volatge if ive got too many things plugged in which can damage tools.

can anyone confirm this?

[tesco]

It's safe, go ahead (i'm an electrician).
Unless you're plugging in something like a hair dryer, toaster, microwave, or other high-power appliance.
Those should be plugged into a 14AWG or bigger (a lower AWG number = bigger wire) extension cord, or directly into the wall (or 14AWG min. surge protector).


The glue gun usually uses 15-40watts. With the highest power ones that would be 0.33 amps. :P
A powerful soldering iron would be 150watts or 1.25amps.
This is assuming where you live uses 120volt in homes.
If it's 240volt then the amps will be much lower (half :P).

[Col. Skillz]

ahh thanks much man, i was told there's a formula for getting the amps, something like watts/voltage = amps and my soldering iron and glue gun came to about 50 watts total, which was nothing. i was actually talking to another electrician on another forum too =p

my cord is yeah 13 amps,16AWG, and he said i should i only use about 80% of that to be on the safe side, so something like 11. does that mean i can plug in the surge protector and any combination of things as long as they don't equal more than 11 amps and i will be safe? the cord thickness, awg, just measures how many amps it can use without an overload or danger right? how much is a wall socket normally? and for each wall socket there are two holes, so they both share the limit right?

anyway, as long as i don't go over my amps everything should be safe right? im concerned because one of the other things id like to plug in is my laptop, and i dont want to fry anything


thanks a ton, your knowledge is much appreciated =)

[tesco]

ahh thanks much man, i was told there's a formula for getting the amps, something like watts/voltage = amps and my soldering iron and glue gun came to about 50 watts total, which was nothing. i was actually talking to another electrician on another forum too =p

my cord is yeah 13 amps,16AWG, and he said i should i only use about 80% of that to be on the safe side, so something like 11. does that mean i can plug in the surge protector and any combination of things as long as they don't equal more than 11 amps and i will be safe? the cord thickness, awg, just measures how many amps it can use without an overload or danger right? how much is a wall socket normally? and for each wall socket there are two holes, so they both share the limit right?

anyway, as long as i don't go over my amps everything should be safe right? im concerned because one of the other things id like to plug in is my laptop, and i dont want to fry anything


thanks a ton, your knowledge is much appreciated =)No idea about europe.
But in north america the sockets are 120volt, 15amp or 20amp.

You don't have to worry about overloading the wall socket though... that is always protected by a breaker or fuse.