Long cords are due to what must not exist - a wall receptacle more than 2 meters away. Safe receptacles are even available to be mounted in the floor. Power strips typically do not have more than 2 meter cords because that distance is considered unsafe. To find one will probably require a power strip that does not have human safety approvals (ie UL, CSA, CE, etc).

Heres another thing. When i first checked out the apt, i checked the wifi while putting my laptop on a table and table is right in the middle of the room. Wifi connection worked the basic one but it wasn't too fast. The other one of course the vacation rental wifi... it was pretty good and fast. So i figure great i have 2 options for wifi and both of them work and the vacation rental wifi is very fast so i could stream things as well.


However, my wifi connection problems happen when i moved the table from the middle of the room to the corner of the room because the electric wall outlets are there and I have to connect both my laptop charger and my monitor to it. I got a surge protector but issue is its very short. So I then thought about getting an extension cord where i keep the table in the middle of the room and thus connect an extension cord to the wall and connect it to surge protector then to my laptop charger/monitor while table is in the middle of the room. I figure this would solve the wifi solution as it does seem the vacation rental wifi is very good if i move my laptop about 8 feet or so from corner of room to middle of room.


However, the other thread people say you are not suppose to use an extension cord permanently. I also dont really want to go and get internet installed as its a bit of a hassle and takes a lot of time. Im assuming if i get my laptop in the middle of the room, then the vacation rental wifi would be very good. Would you ever suggest this? People in other thread said either get a very long surge protector to connect from wall to your table in the middle or just keep table in corner like most people.


Basically as of now with laptop/table in corner where its near the wall outlet, the regular wifi connection given to me does work and seem stable... but its very slow where you cannot stream anything at all. The vacation rental wifi sometimes does work but i have to move laptop around a bit then many times it loses connection etc.

Yes im in Mexico. We don't order things online here. If we do, it gets lost in mail or it takes weeks to get it. I went to many places... none of them have a long surge protector. All are short ones and i got a surge protector thats very short so its not really of any use. And of course i saw many extension cords.


The thing is i did read with extension cord, as long as you don't put too many things on it connected from surge protector i read its not a big deal... is that a bit accurate though? I read people have issues when they connect like an AC to it etc. The only thing that i connect to surge protector is my laptop charger and the monitor... thats it. So wouldn't that not use that much energy? Also the extension cord will be going from the wall outlet to the middle of the room... the room is pretty small as well. So basically it would be like a naked wire from the wall that would extend maybe 7 feet? Based on this, wouldn't that be okay? I'm not putting an AC or fan or tons of things on the extension cord.


Yes the only reason why i need to extend it is because i want the table in the middle of the room. And the other reason is because my wifi connection... i have 2 of them.... only 1 of them work where my desk currently is now. However... its impossible to stream anything b/c this wifi connection is very slow... its max 1mbps. The other wifi connection given to me ... its called a vacation rental wifi and when i tested it last time... once it went up to 9mbps but its always at least 3mbps. Thus i could stream things with it. I had thought i would have no wifi issues here after getting 2 wifi connections but once i moved the table to the corner... then im having these issues.


And getting internet installed here is bit complicated so thats why i don't want to be bothered with this since im pretty know the vacation rental wifi is very good and reliable.

Overloading is only one issue. Another is failure due to the cord being flexible. And since it is only intended as temporary, it is often lesser gauge (thickness). Other factors include traffic that cause internal conductors to break. These many reasons for failure are also why AFCIs were required.

All reasons why a safe power strip has short cords. And why a new wall receptacle is always a safer choice. That receptacle wire is protected and does not move.

Extension cords not being meant/safe for permanent use has to be the biggest nonsense I've ever read in CTH. Just don't buy the cheapest rubbish ffs.

Well getting another electric wall outlet does zero use for me. Because there is actually a wall outlet in the wall in the middle of the room... so i would still need to extend it to the middle of the room.


Okay so based on what i describe, would you say its fine just get the extension cord then and just be careful? I only will be connecting it to the wall and from the surge protector, only will be my laptop charger and my monitor.

A much safer power strip has no protector parts and has the always required circuit breaker.

Okay so based on all of this, what is my best solution? The thing is this. I don't really mind now actually keeping the table to the corners of the wall. Issue though is I don't want to bother getting internet installed since its going to be a pain here. Installing internet here isn't easy and take a very long time.


Its just the wifi internet the vacation rental one works great when im using the laptop right in the middle of the room.

You know the risks. You now know what increases and decreased those risks. If a receptacle is not installed in the floor or where ever, well you know what you can do and how much that increases the risks - and why. It really is not all that complicated.

Provided were standard safety requirements. Posted was a previous near fire because so many safety considerations were ignored. Nobody will recommend something less than safe. And nobody else has really seen the room, traffic, and other considerations. It remains up to you to do it right or consider some risks. It does not sound as if risks would be major. But again, you now know why power strips do not come with longer cords.

I'm bit confused with your statement. So there are power strips thus surge protectors that do come with longer cords... I did saw a few on amazon... but those are still not safe but at least a bit more safe than extension cord?


So the other thing is i assume no one then has a desk in the middle of a room then due to this and its always at the side/corner of a room where there is an outlet?

A power strip with a long cord is much preferable to a random extension cord because the power strip will have a heavier gauge cord, expecting multiple devices to be plugged in.

Power strips generally do not have surge protection, just multiple outlets and maybe a circuit breaker.

Protectors include MOVs that are typically so undersized as to either disconnect from a surge as fast as possible. Or not disconnect fast enough resulting in a potential house fire. Either way, that protector power strip does not claim to protect appliances from a typically destructive surge. Only from a surge that typically does no damage.

That is different from cord length which involves a completely different human safety issue.

People with desks in the middle of a room often have a receptacle in the floor. Same receptacles are standard in some libraries so that patrons can power electronics at the various tables in that large room.

Again, you should have sufficient information to make your own judgement call.

Is having just 2 things plugged into the surge protector then connected to an extension cord to the wall really that bad? Some people in another forum said its only a fire hazard if you overload it. Basically all i will connect to the surge protector is my laptop charger and the monitor cable. Then of course connect to the extension cord to the wall outlet.


The thing is im not connecting it to an AC or other things that uses a lot of energy. So isn't this not really a big deal at all? The thing is Im thinking its only 2 things... its not an AC or fan etc.

Tell you what, Pauly, go to a shop that sells extension cords and tell them what you want one for. They should be able to fix you up with one that won't be a fire hazard as long as it doesn't get abused physically. Using a properly rated extension really shouldn't be a problem.

Some wimpy little thing like a lamp cord is NOT the way to go.

Is perceived wifi speed the reason you want your desk in the middle of the room, hence that monster extension cord thread?

Yes that is the reason. Because the vacation rental wifi seems to work very well but only around the middle of the room. Once i go to the side or corners etc thus where the current table is... the connection is basically unusable. Currently i just stick both my laptop charger and the monitor wire to the wall outlet and am not even using the short power surge anymore. I had bought it earlier because i thought the cord was much longer but it wasn't. Yes silly of me.


Many times it doesn't even pick up that connection when i check my connections where my desk currently is at. However, i have no issues using the regular wifi connection given to me where im current at with the table to the corner. However... its never more than 1mbps.


I dont have issues playing online poker it seems that much... though before it lagged quite a bit... however, if i want to stream like firstrowsports... its basically impossible with the regular wifi connection given to me. I believe there are probably at least 8 apts that use this wifi connection.


And yes the reason why i dont want to install my own internet here is b/c its extremely complicated. They could take weeks to arrive etc based on what i hear here. So i figure if i could just put my desk in the middle of the room, then i dont have to bother with getting internet installed. When the vacation wifi connection works... its very good. It was around 7-8 mbps and even though i didn't try watching firstrowsports with it, obviously that would be good enough.

I don't believe my extension cord would get even abused normally at all. Is there a reason why people say this? I will be putting it from the corner of the outlet to the middle of the room where my desk is. I won't step on it or get anything on it etc. I did saw some extension cords and those definitely seem basic. None of them seem to cost more than $10 at the place im looking at. Again... im using only 2 spots... laptop charger and monitor so i figure im not overdoing it right?

i think we're overblowing the dangers of extension cords here by a pretty significant margin. if you run a crappy extension cord under a carpet to your window A/C unit that draws tons of power, then yea you might have an issue. And ideally, they should be temporary. But if you buy a medium duty extension cord, say 14 gauge, and run it in a safe area where it won't be bent/under a rug/chewed by pets, and are using it to power something with a relatively small power draw like your laptop and monitor, then I would spend roughly 0 time worrying about leaving it there long term.

Nope. All he's about is questions, questions, questions, and he's very short on common sense. Actually, I'm not sure that he has any. I don't think there's anyone else that could manage a 35 post (and counting) thread about extension cords, of all things.

That said, in his defense he's been getting some shoddy advice from a few people ITT IMO.

Exactly.

I've had my desktop computer, two monitors, printer, router, ADSL modem, speakers, and I can't think right now what else all plugged in via a 20+ foot extension cord for at least 5 years now. No problems whatsoever. But it's a heavy duty outdoor extension cord, so it's made to handle that and more.

I just can't even fathom where some of this stuff is coming from about extension cords not meant to be a permanent solution, etc. There's nothing magical about the electrical wiring in your house that an extension cord can't duplicate. If you overload a circuit, the breaker should trip. But if your wiring can't handle as much amperage as your breaker and you overload it, you run the risk of a fire - whether it's interior wiring or extension cords. Of course, interior wiring should be heavy enough gauge that this would never be an issue. You can get extension cords for which the same holds true. And of course extension cords are sometimes exposed to conditions your interior wiring isn't - being covered by things that trap heat, being stepped on, repeatedly bent, etc. So there certainly are risks if you don't take these things into account, but there's no reason one can't use the appropriate extension cord long term.

Well said. /thread

I've also been a bit surprised by the insistence that extension leads are two-week only products. Not something I've heard before over here in the UK. Having researched it further, none of the safety guidance says that here. It's all about uncoiling the cord and not overloading the extension (which of course may mean only running one device off it, such as the AC discussed above).

Bobo Fett's in Canada, I know. Is this "no long-term use of extension leads" just an American thing?

I feel it is not true because I never suffered a problem. That proves it is not true. Unfortunately that logic so often causes failures and death.

The requirement is even defined in codes. And explained here because of resulting fires.

In American codes. My point was to ask whether this is just an American thing. Perceptions of risk vary around the world (and in many areas differ greatly from your litigation-obsessed society*).

Electricity is same all over the world. Those are safety codes. Many became standard later in other nations that discovered same problems. They are defined by product people and by a non-profit safety organization. Not by political types.

Throughout the world, others are now requiring more receptacles for same reasons it was required in North America. Because experience says using extension cords as anything other than temporary power has resulted too often in deaths.

Why does he have problems finding power strips with longer power cords? Because that danger created in a 120 volt nation is even worse in 230 volt nations.

http://www.esfi.org/resource/holiday...statistics-359

"About 3,300 residential fires originate in extension cords each year, killing 50 people and injuring about 270 others."

"Each year, about 4,000 injuries associated with electric extension cords are treated in hospital emergency rooms. Half of these injuries involve fractures, lacerations, contusions, or sprains from people tripping over extension cords."

So, there are 4,000 injuries from extension cords per year that require hospitalization. 270 of those are from fires (and 50 deaths), and 3730 of them are from tripping. There's no listed mortality rate from tripping, but I would bet that old people who fall down and break a hip are indirectly killed by the extension cord, it just wouldn't be an immediate consequence of the trip so isn't listed here. I'd be unsurprised if >50 of the trippers ended up eventually dying as an indirect result of the fall.

Of course it's against code - where I live, any exposed wiring has to be BX cable so it's protected against being cut, damaged by heat, etc. Extension cords shouldn't normally be used as a substitute for proper wiring for those reasons, as well as the possibility of it not being proper gauge, etc.

So yes, there are risks in using an extension cord long-term if one isn't aware of these possibilities. But if you have a proper gauge cord, and aren't walking all over it so it will become frayed, covering it with things or exposing it to heat - what are you thinking is going to happen?

Also, this whole argument that there supposedly aren't surge protectors with longer cords proves something is just silly. I just did a search on Amazon for "surge protectors", and three of the first four items had 8 foot cords - OP says he needs about 7 feet.

My next search was for "surge protectors long cord" - second result was one with a 15 foot cord, and the third result was 25 feet.

http://www.amazon.com/Tripp-Lite-Out...tors+long+cord

Oh, and looky, looky: