I only have 1 circuit in my garage, so I power my shopvac and some lights off another circuit, via a extension cord. Well, today when I was finished in the shop, I went to go umplug the cord, and coild it up, but when I went to pick it up, it was very, very hot, and smelled of burning electronice. I ran back into the shop to unlug it from the power strip in there, and to grab a fireextingusher. I kick the cord off my porch, and sprayed it with the fire exdtingusher. I unrolled the thing, and discovered that the plastic sheathing had melted, and the only thing tht kept if from shirting out was the paper surronding the wires. I again hosed the thing down with the fire extingusher, and the wheel that I wrap the cord around had melted in the middle. After some research, I came to the conclusion that the cord had reached about 300 degrees F, enought to melt the plastic, but not enough to set the paper on fire.
The lessons:
Don't gimp on extension cords. Buy the most heavy dity one you can find.
A fire extingusher should always be handy
Always unroll the cord off the reel before using it. Better yet, dont use a reel.
Always have a pair of heat resistant leather golves in you shop, for throughing hot stuff away from flamible stuff.
The lessons:
Don't gimp on extension cords. Buy the most heavy dity one you can find.
A fire extingusher should always be handy
Always unroll the cord off the reel before using it. Better yet, dont use a reel.
Always have a pair of heat resistant leather golves in you shop, for throughing hot stuff away from flamible stuff.
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