The more wire strands you have the less you have to worry about power drops. The second way to do this is to increase the number of strands in the power cord. This will help you save on the power drop. The lower the number, the thicker the wire. By lower, we mean that you go to a lower number. The first way is to lower the gauge of the wire. There seem to be 4 ways to help you avoid a voltage drop when you connect your 100-foot power cord. A power supply monitor can help you determine how large a power drop you have and help you stay within a safe range. Some people say you can go as low as 108 volts but it is best to err on the side of the higher figure.
Anything less can cause your appliances to run hot and burn out. That is the lowest boundary you should meet. What you are looking for is to keep at least 114 volts coming to your RV at all times. A 100-foot power cord will have 4 times the drop that the 25-foot cord will have. To give you an idea, a 50-foot cord will have twice as much voltage drop as a 25-foot cord. This is a wire rated for 50 amps and the voltage drop is not as bad as it would be for the 30 -amp wire. This is one reason why many people recommend that you go with an 8-gauge wire. When that happens the motors can burn out on you. They are also not getting 120 volts and may try to operate on 100 volts. They are not getting exactly 30-amps and that is a problem for you. When you have a power drop, you could ruin some of your appliances. The 8 gauge is rated for 50 amps but it will help keep that power drop from getting too low. The recommended gauge for 30-amps is 10 but it would be better to go down to an 8-gauge wire.
As we mentioned earlier, when you go 100 feet in length for a power cord, you are going to have a significant power drop over that distance. The wire gauge is what you will be looking at. Test your cord once you have completed it. Plus, you can tape over the end of the connector to keep it tight with the wire. The thing you want to avoid is a short circuit so make sure you got everything secured correctly. When that is done, you should put tape over the wires to make sure they do not come loose and touch the other wires. Double-check to make sure you got the same wire connected to the right screws or holders. When you do this, watch out that you do not cross wire any of the wires in the cable. Securing the connection will depend on the type of connectors you bought. Once you have those two parts, strip the end of the wire about 1/4 inch from the end and insert those wires into the right spots on the connectors. You can pick the design of those connectors to fit your RV situation. These connectors need to be rated for 30 amps as well. The first step is to buy the right gauge of wire.ġ0-gauge is rated for 30 amps but most people recommend that you go to 8-gauge because of the power drop over 100 feet that comes with the former gauge.Īfter buying your wire, you will need to buy connectors, one for each end. Be careful as some websites can get a little carried away with their instructions. If you are skilled enough, you can make your own power cord. But it is worth a shot and nothing bad will happen if they say no. What they charge will be up to them also.
Home depot 30 amp generator cord for free#
Some may put the ends on for free as long as you buy the cable from them. One other option you can try is to buy your 30-amp ends, and then go to your local electrical shop and ask them if they would make you one. It may take some searching if you are in a smaller town and far from a bigger city. Most likely, your smaller hardware stores will have something on hand but we cannot speak for them or the price they will sell it at. These would be the obvious choices and if they are not in your area, you may have to go to local shops. That means that home improvement outlets like Home Depot and Lowe’s should have the same size in stock or can get it for you. Amazon does sell true 100-foot power cords as does Walmart.
That may work out for you and give you some flexibility but they will not be true 100-foot cords. When you show up or read the small print, that length turns out to be 2 50-foot power cords. One of the things that you will have to watch out for is that different businesses will advertise they are selling 100-foot-long power cords.
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