Building your own custom extension cords?


bushwacked

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I am going to build a few of my own extensions with custom lengths you cant find at the store. I will have a couple quad boxes and a few other specialty length cords.

My main question is, should I just buy the big 250ft (yes about 250 or so is what I will need ... if it turns out I need less I can always find plenty of uses for the extra doing yard work) spool here: http://www.wireandcabletogo.com/12-3-SOOW-Portable-Cord-600V-UL-CSA.html

or

Should I try and find sales going on for something like the below from home depot and chop up to what I need?

10af723c-a8e4-4f10-b6a4-09a244f94c80_400

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When your labor is considered, it's just better to buy them. But by making your own, you can choose the components. Real rubber sheathing is much better than the plastic premade cords are (tougher, don't coil up). SOOW is a good choice. You can also use much better cord ends.

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I'd go with a spool or something similar. I make all my own cords and the huge benefit is i can get good rubber insulation that stays flexible in -20 degree weather. Most affordable pre packaged cords have plastic insulation and just suck.

If your going to chop it up and make your own you might as well get good wire.

Pardon the spelling sent from my phone.

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59 minutes ago, bushwacked said:

I am going to build a few of my own extensions with custom lengths you cant find at the store. I will have a couple quad boxes and a few other specialty length cords.

My main question is, should I just buy the big 250ft (yes about 250 or so is what I will need ... if it turns out I need less I can always find plenty of uses for the extra doing yard work) spool here: http://www.wireandcabletogo.com/12-3-SOOW-Portable-Cord-600V-UL-CSA.html

or

Should I try and find sales going on for something like the below from home depot and chop up to what I need?

10af723c-a8e4-4f10-b6a4-09a244f94c80_400

I prefer auctions where a 50 to 100 ft 12 awg usually goes for about $20.  Maybe CL or yard sales.

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4 minutes ago, Gilgaron said:

Without actually bothering to price it out I'd bet that it is cheaper to chop up a premade one.  Raw materials always seem more costly than finished ones for commodity items for whatever reason. 

I've done a lot of both and the raw materials are not even close to similar. The cost for the cord is about the same with plugs generally being $1 each. It's like comparing festool and dewalt, one has an obvious quality difference. Though we could debate that until the end of time.

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.77 is not a bad price for type SO.  I think I paid more than that for the ones I made 40 years ago, that I'm still using.  No premade cord comes with as good a quality cordage.  I used Hubbell ends on the ones I made.  I have had to replace a couple of the ends that started arcing inside, but they've laid outside on jobsites for decades.

If you do go the make route, harden the ends of the wires with rosin core solder before torqueing them under the lugs in the ends.

I was surprised that I actually like the design of the newer ends with the built in, hidden clamping mechanism on the Hubbell plugs.

I have other cords that we use that were prebought, but not one has ever approached the life of the type SO wire.

Another good thing about the SO wire is that it's almost impossible to trip over.  If you go to any size Fair, state or county, you will see miles of type SO laying on the ground that thousands of people walk over.

Make sure to connect the white wire to the silver lug on both ends.  To do that, you have to leave the wires long enough on one end to cross the black and white wires inside the plug.  I made my cords before we were required to use ground fault receptacles on temporary poles.  When I had to use the first GFCI receptacle, one cord wouldn't run a tool.  When I hooked two cords together, and the tool ran, I realized what the problem was, and rewired all the female ends. Now they all work in any kind of receptacle.  I had just run the black and white wires straight to the nearest lug after hooking up the ground wire.

 

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What Tom said. The SO cord is way better than the PVC factory cords. Just make a neat job of the ends, so you don't leave any exposed conductor that could be a safety hazard. And it often pays to use one size larger wire than you think you need, especially with extensions over 50 feet. Go with AWG#12, at minimum.

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I made all my cords for 220v tools using the twist lock receptacles. The nice thing about them is you can plug them in ceiling boxes and not worry about them coming loose. I also make the tool power cord really short, so it ends next to the tool's power switch. I do this so I have a festool-like plug-it cord on all the big tools, and I don't have to go to the power outlet  to unplug them for things like changing blades. It's super convenient to plug/unplug now. 

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