bushwacked Posted April 20, 2016 Report Share Posted April 20, 2016 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? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davewyo Posted April 20, 2016 Report Share Posted April 20, 2016 I think you'll need to go with a stouter gauge wire to go 250'. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted April 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2016 Just now, davewyo said: I think you'll need to go with a stouter gauge wire to go 250'. oh it wont be 250' .. sorry. overall I need 250, but it will be chopped up into 10-15', 30-40', 60-70' lengths ... or something along those lines, I need to measure to get exact lengths Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted April 20, 2016 Report Share Posted April 20, 2016 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted April 20, 2016 Report Share Posted April 20, 2016 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
collinb Posted April 20, 2016 Report Share Posted April 20, 2016 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? I prefer auctions where a 50 to 100 ft 12 awg usually goes for about $20. Maybe CL or yard sales. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilgaron Posted April 20, 2016 Report Share Posted April 20, 2016 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted April 20, 2016 Report Share Posted April 20, 2016 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weithman5 Posted April 20, 2016 Report Share Posted April 20, 2016 i have made a few of my own, actually repaired as i have hacked a few in places. cut at the bad spot and then make new ones from there. otherwise kind of a hassle 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted April 20, 2016 Report Share Posted April 20, 2016 .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. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted April 21, 2016 Report Share Posted April 21, 2016 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted April 21, 2016 Report Share Posted April 21, 2016 The rubber cord is so much better in every way than the PVC, but premium cord ends are also worth paying extra for if you're going to the work of assembling your own cords. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew-in-austin Posted April 21, 2016 Report Share Posted April 21, 2016 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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