Jesus Is The Reason For The Season!!

Along with keeping good tack of how many amps you are pulling on a particular controller or outlet, it is also extremely important to be mindful of how many amps you are drawing on a particular extension cord.

Certain gauge cords are only designed to handle a certain amp draw. For example a 16awg cord, which is the cheapest one to buy at the hardware store, has an amperage rating of 12 amps. This, however, is only for a 25 foot run. For every foot of travel their is a voltage drop. If you were running power tools, this could damage the tool. In the case of incandescent lighting, the lights get dimmer as the voltage drops further. There is a much more dangerous effect however; as the voltage drops the lights are trying to pull too much current through the cord which will cause it to heat up. As it heats up it can begin to melt the shielding around the copper wires and can also burst into flames and if it happens to be the cord running on your roof or under your eves, there goes your holiday. Use the chart below to make sure you are running the appropriate size extension cords where applicable in your display. Don 't try to skimp and save on your cords. If you need a bigger size...spend the money! If you have a 100ft run and need to split it into three 100ft cords of a smaller gauge...do it!

---Tony

note: 18awg is lamp cord or SPT2 wire

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