USA Extension Cord (not Power Strip) - 125V/13A/1625W - unusable in Thailand?

[JimmyJ]

Thank you.

[sometimewoodworker]

The extension cable is perfectly usable in Thailand. The 125V 13A rating will be now be 220V 24A.
 

The only problem will be that sockets are usually 16A maximum and you will need to ensure that the plugs and sockets are suitable. 

[mackayae]

If it's rated at 13 amps, that's the rating, whether the voltage is 125 or 220.

[KhunBENQ]

14 minutes ago, sometimewoodworker said:

The extension cable is perfectly usable in Thailand. The 125V 13A rating will be now be 220V 24A.
 

The only problem will be that sockets are usually 16A maximum and you will need to ensure that the plugs and sockets are suitable. 

Just the other way round. 1625W would be about 7.4A.

Do not try 220V/24A (~5300W) on such a cord except you have a fire extinguisher at hand.

[JimmyJ]

Thanks for the 3 responses but it's left me confused.

 

Do both of you agree with sometimewoodworker that the cord is  perfectly usable here?

[norbra]

It is useable for 1650w.

240v x 7 amps 

The formula is 

Watts ÷ Volts = Amps

 

 

 

[sometimewoodworker]

1 hour ago, mackayae said:

If it's rated at 13 amps, that's the rating, whether the voltage is 125 or 220.

The amperage rating is governed by the thickness if the conductors. If you want to have the same rating at 126V and 220V then the cable is thinner on the 220V cable.

 

The limiting factor will be the sockets and plugs

[norbra]

For the layman.

Double the voltage halve the amps.

Conductor size is determined by its current carrying capacity in this case it is lowered to 7amps at 240 volts

[Crossy]

You lead will still be 13A capable, the insulation should be OK at 220V, any surge arrestor WILL NOT BE OK!!!

 

So theoretically it should be good for around 2.8kW but I wouldn't be going anywhere near that!

 

What size cable is fitted (it should be marked)?

[Excel]

Wouldn't it just be so much simpler to just not use the US extension lead but rather buy one locally, they are not expensive.

[norbra]

10 minutes ago, Crossy said:

You lead will still be 13A capable, the insulation should be OK at 220V, any surge arrestor WILL NOT BE OK!!!

 

So theoretically it should be good for around 2.8kW but I wouldn't be going anywhere near that!

 

What size cable is fitted (it should be marked)?

13 amp load at 220 v equals very hot unsafe cable.

The cable is rated at 1650 watts that's maximum safe value no matter what the volts and amps applied. 

[Crossy]

Just now, norbra said:

13 amp load at 220 v equals very hot unsafe cable.

The cable is rated at 1650 watts that's maximum safe value no matter what the volts and amps applied. 

 

You need to re-visit your high-school physics class I'm afraid. Mr Ohm is your friend.

 

The same size cable (ignoring insulation strength) could carry 13A at 22,000V meaning a load of nearly 300kW and still get no warmer than it would at 120V 13A, this is why long-distance transmission is at very high voltages, keep the current down and you minimise I²R (heating) losses.

[Crossy]

1 hour ago, norbra said:

For the layman.

Double the voltage halve the amps.

Conductor size is determined by its current carrying capacity in this case it is lowered to 7amps at 240 volts

 

Please explain your last sentence, you can use non-lay terms if you wish. Why is the current carrying capacity reduced at higher voltage?

 

But I agree with @Excel just buy a local one.

[norbra]

17 minutes ago, Crossy said:

 

Please explain your last sentence, you can use non-lay terms if you wish. Why is the current carrying capacity reduced at higher voltage?

 

But I agree with @Excel just buy a local one.

I am familiar with ohm's law where in any given circuit having a resistance of 1 ohm When 1 volt is applied 1 amp will flow. The cable is rated as maximum 1650 watts by the manufacturer not 330kw,with the pressure you suggested the cable would be no more than fuse wire.

Your reference to high tension transmission lines is misleading as they too have a maximum current carrying capacity and are protected from overload by circuit isolation devices that also protect the generators from too many kw loading 

 

[billd766]

3 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

The extension cable is perfectly usable in Thailand. The 125V 13A rating will be now be 220V 24A.
 

The only problem will be that sockets are usually 16A maximum and you will need to ensure that the plugs and sockets are suitable. 

If the maximum wattage is 

 

2 hours ago, JimmyJ said:

Thanks for the 3 responses but it's left me confused.

 

Do both of you agree with sometimewoodworker that the cord is  perfectly usable here?

I disagree completely.

 

According to Ohm's law the safe wattage is volts times amps.

 

If you double the volts, then you must half the amps which gives you the same safe wattage. As other posters have mentioned, staying safe with about 7.5 amps at 220 volts is good.

 

As others have mentioned it is a lot easier to buy a locally made cable.

 

When I got my house wired up many years ago I made the mistake of ordering cable that was twice the size I needed. It cost me more but at least my cables won't overheat and melt.

 

[JimmyJ]

4 hours ago, Crossy said:

You lead will still be 13A capable, the insulation should be OK at 220V, any surge arrestor WILL NOT BE OK!!!

 

So theoretically it should be good for around 2.8kW but I wouldn't be going anywhere near that!

 

What size cable is fitted (it should be marked)?

16 AWG.

[HauptmannUK]

Some rather frightening lack of understanding of basic electrical theory on display in this thread!  Some people confusing power dissipation in the load with dissipation in the cable.

Assuming adequate insulation then voltage is not really relevant.  Power dissipation in the cable is IxIxR  (I = current, R = cable resistance) which can be rearranged to give VxV/R.  Where V is voltage drop in the cable.  Power dissipation in the cable leads to heating of the cable. So then we are down to how much above ambient temp are you willing to accept? 10 deg or 30 deg. ?

The OP says that he's using #16AWG.  That has resistance of about 13 milliohm/metre.  If you want to keep voltage drop to 100mV/metre then maximum current is about 7.6A and you would be dissipating about 0.75W/m or about 1/4W per foot. Which would give only a tiny temp rise.  Doubling current to 15A would increase dissipation to about 3W/m, about 1W per foot. Very mild heating.

[mistral53]

6 hours ago, Crossy said:

You lead will still be 13A capable, the insulation should be OK at 220V, any surge arrestor WILL NOT BE OK!!!

 

So theoretically it should be good for around 2.8kW but I wouldn't be going anywhere near that!

 

What size cable is fitted (it should be marked)?

This is the only correct answer, and anybody still confused do an internet search why, and the ramification of, Europe is using 220V and the US has 110V. Hint - Europe wanted to skimp on copper.

 

The only point of Crossy I disagree with is his fear of loading the cable to 2.8 KW - its perfectly fine. Our vacuum cleaner is rated at 2500W and the extension cable gets a lot hotter from the sun than from the juice flowing though it.

[ozimoron]

17 minutes ago, mistral53 said:

Hint - Europe wanted to skimp on copper.

220 volts uses half the current for a given wattage. This is more efficient and doesn't require the same amount of copper. It's also why long distance transmission uses a much higher voltage. The practical upshot is that you can have more powerful or more appliances on a given circuit for a given sized breaker.

 

For the OP, the cable would be fine at 220V.

[Damrongsak]

13 Amps on a 16 gauge extension cord wire is getting up there. 16 gauge is like "lamp cord" to my way of thinking.  I personally wouldn't use on 120V if I had a 1625 Watt load except if that load was somewhat intermittent and/or the ambient temperature was low.    But if you are using it on 220V instead of 120V then the amperage for a given wattage would be about half so would probably be OK.  Hopefully the 120V cord has a higher insulation rating (say, 300V) for safety sake.  And cheap "lamp cord" probably has a low temperature rating.

In the USA, 14 gauge wire is commonly used for 15 Amp/120V lighting circuits and typical outlets, but that's solid wire.  Multi-strand cords take a bit of beating and I prefer to de-rate them a bit. 

 

Folks, listen to Crossy.  He's a "sparky". (I only worked in the electrical utility industry for 10 years or so selling electric meter test equipment. I learned a couple things.)

[Crossy]

5 hours ago, JimmyJ said:

16 AWG.

 

OK, here is a segment of an ampacity table 

 

 

Your 16AWG cord is rated for 13A max. Note that there is no mention of voltage other than the maximum voltage rating of the cord, it's 13A at 120V or 250V or 12V.

 

I can see where the confusion is arising. The cord is rated in amps, but as a user guide a maximum load in watts is also specified, importantly this load in watts is at the supply voltage in the intended marketing area of the cord. So a US market (120V) 16AWG cord would have a maximum load of 13*120 = 1,560W close enough to the 1,625W in our OP (which is at 125V).

 

The same cord if marketed in the 220V world would be marked as 13*220 = 2,860W.

 

16AWG is roughly equivalent to 1.5mm² in the metric world. According to Bangkok Cable their 1.5mm2 VCT flex is rated at 16A in free air so an extension made from it would be sensibly rated at 13A / 2,800W

 

 

 @JimmyJ Your US extension will be fine here (unless it has a surge arrestor, and any neon indicator will be rather bright). The amount of insulation required for mechanical strength is far greater than that required to actually insulate at 220V so no worries there either.

 

I wouldn't go over a couple of 2kW load mind.

 

 

[Danderman123]

On 9/1/2022 at 6:55 PM, Excel said:

Wouldn't it just be so much simpler to just not use the US extension lead but rather buy one locally, they are not expensive.

I am not seeing any 3 conductor extension cords on Lazada. 

[Crossy]

"3 pin extension cord" in a Lazada search nets 2,500 hits. You must check carefully that they are actually 3-core cable.

 

Or get one in Lotus's where you can look at the markings on the cable.

 

Or get the bits and make your own.

 

[VocalNeal]

Surely wire is wire. Doesn't matter where it is sourced. A "US" cable is likely from China.????

[Danderman123]

3 hours ago, Crossy said:

"3 pin extension cord" in a Lazada search nets 2,500 hits. You must check carefully that they are actually 3-core cable.

 

Or get one in Lotus's where you can look at the markings on the cable.

 

Or get the bits and make your own.

 

Amazingly, 0 of the 2,500 hits are for electrical extension cords, that are usable in your house. 

 

Lots of other stuff comes up. 

 

[Danderman123]

3 hours ago, Crossy said:

 

Or get one in Lotus's where you can look at the markings on the cable.

 

Or get the bits and make your own.

 

Good luck finding an electrical 3 conductor cord in Lotus's. 

 

My opinion is that such cords are not available in Thailand. 

[Crossy]

29 minutes ago, Danderman123 said:

Amazingly, 0 of the 2,500 hits are for electrical extension cords, that are usable in your house. 

Lots of other stuff comes up. 

 

[Crossy]

32 minutes ago, Danderman123 said:

Good luck finding an electrical 3 conductor cord in Lotus's. 

My opinion is that such cords are not available in Thailand. 

 

I've already been to Lotus's today so I'm not making a special trip to check and photograph.

[JimmyJ]

11 minutes ago, Crossy said:

 

Good catch!

 

I didn't spot any when I looked weeks ago, but gave up and didn't look at all 2,500 hits.

Previously I felt the same as Danderman123.

 

 

 

Is that 1.5 meters in length?

 

On the bottom right it says "Samut Sakhon".

Is that the city that the Seller is located in?

[Crossy]

Yeah, the bottom right is the location.

 

Warning Will Robinson. Warning!!! 

I'm not recommending any of those, or even guaranteeing they are 3-core. For that matter I'm not sure I'd trust a 100 Baht cord.

 

That's just the first row of the first page, do check very carefully if the cord is actually 3-core, some of the later listings actually have detail of the cord or you could ask the seller what the cord is.