rubadubtub
Glen Burnie Maryland
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We went camping this weekend with three other families. The way the campsite was set up, the electric and water hook-ups were in the middle. Two of us had to use 30amp extension cords to hook up to to the pole. I use an auto former but my friend does not. When we went to un-hook the male end plug from the camper to the female end of the extension cord the ends were melted together. This happened to both of us that used extension cords. We were on separate poles also. Does anyone have any idea of what could of caused this? Does this happen regularly? It didn't seem to damage anything but were the plugs met. Any of you great minds out there got any ideas? Thanks in advance.
Rob
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skipnchar
Topeka Kansas USA
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Joined: 12/17/2003
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Loose connections where the extension cords connect together can cause a lot of excess heat. Don't know if this was YOUR problem or not but ANY loose connection will get hot.
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JesLookin
Appleton,WI
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Yep - Loose or dirty connections cause resistance in the connection, that causes heat.
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rubadubtub
Glen Burnie Maryland
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No, I dont think the connection was loose, but since you mentioned heat, i did put a plastic bag over the connection to keep any rain from getting in there. Do you think that could of caused excessive heat? Maybe no letting it ventilate?
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old guy
Oregon (pronounced Or e gun)
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OR you both used a lot of amps and that causes heat.
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tvman44
Southwest Louisiana
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rubadubtub wrote:No, I dont think the connection was loose, but since you mentioned heat, i did put a plastic bag over the connection to keep any rain from getting in there. Do you think that could of caused excessive heat? Maybe no letting it ventilate?
That would have contributed to the problem, also loose or dirty contacts cause excessive heat, also low line voltage will cause increased heat then add to that the plastic bag to trap the heat in and that is what happens.
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wa8yxm
Wherever I happen to park
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Usually.. Corrosion on the contacts of the plug or in the socket
Second is a poor connection (Also caused by corrosion) inside the plug or socket
Soultion may be as simple as wire brushing the plug "Blades" or as complex as replacing the cord ends.. If you choose to replace I really like the Camco POWER GRIP plugs.. The other end is up to you (I like the grip handle in case you are wondering)
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rubadubtub
Glen Burnie Maryland
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Looked at the prongs on my plugs, and I am going to have to go with corrosion. They are not a shiny copper. So i will clean them with some steal wool. Thank you all for your input.
Rob
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Kirk
Livingston, Texas.
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There is some truth to several of the answers, but in my experience in 40 years of electrical service I have also learned that every time you add another plug into a circuit that draws significant loads, you will introduce heat. Poor connections or corroded contacts will cause heat but even clean, bright contacts that fit tight will heat up if there is a heavy load.
If you have ever purchased an electric heater or other such appliance and read the warnings, it always warns against the use of extension cords. The reason is that when you load any power cord to near it's max rated load it will get hot. The higher the load the greater the heat. If you consult the wire size charts, you will discover that the longer the run of electric cable, the larger the required wire diameter for the same current. Voltage drop is the reason and heat is what happens to that lost voltage.
It would be my guess that you were operating the air conditioners for long periods of time and that load is what melted the cords. This it not at all unusual.
Good travelin! ........Kirk
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kahoona
Marathon, Conch Republic
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Hi
This is not unusual at all with extension cords use. Any curcuit that is loaded in excess of its capacity will overheat. The heat will occur where the conduction is poorest. If your wire is heavy enough but the outlet in the circut box is not then it overheats in the box and melts the plug. Corrosion can make the point of contact the weakest spot. Too long a cord contributes to the problem and there is actually a formula somewhere that tells you how much heavier the wire has to be for a given length. Eliminate the bottleneck or cut your demand. Don't you hate it when they get so hot that the blades pull out of one cord when you separate them!!!
Kahoona
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