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Walked into a job site in Boise last week and saw a guy running his circular saw off a 100-foot 16-gauge cord
Half the crew says the voltage drop just means you push harder and the other half refuses to touch anything under 12-gauge, so where do you all draw the line on extension cord length for saws?
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viola_garcia563d ago
A 100 foot 16 gauge cord on a circular saw is asking for trouble. I ran the numbers once on a 15 amp saw and at that length you're dropping enough volts that the motor heats up and bogs down, which is exactly when people lean on it harder and burn it out. Pushing harder doesn't fix voltage drop, it just makes the tool work worse and shortens its life. The crew refusing anything under 12 gauge has the right idea, and for a saw I wouldn't go past 50 feet on 12 gauge or 25 feet on 14. If you need to reach 100 feet, move the saw or run a heavier cord, because 16 gauge is for lamps and phone chargers, not power tools.
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