Replace 240v Plug On Heater

Once you fire up the heater, check how hot the short cord gets. Touch it with the back of your hand or a infra red thermometer. If it's too hot to touch, replace the cord with heavier wire. If warm, should be fine. Make sure nothing is set on top of the wire and keep an eye on it often!
Most definitely!

Went through my two boxes of twist-lok type plugs and receptacles. That was a learning experience.
I've been picking them up at sales and such when I see them for a buck or two.
With chart in hand I sorted them and found out that I've got a boatload of L5-125V's, very few matching
receptacles, and nothing I can put to use without buying a receptacle.
I am attempting (without spending a lot of $$$$) to redo the circuit that powers the 14x40 lathe.
Then just unplug the heater when using the lathe and vice-versa.
I didn't count on scoring a 240V heater when I re-did the wiring back in September.

And then, and then, a buddy called and told me I could come and get his old 2-ton heat pump that he
just upgraded on his garage/shop.
Now I've got to look at seriously upgrading and re-doing the feed into the house.
Funny thing on that, the electrical utility can't tell me how many amps I have coming into the house.
I'm not trusting of the 200A panel down in the basement.
In hindsight I should have had the the main re-done before we moved in...
Time to start doing some calculations.
 
Not sure what the end result of your initial question is. If it is go with the factory cord and plug, then the answer is there is no reason to change it out. The unit draws 5600W at 240V which works out to 23.3A. If you look at the Ampacity for most 2 conductor (UL Approved) electrical cords they indicate 12G wire with 2 conductors is fine for up to loads of 25A. Since the more common household sockets are usually 15A, 20A, 30A and 50A in various voltages and wire configurations, this unit uses a 6-30P plug and a 6-30R receptacle. Although the plug/socket have a 30A rating the wire would not be drawing the full current.

Your other machinery may have different ratings and plug configurations, such as twist-lock. I do not like the situation where you have to unplug and plug different cords when switching equipment your using regularly. So options would be to tap off the current 240V electrical box and add a separate electrical box/receptacle for the heater. About $20-30 if you do it your self. This would allow you to switch on the heater when not using other machinery on the same circuit. If you plan on running the heater together with machinery, then you may need to add a separate electrical line back to your electrical panel box with its own breaker. Many Houses have a 200/225A service, but it is highly unlikely that you will draw anything close to this unless everything in your house is electric and turned on. I use a 100A sub panel in the garage with separate breakers for sockets and equipment.

NEMA Straight Blade Plug Conigurations.jpg
 
Most definitely!

Went through my two boxes of twist-lok type plugs and receptacles. That was a learning experience.
I've been picking them up at sales and such when I see them for a buck or two.
With chart in hand I sorted them and found out that I've got a boatload of L5-125V's, very few matching
receptacles, and nothing I can put to use without buying a receptacle.
I am attempting (without spending a lot of $$$$) to redo the circuit that powers the 14x40 lathe.
Then just unplug the heater when using the lathe and vice-versa.
I didn't count on scoring a 240V heater when I re-did the wiring back in September.

And then, and then, a buddy called and told me I could come and get his old 2-ton heat pump that he
just upgraded on his garage/shop.
Now I've got to look at seriously upgrading and re-doing the feed into the house.
Funny thing on that, the electrical utility can't tell me how many amps I have coming into the house.
I'm not trusting of the 200A panel down in the basement.

In hindsight I should have had the the main re-done before we moved in...
Time to start doing some calculations.

---------------------------
That is strange they can't put a powered chart reader to give you/them a 24 hour power readout. I think that is a clamp meter that reads the current passing through a coil that snaps closed around one of the power cables. We had one for our RV to check the amount of current it was drawing.

Good luck with your project.
 
You be careful with those twist locks. When my Dad and I worked for GE they used those plugs on standard extension cords. One day Dad brought home several new or slightly used pairs of male and female ends. He said the company declared them a trip hazard since if someone got their foot under the cord it wouldn't pull apart. But you see them in almost every drive-through restaurant hanging from the ceilings where they should be off the floor.
 
Once you fire up the heater, check how hot the short cord gets. Touch it with the back of your hand or a infra red thermometer. If it's too hot to touch, replace the cord with heavier wire. If warm, should be fine. Make sure nothing is set on top of the wire and keep an eye on it often!

Or... If that seems like too much, I have the ability to thoroughly test that heater for you at no charge. You can forward the heater to me and I'll return the unit to you the minute testing is completed. Should be about next May.
 
And it works! Left the plug, mounted the receptacle up close to the ceiling and ran 10ga to it.
Cord did not get warm at all (so far). Ran it for about thirty minutes yesterday morning and
it took the chill off. Need to rig a proper mount for it.
Will have to be careful so as not to impact the electric bill too much.
Beats the devil out of the propane dragon... Nice not to have open flame in the shop!


@Wobbles : Is Cornelia pretty temperate like up here?
 
OK, I've figured out how to get a mild winter, just install a heater in your shop.
It's suppose to be 70°F around these parts tomorrow. Let's hope it keeps up....
 
44° tonight - puddering in the shop and it is comfortable.
Considering the garage/shop has old wooden overhead doors with single pane windows and junkie windows on two walls
it's not too bad.
Cord is a tad warm-ish on the 12ga. segment after running for over 90mins.
 
Just a reminder, because it often gets overlooked by homeowners (and even a lot of electricians) is that the ampacity of the conductors and OCPD for fixed space heaters need to be sized at 125% of load. Since this gets fastened to a wall or ceiling it is considered 'fixed'. Obviously this applies to the conductors between the panel and the receptacle and does not address the power cord, others have covered that.

5600W / 240V * 125 % = 29.2A. The #10 the OP ran for this is more that sufficient for this.

That said, there are a lot of 4000W heaters sold at the big box stores that a lot of people seem to think is OK to run off of 12AWG romex.

4000W / 240V * 125 % = 20.8A. This is .8A above the 20AMP limit for 12AWG and actually requires 10AWG and a 25A breaker.

---Aaron
 
I may end up changing out the pigtail for a 10GA. I was lucky enough to spend the day in the shop.
It didn't get over 40° here today and I finally figured out where to set the dial to cycle it.
So it's holding the shop in the low 60's and it was very comfortable this evening. I stuck a 10" fan over
in the cold corner and that's at least stirring it up. The ceiling is well insulated, the walls aren't...
And with the unit now cycling the cord isn't getting warm.
So much better than the propane that I had been running.
 
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