Extension cord question

[Jake M]

Can I use romex to make since it is cheaper than that sooo stuff. I'm not much when it to electricity so cut me a little slack

Technically it would work for a short time. It'd be dangerous after some time. Don't get caught with it. Figure out ahead of time who's gonna help you roll it up. Heck, that's a long cord, you probably ought to figure that last one out regardless.

How many volts? You'd probably be better served with an SJxxx if you're under 300 volts. Depending what you're doing, you probably don't need too many "x's" after your S or SJ.

I would like to make a 250 foot 10/3 extension cord.

That's serious business. What type of load are you trying to run that far out? Type of load, voltage, and amps? Or at least have you done the voltage drop calculation (or just looked it up) to be sure that you're providing proper power to your (whatever thing), and not just burning up kilowatt hours heating the air around the cord?

 

[Asm109]

What's wrong with Romex?

Romex is Not rated for use outdoors. Leaving it lying in on the ground for it to get rained on, sundamaged and nibbled on by critters is just asking for electrocution or a fire.
Dig a trench, lay PVC conduit and pull wire.

 

[woodchucker]

Ok guys....thanks for the comments. Looks like the romex is out. I'll just save a little longer and buy a nice cord....thanks for cutting me some slack.

if you have a tractor, you can make yourself a ripper and put the cable underground, if it's a farm tractor you can probably get to 2 feet, if a lawn tractor you'll probably at least get 6-8 inches, maybe more.. All you need is some hot rolled, an angle grinder, maybe a welder,
if a lawn tractor some wheels and chain.
A ripper for a farm tractor is much easier...
if a lawn tractor, you want to have 2 sets of wheels you are making a dolly that you pull along, the blade you weld or bolt to the dolly. and pull by chain. The blade has a hook that keeps it trying to dive under the ground, the wheels control the height and keep it rolling along.

Or you could use a winch and pull it along.. I guess you could build a flat sled with the ripping blade welded sticking out the bottom and stand on the sled while pulling it along too. You can pull it with a truck or car too.. lots of options rather than digging 250 feet by hand.

 

[woodchucker]

Romex is Not rated for use outdoors. Leaving it lying in on the ground for it to get rained on, sundamaged and nibbled on by critters is just asking for electrocution or a fire.
Dig a trench, lay PVC conduit and pull wire.

There is outdoor romex, so that's not correct. The sleeve is not a sleeve like indoor, each wire is molded into its own partition, and sealed.

 

[RJSakowski]

deleted

 

[higgite]

There is outdoor romex, so that's not correct. The sleeve is not a sleeve like indoor, each wire is molded into its own partition, and sealed.

That's not Romex. That's UF cable made for direct burial. Romex is intended for indoor use.

Tom

 

[woodchucker]

so it's still romex. Yes it's UF, but when I look it up, it's also referred to as Romex..

 

[rabler]

so it's still romex. Yes it's UF, but when I look it up, it's also referred to as Romex..

I believe romex was a brand name for an early version of indoor NM, predating UF. Today romex is ambiguous, not technically specific. Broadly, indoor wiring is rated NM, outdoor similar cable is UF. NM was often called romex like crescent wrench is misused for adjustable wrench. Not surprisingly some vendor wanted to use that in the product title to cover search terms even if it is a stretch of a misuse.

 

[WobblyHand]

I guess the point is more that type NM wire will not hold up outdoors just laying on the ground. The sun will damage the thin shell and it will crack or disintegrate. It would hold up for a single use, but if your intent is to have it outdoors and exposed to the elements long term, you are going to be disappointed and exposing yourself (and possibly others) to a real safety hazard.

I had a data line installed at our hose and it was installed by the phone company along some siding. We were having some intermittent issues that seemed to be loosely correlated to weather. It turns out the sun had totally damaged the outer jacket of the cable, turning parts of the jacket to dust, so that the inner wires were exposed to the elements. The copper was directly visible. This only took about 7 years. I'd hate to think about a main power cable doing the same. NM cable has zero UV protection.

 

[tq60]

Any pump places near you?

Water pump cable is 4 conductors, flexible and can be used in water.

You may be able to buy a chunk of used cable from a pump place where they upgraded a well.

The box stores sell it too.

4 conductor allows for 240 vac, with neutral and safety ground.

Suggest buying conduit, in winter during rain season easy to dig.

Use a 50 Amp range plug at source end.

At remote end do same, female on cord, male connected to your remote sub panel.

Cord then is extension cord.

Shoo is not an appliance, it needs to be wired to code, the male plug allows a "generator" to be used.

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