Come on people, if your old enough to own a home, you can read a warning label!

new houses should have plenty of outlets since there are so many electronic gizmos and gadgets now, it use to be that by code there had to be an outlet every 6 feet but even that isn`t enough for all the electronic stuff we have now.in older houses your lucky to have one outlet every 12 feet.
when I need an extension cord I go to home depot and get the same romex that is used in the wall and I put a plug on each end of it,female plug on one end male plug on the other,there`s no way I would use one of those cheap stranded wire extension cords that they sell at the dollar store.

people are dumb,they go to college and graduate in a specific field and yet they have no common sense about everyday issues. it`s better to be a jack of all trades and a master of none than to be a master of ancient civilizations and too stupid to know that if you overload an electric outlet you`ll die in a house fire.

imagine that, spending all that money to repay college loans but still to stupid to not burn themselves to death in a house fire, oh well Darwinism at it`s finest I suppose.

a reply to: Hewhowaits

I've been working since I was 13, and many of my jobs have been working with people in one way or another. I can honestly tell you that even though we live in a time where we're blessed with the ability to actually be able to read, most people just either don't, or won't.

When I used to work at a Best Buy, I would have people walk up to me and ask "Where can I find the mp3 players?", to then I would just point at this HUGE, GIGANTIC sign that's hanging over the entire department that not only says "Mp3 Players", but also has a really big picture of one on it, y'know, for those that need pictures with their words.

I work at a bank now, and when we're going to have a federal holiday off, we put up signs a week in advance letting people know when and why we'll be closed. It shocks me how the day after the holiday, people will be mad at us and say things like "I didn't know you guys were going to be closed that day, I have over-drafts now, what will you do about it!?" The worst part is, many of those people come in every single day, yet they somehow didn't/wouldn't read the signs.

Reading is taken so much for granted that it's just plain sad.

originally posted by: DexterRiley
a reply to: Hewhowaits
I think that even beyond reading the instructions, people should exercise a little bit of basic common sense whenever they're dealing with AC power.
-dex

Yeah, thanks Tesla!

a reply to: bluechevytree

Typical house wire is solid 12-2 with a ground not to be fused over 15 amps. Typical light circuits are 14-2 with ground rated 10 amps. If the extension cord you buy is a #12, it will actually be better than what you suggest because electrons, or current actually runs on the surface area of the wire, not through the center of it. The multi-stranded wire has more surface area overall than the solid making it more able to carry the same current than solid wire. Just need to be aware of the electrical capabilities of what you are buying.

a reply to: Hewhowaits

i donmt want to start an argument , or worse - encourage idiots - but a typical 6 or 8 gang extension blok will run as many phones or ipods as it has sockets

i use mine all day long - charging GPS , phone , satnav , camera etc etc

all are 5v " USB chargers " with a 1 , 2 or 4 amp draw

thats all 5v - so max = 20w per unit

my extension blocks all have just a 3amp fuse [ in the UK we have 240v domestic supply ]

and my actual load is < 0.5 amps on the 240v input to the power blok

never had any problems yet - but there again - i do know what i am doing

a reply to: Hewhowaits

yup - home ownerts can be idiots - but in my own experience " trade professionals " are far worse

they REGULARLY attempt to run 3 to 7 powertools [ all rated between 500 and 2000w ] all SIMULTANEOUSLY off a single 13amp extension lead

then whine when things go wrong

yup - said extension lead is also running through a puddle in the middle of the site - and its steaming

these people have alledgedly got professional qualifications as carpenters , joiners , steel fabricators etc etc etc

originally posted by: xuenchen
'''What does '1300 watts' mean''' ?

1 high end gaming computer = 1200 watts
1 low budget gaming PC = 600 watts
1 hairdryer = 1 kilowatt
electric fan heater = 1 kilowatt
3 bar electric heater = 3 kilowatts
1 electric cooker = 15 kilowatts
1 washing machine dryer = 15 kilowatts

Somebody might want to give their children a quiet place to play video games. So they get the console, widescreen TV, a fan heater and extension cord, and put them a spare room.
Quiet

originally posted by: ignorant_ape
a reply to: Hewhowaits

these people have alledgedly got professional qualifications as carpenters , joiners , steel fabricators etc etc etc

The problem is often a tight general contractor combined with a tight job schedule. Thus you have everybody plugging everything into the few outlets available for the entire site (nothing like a good plug war). And naturally nobody has room in their subcontract bids for even a portable generator (which might not be allowed anyway depending on the site).

For the OP: In this day and age why aren't LED holiday lights standard? Because incandescent sets are $2 less at AllMart?

a reply to: Hewhowaits

At least your making money! In my dance studio they don't pay me til after Christmas. Like oops! We forgot to bring a check! I'll get it. In January. Self employed sucks. So bad my family is retiring in 3 years. And I'm only in early 40s. Never worked. Just dance. What the poo am I gonna do? Not a clue. But that will be the 50 yr anniversary.

Edit; I'm sorry if that sounds pissy. I'm not trying to be. It's a rough month. For many reasons. I apologize.

a reply to: Dancejunkie35

I wish I could say I was making money. These emergency repairs are not supposed to be my job in all honesty. I build homes and, occasionally, do additions.(I don't do additions on homes I didn't build) My mainstay is my sawmill, that allows me to produce lumber, slabs, and beams that you can't purchase at a big box store.
As per these repair jobs- I did one repair, and now I'm the go-to guy when someone almost burns their house down, or whatever.
As for the money- I might get paid in a month, or it could be three months. So I understand the waiting for paid feeling too.
Keep your chin up, it'll get better.

a reply to: gb540

Agreed. I got tired of fighting for power years ago and bought a welding truck.

Perfect work setup. I took the welding and brazing stuff into the garage, kept the generator and compressor. It has a rack for ladders, planks , and whatnot. Plus the tool boxes built in are nice. It's heavy, but it sure does solve a lot of headaches.

I believe you. I live by a main highway and the month of December I’m hearing fire trucks going by almost daily, I think there goes another idiot who hooked up their tree lights wrong.
I think people are financially strained and buying the cheapest items they can. Most come from cheap ass China who have low standards, the stores are buying from China.

I read the labels On the Xmas lights and it clearly says do not plug into other strings of lights (I’ll assume it means other brands?) or do not exceed more than xxx amount of light strands into one outlet. So I don’t do it.

You’re also not supposed to connect extension cords to each other

I have told people this but will they listen? No, they don’t care . Not gonna happen to them, they are special.


If I was to ignore the warning labels I sincerely doubt my insurance would cover the fire claim. That’s why there are warnings, they assume you had every opportunity to read them. It’s a disclaimer so you can’t counter sue the product.

I read all the booklets on Ekectrical items I buy. Surprising in what it says other than the usual, don’t use outside, keep away from water sources.

Like space heaters, it says do not share the outlet with another appliance, so I don’t, it only shares a low wattage lamp. Keep at least three feet away from bedding or furniture. Do not plug into an extension cord. Yet people do it.

I’m just too scared of having a fire. It’s my worst fear. Second to that is I wouldn’t have my insurance pay me.

People just don’t care has been my observation.
Last year I told my daughter in law the lights she got are on the recall list. Here’s the serial numbers, check you don’t have the affected ones. Some were sold in dollar stores and I know she buys everything at cheap places. Her answer “I don’t care”. I got some at Canadian tire thst were recalled. I pulled them all off. It was a pain in the ass and pissed me off, but I’d have been a hell of a lot more inconvenienced being in a fire or watching my Home burn down.