Comments by "" (@HobbyOrganist) on "Perhaps the weakest link in the US electrical system" video.

  1. The whole thing is STILL in 2022 reliant on 1850s technology of stringing copper wires over wooden telegraph poles that get taken down in storms, by ice etc and the entire town goes dark. One pole falls down and pulls down several others. There are commercial duty 12ga extension cords but I didnt see any that are fused Southwire 2588SW0002 Outdoor Cord-12/3 SJTW Heavy Duty 3 Prong Extension Cord-for Commercial Use 50', Yellow
    2
  2. It's insane the thin wire used in a lot of things, including 1500 watt space heaters. 16ga wire in any power cords should not be allowed, 14 or even 12 should be the minimum. At work we have power tools and the guys wind the cords up around things like drills and jigsaws, and I always say that every time you wind that cord tightly around the handle of the drill you are flexing those delicate strands of copper inside the power cord and that leads to fatigue and pretty soon instead of lets say 25 strands conducting the power, 12 of them are broken from fatigue leaving only 13 to carry the whole load but you can't visually SEE this because of the covering on the cord. Of course when you see an obvious crack, fray or damage to the cord's cover OSHA requires it be replaced. I don't think it's all that great an idea to wait until you SEE an obvious damage to the cord before replacing it, I'm not sure if there's a way to test the cord to find hidden breaks in the strands, but maybe the best idea is replacing all appliance (such as toasters, blenders, space heaters, lamps) , portable tools etc power cords and extension cords on a timeline of frequency of use and age combined, maybe the age timeline could be every 5 years for example, once a year on something like a drill constantly in use on the job in and out of the tool box and constantly flexed, plugged in and out etc. I remember helping a neighbor in his shop back in 1983 and he had a 1500 watt quartz space heater on an extension cord on the floor, I accidentally stepped on the extension cord at one point and it shorted out! the cord was hot enough the rubber around the wires inside was soft and just stepping on it was enough to break the insulation down enough the conductors shorted. I don't remember what kind of extension cord it was, but it was obviously not heavy enough for an ordinary 1500 watt space heater. Most of my breakers are 15 amp on 12 ga copper wire, no wire in my house is less than 12 ga, I installed everything myself and went with the lower amp breakers in part because nothing I have uses more. One outside receptacle now has a 20 amp breaker on it as I have a 15 amp electric chainsaw I was using and it kept tripping the 15 amp breaker when I bogged it down at all, but everything else is LED lights, computers, fridge, stove and water heater are gas as is the furnace. Only exception is two 220v breakers, one for a ceramic kiln I no longer have, and the other is for a 2 hp organ blower motor made in 1927, so it's on it's own dedicated circuit with a mechanical starter, and a disconnect. All my wiring is in conduit or armored metallic cable
    1
  3. Good move! Keep in mind, many of those "nice thick" extension cords are only thicker due to more covering over the same thin wires inside which makes it LOOK bigger, always check the label or what might be embossed or printed on the cable or plug itself, a lot of this krap comes from CHINA, you know, the land of toxic drywall, FORGED carb certified laminated flooring, poisoned dog treats and baby formula, lead painted children's toys etc. I do the OSHA stuff at work, so I'm more "in tune" with this kind of thing I guess. Once I saw a virtual tour of an antique stores' 5 story building on their web site, and immediately noticed they had a large standing fan directly in front of a fire exit door- big violation, I emailed them a friendly heads-up about it and they corrected that.
    1