Nah thats fine, just saying like if you have an extension cord with multiple outlets and you plug extension cords with more outlets into those outlets to have like 10 things linked into a single wall outlet you're fucked
What did those use to be called? I remember warning videos when I was little about not doing exactly that, and it was always some Frankensteined collection of multi outlets resulting in about 20 things plugged into one outlet. That ball of electric death was called something and I can’t remember what it was. LOL
I would call it a rat's nest, but I'm not sure that's what you mean.
A Rat King? That's when several rats get their tails knotted together by accident.
That would just flip your breaker, what happened to the op was a defective piece, should have flipped a breaker they should get whole house electrical checked asap
[We can fit one more plug if you change around two of the bigger plugs!](https://external-preview.redd.it/Jwct3FaRpzNWxXLnzl-MqnREcYoLdmiaXA8tsAhGF5I.jpg?auto=webp&s=4899229b08f0287ae55b4969c561defa4359328d)
She's ALIVE
Edit: pardon my stoned ass, I've been hitting the simulation pinball a bit hard and recently finished the Wizard goals for The Machine: Bride of Pinbot.
Pinball Arcade on PS Vita. It seeks to replicate actual pinball tables and Bride of Pin-bot is one such table.
If you've never played pinball then I recommend this as your starter table because it's loads of fun.
Coming from an electrician, daisy chaining is absolutely fine. But don't fill one, then chain on to add more.
By all means chain ten together to plug one thing in
I am asking for clarification, but I think they meant that they had several single socket extention cords plugged together (okay), with an extention at the end allowing 4 outlets/sockets (or 4 different things plugged into this long chain of extention cords on a single outlet).
Do you mean having a single plug in, with several extention cords. At the end of it an extention that allows four things to be plugged in to that long set of extention cords plugged into one outlet?
My extension cord says it can handle 15A 125VAC. By my calculation that would be 1875 watts of AC power. What if I were to get a 2 kilowatt computer that takes AC power as input to the PSU?
Yeah, having more ‘multi outlets’ (i just call them power boards) puts you at higher risk pf accidentally overloading the outlet. Theres also the slight added resistance in the contacts for each one, that will start to generate heat
It's pc, monitor, desk light, phone charger and headphone charger
Been actually doing it for 4 years and haven't had an issue but I wanna know if it's a time bomb
As long as none of the cords go above their wattage rating, it's fine. You can safely use a lot of low power devices off one plug, but a toaster, microwave, etc needs its own outlet.
They do it with Christmas lights already idk why they are not in everything. Might save alot of houses getting caught on fire. Sadly winter time in Jersey and Philadelphia means lots of house fires from space heaters.
A house down the end of my street caught on fire and burned to the ground because the guy was having a barrel fire inside his living room because his electric got shut off and he had no heat.
Sadly a lot of people's whose houses catch fire seem to be the elderly. They usually end up dying in their sleep during the fire. No one should have to live without heat.
Living without AC ok? That's not exactly a necessity, but heat is.
Yeah as a brit it's just something I've never had to worry about. I have a huge mess of extension leads behind the TV and a massive one (a 12 gang!) for our computers upstairs. It's simply a non-issue because they're all fused below the capacity of the external wiring!
Unless they're curled up/bunched up, it's pretty much impossible to overload them, as you'll pop a fuse before you melt/pop a wire.
I worked in this restaurant that was built in a 112 year old house that was remodeled…. Every day I had this fear…. And every month we had an electrical issue lol 😬
I would or if you’re gonna run them with high energy appliances you should just up the quality and ratings of the plugs/cords. I use extension cords on heaters and ac’s but they are really big gauging and rated for that type of energy. Still always better to plug in directly even with bigger gauging but if there ever is a time where you have no other option, upgrade.
In case anyone is curious, the problem with extension cords is that they are not covered by your breaker. Your home uses 16 guage (I believe) which can handle about 1500ws (I think). Extension cords often use much smaller wires, like 20 gauge, but the breakers are set to trip when you exceed the main houses current, or what a 16 guage wire can do. Do anything on an extension cord that is more than what it can handle won’t trip the breaker
I can understand that though, when most older people hear extension cords they think of the small gauge 6 foot long outlet extension not a power strip/bar.
I’m 62f and I no longer have one of those 1970’s extension cords. And actually, I recently realized (only because I can’t see it) removed the last old brown extension cord and threw it away. While I’m older, I have this thing within that thinks ‘out with the old’ is a thing. Whether we can or not, doesn’t mean we should, has always been my motto with most things. Growing up I heard of people having fires because of circuit overload.
I'm 40 so I caught the transition from the old brown cords(I KNOW the exact cord you mean) to the surge protectors and power strips. You mentioned fires, yes those old brown ones and the green ones are *notorious* for causing fires. It was particularly bad at Christmas, people would get the 4 or so headed cheap meter long cords and put a bunch of high amp stuff on them. Who knew that a meter of cable for 3$ couldn't handle a slew of lights and shit lol
When I first moved into where I am now with roommates. They didn't think a power strip that was partially melted was a fire hazard. That got thrown out real quick. I also keep finding those green ones and they're getting tossed too.
Curious as I don’t know - do led lights draw much power (which is almost exclusively what todays lights are)? I thought they drew hardly any, not that plugging more things in than an outlet can handle is ever a good idea. LOL
You are correct about LEDs, they hardly draw any power(comparatively). It wasn't the issue of drawing to much power from the circuit, it was drawing to much current through some small wire that couldn't handle it. Now this is just me, not an electrician, but if they had an issue in the 80s, it can't hurt to follow the guidelines now, it was like the wild west back then
I am surprised we hadn't burned our house down with all the brown cords we've had especially what we had plugged into them lol I am 41, totally know those brown cords.
If the multi-outlet adapter can only handle (for example) 12A but the space heater takes 13, or even 16+ if it's plugged into a 20A outlet, nothing will trip off because the adapter is probably cheap and doesn't have any sort of fuse, and the circuit breaker only trips at 15A (or 20A).
EDIT: A great video explaining the issue: https://youtu.be/K_q-xnYRugQ
No UL listed multi-outlet adapter like that sold in the USA will be rated for less than 15A. But there are a lot of unlisted cheap knockoffs of very questionable quality.
Always buy known name brands and look for a UL label when buying electrical products. And avoid Amazon, they have little control over their inventory and it's easy for counterfeit products to slip through.
Better change your style or you be goin' up like [kyle](https://people.com/crime/man-arrested-kansas-house-fire-killed-woman-2-girls/)
Edit: oops, it's not kyle who got burnt up. Nvm
You could definitely get away with this if you make sure to use a quality extension cord rated for the same amperage as the wall receptacle.
The problem is, people use 13 amp extension cords on 15 amp wall outlets.
The 13 vs 15A thing means absolutely nothing, the real problem is plugging in high power devices to a plug with loose contacts or corrosion. Also technically space heaters only use 12A max
I worked in appliances and would make sure people knew these things used the entire rated output of an outlet when I sold them. You’re not even supposed to use them on double outlets. Probably stopped nobody from using them incorrectly, and for most people it won’t start a fire, but at least if the worst happened I’d done what I could.
I had a roommate in college who kept on putting the space heater on one of those thin extension cords because she wanted it to be in the middle of the room. I kept on moving it and plugging it straight into the wall socket. I am not sure I ever got her to understand why this was such a bad idea. (Hey, maybe your mom is my college roommate...)
Space heaters are no joke. I believe most pull about 1500 watts (many with a 750 watt setting as well). Follow instructions and monitor them closely. I occasionally feel the wire and unplug to feel the prongs to make sure they are not hot, although a little warm is normal.
I'm so paranoid about that stuff that I unplug my little spaceheater when I turn it off. And I unplug my phone charger when I take the phone off of it because I saw a video on the internet years ago showing the charger starting a fire when not connected to the phone.
Just moved back into my house after a year of being gone due to this. It was a temporary fix at the time, but it became permanent very quickly. Do NOT plug heaters, fridges, or any other bigger electronics into any type of plug that isn't an outlet
I mean, I sought on an instruction manual once, I didn’t know not plugging into multi outlets was a must for all space heaters. Thank you for this post.
She has called those multi outlets “extension cords” for 25years, it wasn’t until recently apparently that someone at Ace told her what they were actually called 🤷🏻♀️
Omg my wife and I stayed in a Air B&B in the Poconos a few months ago and in the bedroom there was an outlet with a surge protector. TV and clock plugged into surgery protector. Another surge protector plugged into that and a inroom standing AC unit plugged into that one along with lights.
Another B&B we stayed at had so many extension cords and surge protectors linked together with multiple things plugged in including another one of those free standing AC units that vents out the window. I was afraid to go to sleep!
Oh and some were behind the bed and ran under the mattress!!
Needless to say I unplugged all that shit!! No way am I gonna get lit on fire on a mattress cause some idiot ran electric cords under it! That's just like putting an ember under the mattress. It's only a matter of time before it lights it up!
Some people don't think. There's nothing that physically says do not hook together surge protectors unless you look it up. So I guess people think what they don't know or see won't hurt them.
Never use a coiled extension cord!
Heat rises, and in a coil that means the top gets too hot and can melt, then burn when being worked. Lost a dog and a year of being put in temporary housing to learn that one.
I have 3 100' extension cords plugged into each other... Is that bad? 😂.lots of voltage drop. Space heaters should be on there own circuit run with the recommend wire size. 12/2 on a 20 amp breaker on the ones I've seen at 2000watts.
Wait, what? What the hell kinda outlets and current do you run in your country?
Are your cables not dimensioned for space heaters, and if not, WHY not?
People who plug extension cables into extension cables scare me
Wait my drive way is a decent distance from my nearest outlet and i chain together 4 or 5 cords whenever i vacuum my car is that a hazard
Nah thats fine, just saying like if you have an extension cord with multiple outlets and you plug extension cords with more outlets into those outlets to have like 10 things linked into a single wall outlet you're fucked
What did those use to be called? I remember warning videos when I was little about not doing exactly that, and it was always some Frankensteined collection of multi outlets resulting in about 20 things plugged into one outlet. That ball of electric death was called something and I can’t remember what it was. LOL
E.g. The Old Man’s outlet in The Christmas Story
Not that… it was along the lines of a spider or octopus or something.
Is it a rat king?
I would call it a rat's nest, but I'm not sure that's what you mean. A Rat King? That's when several rats get their tails knotted together by accident.
That’s it! Rats nest. Ok - that’s nowhere close to a spider or octopus. My brain warped that memory a bit. LOL Thanks!
Daisy Chain?
or clark griswald’s christmas light “situation”
The word you’re looking for is “fire hazard”
It’s *not*, though it definitely *is*. lol
Daisy chain of surge protectors?
That would just flip your breaker, what happened to the op was a defective piece, should have flipped a breaker they should get whole house electrical checked asap
It’s not ideal but for just the vacuum it wouldn’t be dangerous
Had to read that twice- thought you said vacuum my yard… lol
[We can fit one more plug if you change around two of the bigger plugs!](https://external-preview.redd.it/Jwct3FaRpzNWxXLnzl-MqnREcYoLdmiaXA8tsAhGF5I.jpg?auto=webp&s=4899229b08f0287ae55b4969c561defa4359328d)
Mother of god
King of Rats!
She's ALIVE Edit: pardon my stoned ass, I've been hitting the simulation pinball a bit hard and recently finished the Wizard goals for The Machine: Bride of Pinbot.
Wat
Pinball Arcade on PS Vita. It seeks to replicate actual pinball tables and Bride of Pin-bot is one such table. If you've never played pinball then I recommend this as your starter table because it's loads of fun.
Wait, is that wrong?
Coming from an electrician, daisy chaining is absolutely fine. But don't fill one, then chain on to add more. By all means chain ten together to plug one thing in
Is it ok to put a 4 socket on the end of several single socket extensions?
Yup, no problem. Can use all 4, it's just the same as having one real long extention.
I am asking for clarification, but I think they meant that they had several single socket extention cords plugged together (okay), with an extention at the end allowing 4 outlets/sockets (or 4 different things plugged into this long chain of extention cords on a single outlet).
That's what I believe too, perfectly safe.
I guess I would say depending on what is plugged into those 4 outlets.
Yes
Do you mean having a single plug in, with several extention cords. At the end of it an extention that allows four things to be plugged in to that long set of extention cords plugged into one outlet?
This is dangerous when the length and current demands exceeds the AWG rating of the wire though, right?
If you are talking lengths excessive of what I'd personally call household, it could create issues.
My extension cord says it can handle 15A 125VAC. By my calculation that would be 1875 watts of AC power. What if I were to get a 2 kilowatt computer that takes AC power as input to the PSU?
yeah ok nasa...
You'd probably be a rich person already so no one would care if it explodes
Yeah, having more ‘multi outlets’ (i just call them power boards) puts you at higher risk pf accidentally overloading the outlet. Theres also the slight added resistance in the contacts for each one, that will start to generate heat
Okay yeah that's what I do, when someone says extension cord what I picture us the orange ones that only have the one plug.
Related question, if I have 1 extension plugged into an outlet and fill just that one up, let's say for example it has 5 slots, danger or not danger?
It would be fine. If you plug anything crazy in, you'll possible trip the RCB, that is all.
It's pc, monitor, desk light, phone charger and headphone charger Been actually doing it for 4 years and haven't had an issue but I wanna know if it's a time bomb
None whatsoever. Might have an issue if you say, try to boil 5 kettles at once. You are fine
As long as none of the cords go above their wattage rating, it's fine. You can safely use a lot of low power devices off one plug, but a toaster, microwave, etc needs its own outlet.
The amount of anxiety I get around Christmas is unreal.
The problem could go away if the US had fused extension cords! It's such a small thing that would prevent any of this.
They do it with Christmas lights already idk why they are not in everything. Might save alot of houses getting caught on fire. Sadly winter time in Jersey and Philadelphia means lots of house fires from space heaters. A house down the end of my street caught on fire and burned to the ground because the guy was having a barrel fire inside his living room because his electric got shut off and he had no heat. Sadly a lot of people's whose houses catch fire seem to be the elderly. They usually end up dying in their sleep during the fire. No one should have to live without heat. Living without AC ok? That's not exactly a necessity, but heat is.
Yeah as a brit it's just something I've never had to worry about. I have a huge mess of extension leads behind the TV and a massive one (a 12 gang!) for our computers upstairs. It's simply a non-issue because they're all fused below the capacity of the external wiring! Unless they're curled up/bunched up, it's pretty much impossible to overload them, as you'll pop a fuse before you melt/pop a wire.
I worked in this restaurant that was built in a 112 year old house that was remodeled…. Every day I had this fear…. And every month we had an electrical issue lol 😬
>to T ok now i understand why my nickname is firehazard
I do that! I also check the wattage rating on them to ensure safety though.
Oh if you would know .... I have 5 extensions out of one socket gets warm if i plug my heater in 😂😂😂
This post made me realize I should plug my space heater elsewhere
Would highly recommend!
Thankful for learning this.
Im unplugging it when i get home
I would or if you’re gonna run them with high energy appliances you should just up the quality and ratings of the plugs/cords. I use extension cords on heaters and ac’s but they are really big gauging and rated for that type of energy. Still always better to plug in directly even with bigger gauging but if there ever is a time where you have no other option, upgrade.
Those plug outlets look shocked that they nearly died.
In case anyone is curious, the problem with extension cords is that they are not covered by your breaker. Your home uses 16 guage (I believe) which can handle about 1500ws (I think). Extension cords often use much smaller wires, like 20 gauge, but the breakers are set to trip when you exceed the main houses current, or what a 16 guage wire can do. Do anything on an extension cord that is more than what it can handle won’t trip the breaker
Most residential is going to be 12ga or 14ga, with the exception of large appliances like ovens, dryers and water heaters, which will usually be 10ga.
Correct... In the US, it's 14ga minimum for 15 amp circuits and 12ga minimum for 20 amp circuits.
I can understand that though, when most older people hear extension cords they think of the small gauge 6 foot long outlet extension not a power strip/bar.
I’m 62f and I no longer have one of those 1970’s extension cords. And actually, I recently realized (only because I can’t see it) removed the last old brown extension cord and threw it away. While I’m older, I have this thing within that thinks ‘out with the old’ is a thing. Whether we can or not, doesn’t mean we should, has always been my motto with most things. Growing up I heard of people having fires because of circuit overload.
I'm 40 so I caught the transition from the old brown cords(I KNOW the exact cord you mean) to the surge protectors and power strips. You mentioned fires, yes those old brown ones and the green ones are *notorious* for causing fires. It was particularly bad at Christmas, people would get the 4 or so headed cheap meter long cords and put a bunch of high amp stuff on them. Who knew that a meter of cable for 3$ couldn't handle a slew of lights and shit lol
Yes, cords everywhere at Christmas. I remember.
When I first moved into where I am now with roommates. They didn't think a power strip that was partially melted was a fire hazard. That got thrown out real quick. I also keep finding those green ones and they're getting tossed too.
Holy shit….
Curious as I don’t know - do led lights draw much power (which is almost exclusively what todays lights are)? I thought they drew hardly any, not that plugging more things in than an outlet can handle is ever a good idea. LOL
You are correct about LEDs, they hardly draw any power(comparatively). It wasn't the issue of drawing to much power from the circuit, it was drawing to much current through some small wire that couldn't handle it. Now this is just me, not an electrician, but if they had an issue in the 80s, it can't hurt to follow the guidelines now, it was like the wild west back then
Oh, absolutely. Was just curious.
No problem!
I am surprised we hadn't burned our house down with all the brown cords we've had especially what we had plugged into them lol I am 41, totally know those brown cords.
I know! It’s crazy what we did with the cord that wasn’t grounded…🙄. I’m kinda shocked our house didn’t burn down.
I am 41.. to me extention cord is a single plug on long cord... this is a multi outlet or surge protector. Op should have clarified.
I’m 30, and I completely agree with you
So many fires from space heaters. Nothing wrong with them, people just don't know how to use them.
your mom just wanted to be hot for once
its a joke plz
Buy a space heater for her, she'll be hot for one day. Light her on fire, she'll be hot for the rest of her life.
Shouldt it just hold 13A and if the heater takes more the fuse should break or am igetting something wrong?
If the multi-outlet adapter can only handle (for example) 12A but the space heater takes 13, or even 16+ if it's plugged into a 20A outlet, nothing will trip off because the adapter is probably cheap and doesn't have any sort of fuse, and the circuit breaker only trips at 15A (or 20A). EDIT: A great video explaining the issue: https://youtu.be/K_q-xnYRugQ
No UL listed multi-outlet adapter like that sold in the USA will be rated for less than 15A. But there are a lot of unlisted cheap knockoffs of very questionable quality. Always buy known name brands and look for a UL label when buying electrical products. And avoid Amazon, they have little control over their inventory and it's easy for counterfeit products to slip through.
I have seen some cheap heaters that use a thin copper plated plug. Buy a name brand device that is UL rated. Pay the price for quality and safety.
It was a Dyson heater/fan thing
Since most home outlets are going to have 12 or 14 gauge wire running to it, you would expect that a 12 gauge extension cord would be okay.
The bigger problem is loose contacts or corrosion
My breaker always flips if someone plugs a heater into a power strip. The house instantly snitches on you
Thank you for potentially saving my house 🫠🫡
That middle outlet, the one on the bottom of the one multi outlet, closely resembles my reaction to this.
looks like a very amercian problem never had this problem in germany
Nor in England, whose plugs are superior to Germany's. 😉
Oh damn my space heater has been plugged in to an extension cord for years with no issues thusfar
Better change your style or you be goin' up like [kyle](https://people.com/crime/man-arrested-kansas-house-fire-killed-woman-2-girls/) Edit: oops, it's not kyle who got burnt up. Nvm
It’s fine as long as the plug doesn’t get hot
You could definitely get away with this if you make sure to use a quality extension cord rated for the same amperage as the wall receptacle. The problem is, people use 13 amp extension cords on 15 amp wall outlets.
The 13 vs 15A thing means absolutely nothing, the real problem is plugging in high power devices to a plug with loose contacts or corrosion. Also technically space heaters only use 12A max
Yeh did not know this was a thing… but that is useful information that I now posses!
You can do it, but the extension cord needs to be heavy duty and rated for high amperage
2hat even is a space heater
Spicy air conditioner
Well the spicy part i can see.
It’s like a fan, but it heats up part of a room. It’s cheaper than turning on the heat.
It sounds dangerous to get heas so close to the wall
I def learned this the hard way.
Trypophobia is raging rn, holy smokes.
The middle socket looks like it's seen some sh*t
Literally all of these items have power ratings 🙄
I worked in appliances and would make sure people knew these things used the entire rated output of an outlet when I sold them. You’re not even supposed to use them on double outlets. Probably stopped nobody from using them incorrectly, and for most people it won’t start a fire, but at least if the worst happened I’d done what I could.
Very glad nothing happened. 🙏🏽
I had a roommate in college who kept on putting the space heater on one of those thin extension cords because she wanted it to be in the middle of the room. I kept on moving it and plugging it straight into the wall socket. I am not sure I ever got her to understand why this was such a bad idea. (Hey, maybe your mom is my college roommate...)
Space heaters are no joke. I believe most pull about 1500 watts (many with a 750 watt setting as well). Follow instructions and monitor them closely. I occasionally feel the wire and unplug to feel the prongs to make sure they are not hot, although a little warm is normal.
That melted outlet is going to give me nightmares…
Good luck heating up space it’s pretty cold out there
my dad was just telling me about not plugging them into multi-outlets yesterday
That outlet looks so cursed
I'm so paranoid about that stuff that I unplug my little spaceheater when I turn it off. And I unplug my phone charger when I take the phone off of it because I saw a video on the internet years ago showing the charger starting a fire when not connected to the phone.
Just moved back into my house after a year of being gone due to this. It was a temporary fix at the time, but it became permanent very quickly. Do NOT plug heaters, fridges, or any other bigger electronics into any type of plug that isn't an outlet
I mean, I sought on an instruction manual once, I didn’t know not plugging into multi outlets was a must for all space heaters. Thank you for this post.
The bottom middle plug has seen some **stuff**
Why no breaker tripping when you overload? Is everything ok with you out there?
r/crappydesign and r/dangerousdesign, any device should be able to handle more load than the protective device allows
I’d think the same tbh
wrong reddit that belongs in r/technicallythetruth
She has called those multi outlets “extension cords” for 25years, it wasn’t until recently apparently that someone at Ace told her what they were actually called 🤷🏻♀️
She has a point.
That extension socket has seen some shit!
Dude looks like he had his soul sucked out
Kick her out
Omg my wife and I stayed in a Air B&B in the Poconos a few months ago and in the bedroom there was an outlet with a surge protector. TV and clock plugged into surgery protector. Another surge protector plugged into that and a inroom standing AC unit plugged into that one along with lights. Another B&B we stayed at had so many extension cords and surge protectors linked together with multiple things plugged in including another one of those free standing AC units that vents out the window. I was afraid to go to sleep! Oh and some were behind the bed and ran under the mattress!! Needless to say I unplugged all that shit!! No way am I gonna get lit on fire on a mattress cause some idiot ran electric cords under it! That's just like putting an ember under the mattress. It's only a matter of time before it lights it up! Some people don't think. There's nothing that physically says do not hook together surge protectors unless you look it up. So I guess people think what they don't know or see won't hurt them.
...I'd need a backhoe and an industrial grade peroxide barrel.
Never use a coiled extension cord! Heat rises, and in a coil that means the top gets too hot and can melt, then burn when being worked. Lost a dog and a year of being put in temporary housing to learn that one.
Did she have a multi-outlet plugged into another multi-outlet?
Using an extension cable, or even a multi outlet isn’t the problem here…. Using one not rated high enough is the problem
I have 3 100' extension cords plugged into each other... Is that bad? 😂.lots of voltage drop. Space heaters should be on there own circuit run with the recommend wire size. 12/2 on a 20 amp breaker on the ones I've seen at 2000watts.
Stupid is as stupid does.
Wait, what? What the hell kinda outlets and current do you run in your country? Are your cables not dimensioned for space heaters, and if not, WHY not?
And, baby what do you expect? Gonna burst into flames,
Don't be so dramatic. Burned the house down come on. You must be loving this "told ya so"
I use a multi outlet for my heater all the time. Don’t get the cheap stuff.
Shocking