I need to use an electric mower for my very large yard because I can't start a gas mower and my nearest neighbor is about 5 miles away. Living on a limited budget, I can't find anyone to cut the grass for what I can afford to pay. My yard is about an acre with about 30 trees. It has heavy dense grass. The extension cord would need to be at least 250 feet long to reach to the edge of the yard. My question is what gauge wire would I need to use to make the extension cord? The mower that I'm thinking about buying is a 12 amp mower. The circuit breaker for the plug at the house is a 20 amp breaker. Are there other things that I need to take into consideration? And if you have suggestions for a mower that would work well for these conditions, I'm open to suggestions.
Wiring – What size extension cord gauge would I need for a 12 amp electric mower if the cord is 250 feet long
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Related Solutions
The answer to your last question is "Yes", it is perfectly fine to use a 15 amp plug strip on a 20 amp circuit like you have. That is why the slots on the receptacle go both horizontal and vertical. I'd suggest a plug strip with it's own 15 amp resetable breaker built in. That will protect your lower amp tools.
The second issue would be to build your own multiple outlet strip with a two gang handy box and two 20 amp duplex receptacles and a length of 12 AWG or 10 AWG SO or SVT cable terminated with a 20 amp plug.
Extension cords need to be chosen according to the length and load. The following chart will guide you to the correct gauge to choose for any one extension cord. You might choose several different gauges in order to save money, properly configured you won't need to put 12awg wire everywhere:
To carry 20 amps any distance, you'll need 12awg cable. You could use one 50 foot 12awg cable to carry the current to a table, then three 16awg cables to carry the current to one or two computers each.
You might find it cheaper, however, to run two 14awg wires in parallel from one outlet than to run one 12awg wire.
Keep in mind that while some cable calculators and tables will indicate that 16awg can handle 20A, the cable will heat up, and if you've properly secured it to the floor using tape or channels with other cables running parallel, the heat buildup can be significant and dangerous. Particularly with long runs.
You should also consult with the hotel - many of them have requirements for extension cord use in conference areas, and in some cases you will be required to use their cables and installers in order to meet their safety and load planning requirements.
If you pay attention to the chart you'll note that each cable size and load include a voltage drop. You'll also realize that due to the wiring at the venue you'll see a voltage drop at the outlet as well. This will result in a lower voltage at each computer than 120V. However, as long as you keep your voltage drop below 10%, and the venue is wired correctly producing a less than 10% drop to the outlet under load, then it is unlikely that your computers will experience any problems. Most computing equipment that uses AC power has a universal power supply that accepts a wide range of voltage, often down to 90VAC. It will be a rare computer or peripheral that will have problems with the voltage drop presented by a suitably rated cable.
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Best Answer
A Gas lawnmower with an electric start. Electric ones don't like to cut heavy dense grass. Plug it in at the house, start it, disconnect and go. A quick search found a self-propelled one for about $300. I couldn't really find one much cheaper but I do recommend a self propelled model. Like this one from Briggs and Stratton, a reputable company.
If you're not just going to plug a bunch of regular cords into each other, a legitimately constructed cable and an electric mower would near, if not surpass, the cost of one of these more effective machines.