Can I Plug a Surge Protector Into a Grounded Extension Cord
Information technology always seems like there are never plenty outlets around and electronics never have a long plenty cord, which is when surge protectors and extension cords come in handy. Can they be used with each other, though?
What You Need to Know About Surge Protectors and Extension Cords
Before we go into the nitty gritty of plugging stuff into other stuff, information technology'south of import to first know a little about surge protectors and extension cords. Otherwise, you could be in for a globe of misfortune if yous just outset daisy-chaining surge protectors together.
Surge protectors, as yous can guess from the name, protect electronics from ability surges and spikes, which are sudden increases in voltage. These can happen during lightning strikes, power outages, or but a random malfunction in the power grid.
RELATED: Protect Your Gadgets: Why Y'all Need a Surge Protector
Call back of voltage as the amount of water pressure in a pipe. Electronics like a steady stream of pressure coming from the source, merely when a sudden surge of force per unit area comes barreling through, it can overwhelm electronics and upshot in damage.
And y'all should annotation that not all power strips are also surge protectors. Regular power strips simply provide extra accomplish and outlets.
As for extension cords, they're a bit simpler and a more mutual in households. All the same, they're non all created equal, and you take to be aware of a few things before you take hold of just any extension cord and use it to power your devices, most notably the "guess" of the string (a.chiliad.a. the thickness of the wiring).
RELATED: What Kind of Extension Cord Should I Use?
Of form, a big question you might have is whether or not surge protectors and extension cords can peacefully coexist, and the respond is: technically, yes, but y'all shouldn't.
Tin can Y'all Plug a Surge Protector Into an Extension String?
On paper, yes, you can. The biggest affair is making certain the extension cord can handle the same corporeality of load as the surge protector (or more).
For example, this Belkin surge protector has a 14-gauge string, so yous'll want to make sure that your extension string is 14 guess or amend. Otherwise, you risk putting too much load on the extension cord and creating a fire run a risk for yourself.
RELATED: Why (and When) Y'all Need to Replace Your Surge Protector
At the finish of the day, though, it'south actually non recommended to utilise an extension cord for anything more than than temporary utilise, by and large because y'all risk subjecting the extension cord to prolonged wearable and tear for which it's not designed. Plus, that actress connexion where you plug into the extension string is an added connection that can go loose over fourth dimension and create risk. But near importantly, information technology'south against OSHA and NEC regulations.
So what should yous practise instead? Either use a surge protector with a long enough cord to attain the nearest outlet, or install an extra outlet closer to where you lot need it. These options aren't the most convenient, but they're the safest.
Tin can You lot Plug Extension Cords Into Another Extension Cord?
Again, technically you tin can, but information technology's not recommended, every bit it'south considered a burn down risk. And it'due south as well against OSHA and NEC regulations.
Information technology by and large comes down to length, equally extension cords can only be so long—the longer the cord, the more electric resistance, which decreases the amount of electricity that tin can be fed to devices. When you start to add together on extension cords, you run the risk of making the run too long and under-powering your devices—non safe.
Furthermore, as mentioned in the previous department, the extra connections where you plug your extension cords into one some other are added failure points that don't really need to exist in that location in the first identify.
So instead of chaining extensions cords to 1 another, do yourself a favor and just utilise one long extension string for your needs.
Can You Plug a Surge Protector Into Another Surge Protector?
This is possibly the biggest no-no out of everything mentioned hither, and if yous're at the point where you're running out of plugs on your surge protector, you probably have too many things plugged in anyway. So adding on another surge protector to that will just create another trouble on tiptop of your electric current one.
Also, the protection capabilities of a surge protector (as opposed to only a regular power strip) can be interfered with if another surge protector is plugged into it, mayhap to the indicate where neither surge protector can do its chore effectively.
RELATED: What's the Difference Between a Power Strip and a Surge Protector?
On top of that, virtually surge protector manufacturers void the warranty if you daisy-chain them together. Oh, and did we mention this is also confronting OSHA and NEC regulations? You probably noticed a recurring theme here.
In the stop, y'all probably won't hurt anything if you take the right precautions (making sure extension cords are rated for the ability output, etc.), only it'due south not really a gamble that'southward worth taking, especially because that there are other (and amend) solutions to have advantage of.
Source: https://www.howtogeek.com/353337/can-you-plug-surge-protectors-and-extension-cords-into-each-other/
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