Do You Think It Is Safe To Use An Iron With An Extension Cord?

[Arian]

and as long as you keep the extension cord fairly short. A longer cord has more resistance, thus needing a larger gauge wire to handle the same amperage. yes, you should be able to leave an iron plugged in as long as it has an off switch position, and there are no malfunctions with that switch. That would be the only real danger would be an electrical fault, or human error(not turning it off). No more dangerous than having your toaster plugged in.       Capacity Chart This chart is a simple "max capacity" chart for a short wire run. Increase the wire size for long runs - for example the wires running to the back of a vehicle to power the taillights may need to be one size larger to account for the length. Gauge 110V 12V 22 5A 5A 20 7.5A 8A 18 10A 10A 16 13A 20A 14 17A 40A 12 23A 60A 10 33A 100A 8 46A 150A 6 60A ??A 4 80A ??A 2 100A ??A 1 125A ??A 0 150A ??A Chart Notes This 110V column in this chart was provided by one of my readers and according to him it is based on the data in The Howard W. Sams Engineering Staff fifth edition 1983 for stranded copper wire when used in a conduit or bundle.(Open air ratings would be higher, solid copper wire ratings might be slightly lower.) This data seems in line with commonly accepted usage for 120/220V home electrical wiring. The 12V column is based on various sources I have found across the Internet combined with the accepted usage in various vehicles I have worked on. I am generally a bit skeptical of the max capacity the sources I found claimed for some of the smaller wire sizes. For example, 16 gauge wire is mighty thin to run 20A through for even a short distance, and this chart is a conservative interpretation of the data I found out there. Some data had the max capacity even higher than this - yikes! The values here for 12V usage are not yet certified to be correct/valid/safe - they are my ballpark figures based on what I believe to be true based on what I have learned. Consult other sources of information for your specific application for more details.