"Gary Warner" wrote in message ...
My folks picked up a free used refrigerator and want
to put it in their garage for use in the summer for
extra sodas, leftovers, etc.

When we put it where it fits best the cord will not
reach to the nearest outlet. On the cord there is
a warning label stating to always use a grounded
outlet and NOT to put an extension cord.

I have a heavy duty cord that is about 12 feet
long. The cord does have three wires in it and
it does have the third grounding pin. And the
outlet it will be going into is a properly grounded
three pin plug.

The cord seems heavy duty. It is the "flat type"
where you can see the three wires. (Not the
bare wire, but the you can clearly see the coating
where three seperate wires run.) And it is not
one of those cheap light duty cords.

I'm figuring that if the cord is heavy duty enough
to carry the current that a refrigerator can draw,
what is the harm in using it?

Is this just a warning to protect themselves legally
or is their some good reason to never use an
extension cord on a refrigerator??

The real heavy, flat extention cords are often called "air
conditioner" or "appliance" extention cords. They are usually no less
than 10 gauge, 3 conductor ("10/3").

A household refirgerators will not pull more than 15 amps, even when
the current surges to start the compressor. Since most household
outlets are on 15A circuits, most of us would be tripping breakers if
they pulled more than that.

A good cord, rated for at least 15 amps should be fine. For example,
most 12/3 cords can handle 15 amps (up to 50 feet or so).

The warning was probably put on the refer by the manufacturer's legal
department after being blamed for fires caused by people daisy
chaining zipcords together.