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??

Thanks,
Gary

As long as the extension cord is properly grounded, and the conductors are
the same size or larger, you can use it. Most extension cords are thin,
smaller gauge wire, that tend to heat up and possibly cause a fire.

Jim Rojas

"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??

Thanks,
Gary

I believe it is to protect them because there are those that will try to
plug a fridge into one of those lightweight cords for a lamp.

"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??

Thanks,
Gary

Manufacturers tell you not to use extension cords because they lose control of
the wire size. They know what their cord is, the plug type regulates what is
supposed to be inside the wall but an extension cord can be anything.
As long as you are using one of those "heavy appliance" cords, 14 guage or 12
guage, you are fine. I would suggest checking to be sure the plug isn't getting
hot occasionally since that is usually where these fail.

Check it early and often to make sure it is not getting hot.

db

"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??

Thanks,
Gary

"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??

Thanks,
Gary

It is my understanding that, given a long enough run, the amperage
will drop. I know that before I had a gas blower, my electric one
would work fine with a hundred foot, 12 gauge extension cord, but if I
used two of them, the motor would slow considerably. This effect might
cause the refrigerator motor to get hot?? I really don't think that
12' would be a problem, though!

New refrigerators don't pull that much current anyway. My side by side seems to
cruise at a bit less than 2a once it gets going. Startup spikes at around 13a
for a few seconds, probably more than that for the first part of a second but a
minute or so later that drops off to 1.6 or so. When the compressor is off the
defrost fan and such are a bit over .1a that goes to .5a when the door is open
(the 40w lamp).
If you don't have an "energy star" fridge YMMV.
I am going to keep the clamp on connected for a while and see what I see over
time.
I think the idea that a fridge is a big load comes from the olden days before
they started using power factor corrected motors and better insulation.

"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.

thanks to everyone for replying. I put the cord on and checked is a
number of times while the refridg was starting and running for a
while. No heat or warmth at all. I'm sure it will be fine.

Thanks.

basskisser,
The voltage will drop over a long run, if you don't deliver enough
voltage you might burn out the motor. A #14 awg (15 amps) or #12 awg (20
amps) extension cord should be sufficient. Most of those cheat extension
cords are #16 or 18 awg.
Paul

"basskisser" wrote in message
om...
"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??

Thanks,
Gary

It is my understanding that, given a long enough run, the amperage
will drop. I know that before I had a gas blower, my electric one
would work fine with a hundred foot, 12 gauge extension cord, but if I
used two of them, the motor would slow considerably. This effect might
cause the refrigerator motor to get hot?? I really don't think that
12' would be a problem, though!