Hello there,

Say we have two extension cords, one made of thinner wire and one of thicker wire. Let's say for example 10AWG and 13AWG. The 10AWG would be able to handle roughly twice the current of the 13AWG.

Now we have to plug them in series to make a longer extension cord. Not really concerned about the dangers just the practical aspects considering the specs of both wires are always observed.

Question:
Do we plug the thicker cord into the 120vac wall socket and the thinner cord into that, or do we plug the thinner cord into the wall socket and thicker cord into that?

Just to note, an 'ai' bot seems to think there is a big difference.

 

AI bot is wrong.

 

Are you serious?

 

Are you serious?

 

A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. The smaller wire will never handle more than what it's supposed to. Despite the larger gauge cord either in front or after.

The ONLY thing I'd consider is line loss. But even then I'd say it still works out to be the same. The 10 AWG first, suppose it's carrying 5 amps. There's going to be very little loss. The 13 AWG (must be European) will also handle the 5 amps. It will have a greater line loss due simply to the wire size and resistance per foot (or cm or km, however it's done over there). In the end it's like two resistors; a 100Ω resistor in series with a 47Ω resistor. Over all, it's going to be 147Ω regardless of which is first.

 

Is anything else plugged into the first extension lead except the second extension lead?
If not, it makes no difference.

However, I would always use the thicker one first, just in case someone were to connect a load to the first lead.

@Tonyr1084 Probably not European, because I think the Europeans are just as baffled (or annoyed!) by American Wire Gauge as the British are. We like the Cross Sectional Area in square millimetres, so we can just divide it into the resistivity of Copper figure (17.7nΩm) and get the resistance per unit length.

 

Well, using the logic of some of our fearless political leaders, I think the thinner cable should be first because otherwise all those extra electrons in the thicker wire will just pile up at the junction of the two, and who knows what mischief that could cause (!).

 

On the other hand, for those who like to use the water analogy, everyone knows the fat pipe or hose always comes first. Every plumber and firefighter knows this.

 

On the other hand, for those who like to use the water analogy, everyone knows the fat pipe or hose always comes first. Every plumber and firefighter knows this.

Hi,

That's a very interesting reply because of the sometimes-used 'water/electrical' current analogies out there. It illustrates another one of the drawbacks of such an analogy.

One of the reasons I posted this is because the 'ai' bot had posted a whole bunch of reasons why the thicker wire should come before the thinner wire. I'll ask if I can post the results here from the source.

 

Is anything else plugged into the first extension lead except the second extension lead?
If not, it makes no difference.

However, I would always use the thicker one first, just in case someone were to connect a load to the first lead.

@Tonyr1084 Probably not European, because I think the Europeans are just as baffled (or annoyed!) by American Wire Gauge as the British are. We like the Cross Sectional Area in square millimetres, so we can just divide it into the resistivity of Copper figure (17.7nΩm) and get the resistance per unit length.

Hi,

That's an interesting take also because of the fact that the first cable may be used for a second 'thinner' cable later sometime. That mean two cables plugged into the first thicker cable, which now makes sense.

Otherwise, I reject everything the 'ai' bot posted. It did hint on the mechanical durability of the two being different, but gave no cases where the thicker should come before the thinner.

Actually, there is no "first" here, that's the main mistake it makes. Current is the same in a series circuit.

 

A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. The smaller wire will never handle more than what it's supposed to. Despite the larger gauge cord either in front or after.

The ONLY thing I'd consider is line loss. But even then I'd say it still works out to be the same. The 10 AWG first, suppose it's carrying 5 amps. There's going to be very little loss. The 13 AWG (must be European) will also handle the 5 amps. It will have a greater line loss due simply to the wire size and resistance per foot (or cm or km, however it's done over there). In the end it's like two resistors; a 100Ω resistor in series with a 47Ω resistor. Over all, it's going to be 147Ω regardless of which is first.

Hi,

Yes, the presumption is that the two cables will never operate outside of their on intrinsic specifications, meaning the thinner wire will never be overdriven current wise. To me, this limits the total current, but it does not matter which one is plugged into the wall outlet.

 

Hello again,

Here is part of the transcript with the bot where someone was asking about this...

Note how ambiguous the replies from the bot are, where not one of the said 'reasons' actually explain its point.
One of the parts in support of the thick wire first is actually funny, "[the thick wire] ... is directly exposed to the current ...".
Maybe it was trying to tell a joke

I think this is a great example of how wrong 'ai' bots can be. That's why I like to caution everyone about using their results for technical purposes. May be one of the best examples because it actually goes on to explain its reason for the choice when not even one of those (several) reasons actually verifies anything.

I am starting to wonder how long it will take before someone working on something critical takes an 'ai' bot reply as truth and causes harm to humans due to the resulting bad design. They seem to be a huge source of misinformation.

 

Are you serious?

This is a serious question that comes up now and then on the internet. This might be the first time I've seen an 'ai' bot response though for this. It's so bad of a response that I wanted to post it not only to talk about the main idea but to show how wrong an 'ai' bot can be.

I can add a couple fictional 'ai' bot responses too where I am surprised it did not mention these also...
"The thicker cord has to come first in case anyone accidentally trips over the wire".
"The thicker wire is closer to the circuit breaker".
"The price of eggs in Egypt is $1.99 for a dozen, that's why the thicker cord must come first".


On a more serious note, I am starting to wonder how long it will take before someone working on something critical takes an 'ai' bot reply as truth and causes harm to humans due to the resulting bad design.

 

Now imagine that this question came up say while workers are wiring something up at a trade show. The worker knows a knows a little about electricity but his boss knows nothing at all. The worker starts to put the thin cord first, based on what I will reveal in the next paragraph. But the boss looks it up and tells him to put the thick cord first.

The only problem is that the first cord is in open air and the second is in a confined space with highly flammable materials. It starts a fire.

Who get’s fired?

 

On the other hand, for those who like to use the water analogy, everyone knows the fat pipe or hose always comes first. Every plumber and firefighter knows this.

It's equally fallacious for water, but entirely sensible, based on the presumption that someone could connect another thinner pipe to the thicker pipe at a later date.

 

In the case of water, the thin last hose would put out a stream of water at a higher velocity than the thick last hose. If your propose is to knock down a hornets’ nest, it would make a difference which hose you put first. If the purpose is to fill a swimming pool it would not.

 

I am starting to wonder how long it will take before someone working on something critical takes an 'ai' bot reply as truth and causes harm to humans due to the resulting bad design.

Ah ha!
Part of the insidious plot for AI to get rid of those pesky humans.

 

Now imagine that this question came up say while workers are wiring something up at a trade show. The worker knows a knows a little about electricity but his boss knows nothing at all. The worker starts to put the thin cord first, based on what I will reveal in the next paragraph. But the boss looks it up and tells him to put the thick cord first.

The only problem is that the first cord is in open air and the second is in a confined space with highly flammable materials. It starts a fire.

Who get’s fired?

Both are fired for not letting the union electrician do the connection.

 

Actually neither of the gets fired, they both died in the crowd crush trying to get out the main entrance because all of the fire doors were chained shut to stop people trying to sneak in.

 

The only problem is that the first cord is in open air and the second is in a confined space with highly flammable materials. It starts a fire.

And there it is.

My concern as well. I would say put the higher power handling one first - if there is an unscheduled over-temp event, the thinner wire can fire up further away from the house.

But, you're correct as it would depend on one's location.