Electrical Question

I recently plugged in a 1500 watt oil filled heater to a surge protected power strip and then of course plugged the strip into my wall outlet. And I have a spyder robotics high power thermostat controlling it.

My question is - is it normal for the head of the cord where it plugs into the wall outlet to feel warm?? I have such anxiety over fire that I tend to worry alot.

Can someone tell me that this is all normal and safe.

Thanks

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Originally Posted by L.West

My question is - is it normal for the head of the cord where it plugs into the wall outlet to feel warm??

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Yes. Warm is ok, hot is not. Any cord carrying electricity can get warm due to resistance in the wire.

If you have a heat gun check the temperatures of the breakers in your fuse box. The ones for circuits with appliances on them that run all the time (like your refrigerator or tv) will be warmer than the ones that control an appliance, such as your dryer or stove, that isn't running at the time.

Okay, thank you so much. It wasn't hot but it was warm. I hit it with my temp gun and the rubber tip of the electrical cord was registering like 85 degrees but the room is at 75 degrees.

I just wanted to double check. My OCD anxiety kicks into overdrive when it comes to leaving space heaters running when I am not home.

Greatly appreciate your feedback

You should be good. One persons warm is different than anothers. 85 degrees isnt bad at all.

At 1500 Watts, you have a 12.5 amp draw going through that circuit. Your circuit breaker should be a 20 amp breaker, I'm guessing. The thermal overloads on the circuit breaker at 12.5 amps are fine and should remain cool. Your cord on your heater is rated for above 12.5 amps and it is 100% normal for it to run warm. The manufacturer doesn't want to give you any more copper than necessary. It is when other appliances are plugged into the same circuit as your heater is when your circuit breaker will become stressed as it approaches it's 20 amp limit. Once the thermal overloads trip a circuit breaker is when greater concerns should arise. You need to get some stuff off of that circuit. Also once a thermal overload trips a circuit breaker, it will reduce it's ampacity rating. Not by much but it does happen. Do it enough times and you are in the market for a new circuit breaker. Next time you cook something in your microwave feel the cord, it gets warm too.

I have my rack which is a two drawer rack plugged into the same power strip. Basically one cord running to my rack thermostats and one plug for the heater. Should I put two power strips down instead of just one. The strip has like 8 ports and I am only using 2 at the moment??

I have no smarts for electrical stuff so your guys help is very appreciated.