Can I Use an Old Lamp Wire as an Extension Cable?

anotheruser

Ebe_Scrooge wrote: »

Absolutely NO !!!!

Thank you

For others info:

No, not a wind up.
Just making sure - I thought I already knew the answer.
I am only just learning DIY since buying a house. There are some things which I thought were fairly obvious, but are not. Others are much less complex than I anticipated.

I have a wire, plug and socket so have put together my own extension cable once - happy to just re-jig and re-use that Just wanted to use up the old cable if I could.

Thank you all

lstar337

anotheruser wrote: »

Thank you

For others info:

No, not a wind up.
Just making sure - I thought I already knew the answer.
I am only just learning DIY since buying a house. There are some things which I thought were fairly obvious, but are not. Others are much less complex than I anticipated.

I have a wire, plug and socket so have put together my own extension cable once - happy to just re-jig and re-use that Just wanted to use up the old cable if I could.

Thank you all

In your first post you mention that it'll be used for an electric heater. I don't believe it is ever sensible to connect an electric heater to an extension cable ever. I believe the heater should in fact carry a warning stating this.

Please plug your heater directly into a wall socket, and not an extension cable of any kind. That way you will be able to enjoy your new house for years to come.

phil24_7

I have often used extension leads for my heaters.

27cool

In the words of a well known tennis player."YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS"

[Deleted User]

lstar337 wrote: »

I don't believe it is ever sensible to connect an electric heater to an extension cable ever.

There's no reason in principle, but the problem is that people often make extension leads from flex rated at less than 13A. Again, no problem with that necessarily as long as it's fused appropriately, but if you make an extension from 6A flex and then fit a 13A fuse it's a fire waiting to happen as soon as someone uses it with a 13A load. Leads on reels are particularly susceptible to overheating, because if you use them partly coiled up the heat can't escape.

jbainbridge

anotheruser wrote: »

I took the wire off a old lamp. It ha two wires in it, brown and blue.
Can I stick a socket on the end and use it as a mini extension cable? It'all be for an electric heater.

Ok. Sorry if it was a genuine question. The reason we've jumped to this conclusion is that everything you suggested was wrong!

2 wires - you need the yellow green Earth wire too for an extension lead.
Lamp cable - your suggested use was for a heater which will draw maybe 10 - 30 times the current of a normal light bulb. You'd need a much thicker cable to carry the increased current.

Hope that helps.

[Deleted User]

Hi,

societys_child wrote: »

I did this but I extended it with some old speaker wire I had.
It's connected to the lights, a three bar fire and a big old compressor in the garage. It blows the fuse occasionally and melts the snow in winter, where the wire runs across the garden but it seem ok . . . :rotfl:;)

It's lies, all lies . . . DON'T try this at home :eek:

oh and you'll soon be adding the Christmas lights,

anotheruser

jbainbridge wrote: »

The reason we've jumped to this conclusion is that everything you suggested was wrong!

No worries

It's too easy to claim troll but I don't get enjoyment from seeing people's reactions like that. I did say "I'm thinking no", but it's all a steep learning curve for me at the moment!

The wire I have was the thickest that Wilko do (I'll report back what it says ont he side). The heater isn't one of those blowy ones; it's a modern black one like this:



Annoying as it is, it would look a lot nicer to extend the cable by less than 60cm, so it's not particularly far, but the heater won't quite reach the plug socket.

knightstyle

I have in the past used a cable from an old fan heater that had gone wrong, cut off the plug from the wall heater and used a cable joiner like ebay item 140845195099 which is flat and I then hid behind the heater.