Making the Best EXTENSION CORD!
Channel: Mech Master
Date: 19/04/2024

Learn how to make a DIY Extension Cord that is easy and cheaper than Home Depot or even Harbor Freight.
Will work for your RV, Welder, Dryer, Oven, camper, generator. Just make sure you get the correct plug and wire gauge. 
Can easily be made into an adapter to from from 120V to 240V or 230 volts to 115 volts. 
The handles make easy to get a good grip and don't have to get close to the prongs. 
Wrapping it up and we are done!

#diy #welder #toolreview 

Tools Needed:
6-50P Plug & 6-50R Receptacle: https://amzn.to/4cZNIkK
Klein Wire Strippers: https://amzn.to/4av3nqK 
Milwaukee Wire Pliers: https://amzn.to/49FwIO1
ECX Electrical 1/4" Hex Bit: https://amzn.to/3W6BroC

Check out this video for more information on wire gauge and how to size it correctly: https://youtu.be/ijEeFAffubE


HISTORY LESSON!
110/220 is mostly just a historical artifact. In the early days of electrical generation and distribution, there were no standards; every utility did what they wanted. Not only for voltage, but also frequency. Originally electricity was used primarily for lighting, because there were no “electric” versions of appliances.

Eventually though, the existence of electricity in the homes created demand for more uses. The chaos that the lack of standards created was felt by those that were trying to make appliances to meet that demand. So device manufacturers informally set their own standards based on their perception of where they could sell the most. This boiled down to being 110/220 in most markets in the East Coast because most generation and distribution was done this way.

But as electric power spread, the distances from source to user kept increasing, causing issues with voltage drop. So to combat this, some utilities boosted up to 115, then 117, then 120 and even up to 130V. That became problematic though for the device mfrs.

During the Great Depression (1935), one of the recovery programs, called the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) undertook the task of bringing electric power to farms and other rural areas that the utilities didn’t see as profitable, so that farmers and ranchers could increase their output. To do this, the linemen and electricians doing work for the REA needed standardized systems to install, regardless of where. So the REA pushed forward a national standard of 120/240V split phase for everyone, as a sort of a compromise between 130V in some areas and 110V in others. So since then the “official” standard as maintained by ANSI (American National Standards Institute) standard C37. The thing is, the old “110/220” had become so ingrained into the lexicon of so many people that it persists to this day, almost 90 years later.

There are still a few remaining pockets of 110/220 distribution in older systems, but as anything needs to be changed or upgraded, it is being replaced with 120/240.