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Failed power cord + extension..?

D

Digital Viper-X-

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So, my extension cord which is rated for 15a/1875w failed under a load of about 980w(8a). As did my power cord, I'm a bit confused as both are rated well above the requirement of the rig they are attached to.

My power cord is rated 14awg, 105c (the plastic around one prong melted).

I replaced the power cord and took the extension cord out of the equation , still getting pretty hot (the power cord is ). Any input to what could be causing this?


 
What's the total length of those cables combined? I assume that's what you had connected.
If a properly rated power cord is still getting "pretty hot" I would think your power measurement is wrong. Maybe more power being used than you think..
 
well if he had the cables coiled up on the floor like that isn't it a bad thing? thought it caused the cables to overheat.
 
A cable made of the proper material and of the proper thickness should not need ventilation.

Some possibilities:
Your power draw is higher than you think
The gauge of your power cable is not to specifications.
The material used in your power cable has higher resistance than it should

For sure:
The gauge of your power cable is not sufficient for your power draw.
 
One thing for sure, the longer the cable, the higher the overall resistance, and that added to the resistance of all the connections could add to the heat build up.
But if the extensions were eliminated and a regular length power cord, say 6 - 10 feet long was put in place and is still getting "pretty warm" I would consider the load higher than what the cable is rated for (regardless of what the label says).
I'll have to say though, that serious looking brown section in both mating connectors looks like an arcing bad connection from either poor cable assembly at the wire-to-prong point or some dissimilar metals issue.
 
Sorry I forgot to add a few key points

: the cables are cool to the touch, only the ends are warm

The total length together would be about 56 feet, however even when I plugged the rig directly into the socket (no extension) the current power cord is still getting hot at the prong end.

It really can't be any higher. the power supply is 1300W, 3 290xs with a 45w cpu. I measured with a clamp / amp meter and a killawat, both were pretty close. So at worst it can pull the full 1500W from the socket, which I know isn't the case since other things are running on that circuit ( on a 15A fuse) that would put it well over 2000W.

The power cable is from a data center too, the extension is from Costco and was rated for 15a/1875w (I'm assuming it wasn't ever tested for weeks of constant use @ 8a or higher).

The confusing part is only the connector is getting warm, the rest of the cable is not, and really only on the wall side of the cord, the power supply part is slightly warm, but the side that plugs into the socket/wall is much warmer.
 
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Then try a different wall socket.
Might be a bad connection or weak wiring inside.
That would be bad as all the heat is coming from the wall.
That still does not explain that burnt looking connection pair in your pictures.
 
crappy connectors? cut them off and replace them with something better than chinese molded crap
 
haha, I'm too scared to mess with it :< anyway the new power cable is 105c rated 14awg, not good enough for 1000w? I might split it into 2 miners for now.
 
cables getting too hot? look into water cooling those cables
 
I just re-tested using a kill-a-watt, 1100W is the average load , peaks up to 1150W, that was it though, no idea why it was over heating, i split the rig into 2 (took 1 card out) now the thing is barely warm.
 
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