Electrical Question for SA...... (house, purchase, vs)

[wellguy]

Good Evening,

I'm was the process of putting up Christmas Lights (until everything came to an ubrupt halt) and I'm needing some advice....

With many homes there are breaks in the front elevation. I have three sections of lights and there are two areas where I want to plug them together but I've got a problem. As we all know outside extension cords have three prongs with the plug on Christmas Lights having two. I know there are adapters out there but as far as I know they are for inside use only. I don't know if there are any rated for outdoor use. Can I use an inside one outside to join the two sections of lights with a short outside extension cord? Both extension cords will be uder eaves and I can tuck everthing back and wrap the connections with electrical tape. Do they make an outside extension cord without the third prong? All lights will be plugged in to the house with a grounded extension cord.

*I cannot run one continuous light strand without it looking like crap.

[ged_782]

Yes, they do make outdoor-rated extension cords without the ground conductor. Personally I use a 100' long 14GA outdoor cord for my electric garden tools (like the leaf blower). It's a 2-conductor cord, since all my outdoor tools are "double insulated", and lack the grounding conductor.

Look for a cord that is listed as suitable for outdoor use.

[wellguy]

Thank you for the GREAT Information. I would assume if they are made in 100' then I should be able to purchase a much shorter one.

[Hedgehog_Mom]

I plug my outdoor Christmas lights into an extension cord that has a hole for the third prong, even though the lights only have two prongs. I didn't know there was anything wrong with doing it that way...kind of like the way electrical outlets in the house have holes for three prongs but lamps and such only have two prongs.

Most strings of lights will say how many you can connect to each other. I would guess that conneccting them with an extension cord would still mean you shouldn't exceed that number of strings connected and going to a single plug. Something about long cords being more likely to catch fire...

[TexasRedneck]

The issue w/the number of cords connected is because of the wire size of the lamp system itself - they're made as cheaply as possible, which means the wire size is nominal, so you run the risk of overheated/melting/shorting.

As to "outdoor" vs "indoor" rated cords....that's generally for "continuous use. I've got regular 2-lead indoor extension cords that I use every year for the lights outside as "patch cords" - and have used the same ones for probably 10+ years w/o a problem. I just tape up the junction points well w/electrical tape, and try to put them in where they get as little rain as possible - or at very least, don't get immersed in water. Have never had one short out.

[wellguy]

THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR SUGGESTIONS AND ADVICE.

Hopefully I can finish what I started first thing in the morning.....before any rain comes our way.