[bluemike]

Hi Guys
In the process of moving and found the power outlets are quite away from where my rack will be situated  12 feet away to be exact
I thought to use one power bar plugged into another to give me 12 feet of needed space in order to plug in my power cords. Not sure if this is safe 

Problem is I don't have a 12 foot power cord that is long enough so thought of plugging in a standard power bar into the wall outlet and then plugging my Blue Circle power bar into that to make up the distance
(the standard power bar will not have any other components attached to it except for my Blue Circle power which all my components will be plugged into 

I guess I could install another outlet closer to my rack but its a new place and has been fully drywalled and don't really want to start making holes in the wall

Opinions appreciated

[Phil A]

Here's a review of a Richard Gray unit that mentions some of that (not sure what you are using) - http://www.stereophile.com/powerlineaccessories/255/#aF96Gu7kckv4EZi5.97

In a spare system I gave a couple of Richard Gray units piggybacked.

[Armaegis]

I would feel iffy about it if you're running some hot and heavy class-A action. The question is how much power are you pulling from the wall, and how good is that junction from one power bar to the next? I'm not talking about sonic effects here, just simple electrical/fire safety. I've seen enough power bars with burned receptacles to know daisy-chaining can be dangerous.

I would only do this if I had a heavy duty extension cord that gripped the plug *very* tightly.

[bluemike]

Thanks for the suggestions
I think it's best to get an extension cord and plug that into my power bar
will use a lower guage 8 or so and attach and iec to the one
end
Thoughts ??

[Elizabeth]

Yes a large heavy duty extension cord would be far better than daisy chaining the power strips.
In fact using two, to connect to both halves of the duplex outlet (is that is what you have on the wall?)
would be the best. Use one extension with all the electronics except the amp. Then the other one just for the amp.

[pansixt]

Mike,

I definitely agree with Elizabeth and that is pretty much what I had to do as I was in your same situation.

I used an 8 qauge drop cord and whacked off the end and installed a Wattgate AC Male power connector.

FYI, "Parts Express" has power connectors of all types including IEC at several different quality/price levels.

James

[bluemike]

Thanks Guys
if I had an older morrow power cord that was 6 feet long I suppose I could plug the morrow cord to the wall and plug my blue circle power cord into the morrow pc

Would this work ?

[Armaegis]

I'm just gonna say "maybe" to that. What amp(s) are you running? If it's an efficient class D amp, sure. If it's a class-A hog, do the dual power cord thing like Elizabeth suggests.

[Early B.]

You should avoid running a long, cheap extension cord or daisy chaining a cheap power bar into a decent one or any sort of Home Depotesque option. Either way, it's gonna sound like crap. 

Can you re-position your system so that it's closer to an outlet OR install a new outlet closer to your audio rack? If not, then consider a custom built 12-foot power cord, but plan to spend a lot more on this cord than you would to hire an electrician to install a new outlet.

[Speedskater]

Ideally shorter power cords from component to component are better than longer cords. I would look for one power bar with many receptacles and a extra heavy extension cord back to a single wall receptacle.

But at the end of the day there won't be much difference in any of the methods.

[Elizabeth]

Ideally shorter power cords from component to component are better than longer cords.

This is an unfounded statement. It is not shown anywhere that a shorter cord is better in any way known, other than it used less materials to make it. (and it may get less tangled up if you really have no use for the longer ones)
No one has don any sort of experiment to find a difference in how they perform.

Best you CAN say is you personally prefer shorter AC cords.

I, personally, prefer longer AC cords. And most of my aftermarket AC cords are 4 meters! long.
Are they 'better'? no, I just have my stuff arranged so they work well without a giant tangle behind my racks.

[Early B.]

This is an unfounded statement. It is not shown anywhere that a shorter cord is better in any way known, other than it used less materials to make it. (and it may get less tangled up if you really have no use for the longer ones)
No one has don any sort of experiment to find a difference in how they perform.

Best you CAN say is you personally prefer shorter AC cords.

I, personally, prefer longer AC cords. And most of my aftermarket AC cords are 4 meters! long.
Are they 'better'? no, I just have my stuff arranged so they work well without a giant tangle behind my racks.

Since transmitted power diminishes over distance, longer cords require heavier wire to deliver the full current rating required by the component. For a CDP, it may not matter so much, but for a beefy amp, shorter is probably better. Stated another way, longer wires also create greater resistance which impedes power. But more importantly, a long, high-end power cord will be very costly, so the shorter the cord, the better the cost/performance ratio, generally speaking. A better option for long power cords would be to invest in a high quality power bar and keep the cords 5-6 ft. or less. 

[MothAudio]

New member here too. System won't allow to post images [schematic] but I have two PLC daisy-chained together [for sonic reasons]. I found my tube amp performs best straight into the Acme Audio duplex rather than into a PLC.

[srb]

It's relatively easy to calculate or measure voltage drop due to wire resistance/length.

A 12awg wire on a 120V circuit drawing 20A will have a voltage drop of ~ .063V/ft. so the difference between a 4ft. cord (.254V) and a 12ft. cord (.761V) is about .5V

A 9awg wire on a 120V circuit drawing 20A will have a voltage drop of ~ .032V/ft. so the difference between a 4ft. cord (.126V) and a 12ft. cord (.379V) is about .25V

That's drawing the full 20A which may be possible on some systems for instantaneous peaks, and with less current the voltage drop will be proportionately lower.  So technically, power will be less with the longer cord but not likely audible.

The same with distortion:  .005% THD is half that of .01% THD but for most human beings it's a technical distinction rather than a real world issue.

Steve

[Armaegis]

Rather than talk about sonic changes, I'm still going to reiterate about safety. Yes you can get yourself thicker extension cords, that's fine, but the weak point is still where you connect the two. Having 8awg cord doesn't matter if the plug & receptacle don't grip cleanly and tightly. That contact area is the weak point and any power losses are going to be focused right there, which generates a lot of heat.

[Elizabeth]

. Having 8awg cord doesn't matter if the plug & receptacle don't grip cleanly and tightly. That contact area is the weak point and any power losses are going to be focused right there, which generates a lot of heat.

I have to agree. For example my household vacuum cleaner is an old 12 amp variety. The plug when in the duplex gets HOT. Also the wire near the plug gets HOT. The rest of the cord does not. So clearly the AC plug and duplex are not really doing a good job there.
The Duplex I use is new-ish. So I blame the cheap molded on plug.
Now I am too lazy to change it. But as an example of a bad match.. It is clear the plug should be upgraded.

Generally a bad connection WILL GET HOT.
So if one is worried about the 'quality' of the connection in the stereo equipment: the answer: is the connection warmer than ambient??? If yes, then it is also not so good.