Here’s the list of products reviewed. More details in the video description. Thank you! US Wire Extreme: amzn.to/3vqa9f4 Woods: amzn.to/3OJ8cBc Yellow Jacket 14 gauge: amzn.to/3Sbjl0o Yellow Jacket 10 gauge: amzn.to/3SbKDE7 Southwire 14 gauge: amzn.to/3zmsT0e Southwire 12 gauge: amzn.to/3cPyAMg Husky: amzn.to/3oFZid7 Snow Joe: amzn.to/3beIQxa (no longer available) Flexzilla Pro: amzn.to/3cOXewt Bergen Industries: Available at Lowes GoGreen: Available at Lowes US Wire: Available at Home Depot Utilitech: Available at Lowes Vanguard: Available at Harbor Freight
Pro tip, if you ever want to prevent your good extension cords from growing legs and walking off when you take them somewhere like camping, wrap electrical tape around the cord in a couple spots, it'll make people think it's a bad cord and they'll leave it alone
I can only imagine what kind of impact you've made on not only consumers choosing the best product for their budget, but also encouraging manufacturers to up their game compared to their competitors. Excellent work!
@@31dknight Yes it seems that engineers and designers go to school to learn not how to make the best product for a human to use, but how to make the cheapest facsimile of a product, so that appears to be the product, but is just junk masquerading.
@@31dknight that's true of big box stores. Thankfully we can buy stuff from anywhere online these days. The Japanese don't seem to have an issue with making low quality stuff; they and the Germans take pride in the stuff they produce
Now more then ever consumers truly need the kind of high quality and unbiased tests PF performs, especially because the majority of tests are viewer suggested increasing their relevance to us. Keep up the great work, cause they just keep getting better & better!
The only issue with this channel is that I usually am not able to find ANY of those products being available in the other side of the globe :( Except for a few very well known international brands (Makita, DeWalt)
I love how even when he spends hours coming up with and doing these tests, not to mention the money, he also does more tests off camera and just gives us the data. That's just going the extra mile for the viewer, the puncture test was a nice addition which definitely wasn't necessary, but extremely appreciated
We could send him to area 51 where he will be very protected and could upload some amazing videos testing alien ships and devices. 🛸 Ask will Smith for clearance, he's been there twice lol.
@@ProjectFarm please include Rigid as it is my goto brand for extension cords in 12 AWG, I do like cords that light up to know it's plugged in as well as having 3 receptacle ends because splitters get lost.
When it comes to tools and thing that guys actually use PF is the absolute best at letting us know what's out there. I've made a bunch of purchases from the recommendation from PF videos and I couldn't be happier ☺️
As a contractor that has bought scores of cords, my most important criteria are wire gauge (Skil-saws draw up to 15 amps.) and coil ability (as at the end of the day they need to be put away). We use twist lock cords to prevent disconnection or tie a knot where the tool and cord meet. I love these tests and often use them to direct my tool purchases! Thank you so much Project Farm for all the hard work and inventive testing protocols!
Terry Goyan, I have the same question -- I would love to know which cord you would choose. I bought a corded mower and I just don't want to damage my electrics or the mower and I don't want a fire. I'm a middle-aged woman and I'm clueless. ☺
I step on my extension cords too often, and I've found that the ones that feature stronger plug blades also tend to snap when straightened back out. The folded blade type are easier to bend, yes, but they always straighten back out without ruining the plug.
I use the US Wire Extreme to plug my truck in over the winters here in Fairbanks, AK and was not surprised to see how well it did on the -40 test. It's the only cord I have found that stays flexible when the temperatures drop and its interesting to see how it stayed as the only cord to receive a "1" rating.
@@sminthian Whats that’s crazy I live in East Central Wisconsin and we get -15° at worst in the winter usually like -5° and that plenty cold enough can’t imagine -40°. 🥶🥶
@@sminthian I got a friend who was hauling pipe for one of the pipe lines. Minus 47. Most of the guys were gelling. He somehow was fueling with jet fuel and had no issues. Never heard of that till him.
Two ideas spurred from this test: 1) Replacement ends for damaged extension cords. Would love to know which ones are worth buying. 2) Retractible cord reels. So many garbage ones out there. Thanks!
@@PaulSteMarie Would be nice to see something like that with a strain relief built in. I used something similar a few years ago but the cable took a beating at the junction.
as far as replacement cord ends. Proper installation is a big factor. If money isn't a concern, the Hubbells and P&S Legrands are Beef. I also find the black rubber/plastic Levitons are good too. Handles up to 12awg SJOOW and takes punishment well. Also you can buy in bulk on amazon for like $4 ea. Fun Fact, Hubbell industrial cord ends are compatible with Hubbell cord grips/strain reliefs. The function like chinese fingers and attach to the 2 screws used for the stock cord relief. Not a fan of the Hubbell hinged caps. The Harbor freight ends are junk, and anything built like it too.
I'm amazed at your creativity for inventing those tests after you decided what characteristics to test. These tests are just getting better and better! Thank you so much!
I really appreciate the final breakdown where you explain different scenarios where a particular cord might excel over the others. I find that most helpful when I'm actually going to buy an item and just need a quick reference. Your videos are greatly appreciated.
I bought a 75 dollar 12 gauge extension last year, and have never regretted it. I know this isn't what most people look for, but here in the south, how cords take the heat is more important than how they do in cold temperatures. I have had a plug melt on me when running under my carport, in the shade.
For me, in Canada, cold weather numbers is more important than heat. I wait till all the snow is gone when I wrap up the 14 GA wire I use for my vehicle (We have to plug in a block heater, if parking on the street over night, or may not be able to turn over in the morning!), as trying to wrap it up when very cold is hard. I'm glad I don't have to deal with the plugs melting...
I'm having to put together a replacement power cord for a small dairy pasteurizer. The original cord plug _roasts_. The rest of the cord is cool as can be.
I've been happy with my 100 foot long, 12 gauge Yellow Jacket cable. The lighted end indicating current is a wonderful feature, and the 12 gauge delivers power well for the 100 foot length. Used mostly for an electric lawnmower, the cable lays flat on the lawn and has some weight so it's not easily sucked into the mower blade (this was tested on more than one occasion 😄).
@@swirlyboi8484 Maybe, but what I use and what I mostly see for corded electric are just your basic horizontal blade mower, just like a typical gasoline mower except with an electric motor (and usually a bit smaller, 18-20" instead of 20+", good for smaller lawns). I like them because they are quite, cool, lightweight, nearly maintenance-free, and I never have to mess with gasoline or oil. Mine is a Black-n-Decker model MM675, it's about 24 years old now and probably has over 1000 hours on it. Back when it was new cordless electrics were not really available because rechargeable batteries were pretty crappy (NiCad mostly, I don't recall even NiMh being commonly available yet), so if you wanted electric, corded was the only realistic option. If I ever need to replace mine I might consider a cordless now that lithium batteries are available, but it's hard to beat the low cost and infinite run time of a cord.
With Project Farm, I can always click on the "Like" button before the video even starts... I am confident that the testing will be consistent, fair, and well engineered. It doesn't hurt matters any that Todd is pleasant, well-spoken, and has a sense of humor to boot! This channel is a boon to UA-cam!
Check out "BOLTR" or "AVE" on YT Different guy different tests different stuff & he has a hell of a lot of knowledge. His language may be harsh(I call normal) so he also does not have sponsors nor does he flucking care. You never see him as he is not promoting him. He checks out new electrical equipment.
When I lived in Alaska, I had a US Wire Extreme to plug in my engine block heater. When not in use, I kept it in a bucket in my extended cab and none of my orange covered ones would go in the bucket after use. Like you found, it was very easy to work with in the cold and had no problem getting it to coil up into the bucket.
@@1pcfred UK bloke here. I've got an extension cord on a reel made by B&Q, a DIY outlet over here. Said cord is bright orange, it's over 18 years old, the insulation (jacket?) Is still in excellent fettle and it's super flexible even in very cold conditions (like lying in snow for a couple of days). It also refuses to get any significant damage inflicted on its self in use, it gets used A LOT to this day. The cord on a Flymo hover mower is also seemingly the same type of cord and doing just as well at the same age. A case of 'they don't make 'em like the used to'?!
@@skylined5534 I'm sure they can make orange insulation that's decent. There's a common kind that's pretty bad though. It's a bright orange and usually has fine ribs.
The "tripping hazard demonstration" got me! I'm always amazed with the experiments and tests you come up with to test products! All are very thorough and well thought out in terms of real world use.
Excellent video and test methods. Being an electrical contractor and a sound guy, I use extension cords a lot. Most seem to hold up pretty well. I have had good luck with Yellow Jacket cords from 14-10 gage. They aren't cheap but are flexible and pretty durable. I particularly like the light up plugs. Have used Husky, Woods, Dewalt and other than the Woods they all were satisfactory. I would never use a 16 gage extension for anything. Those cheap white or green cords that are sold around Christmas are junk and could burn your house down. I mostly use 12 gage wires for current flow and durability. Keep up the good job!!
As a construction worker that uses extension cords daily, the softer cords are usually preferred. The harder jackets are stuff and a huge pain to roll up. When winter rolls around the hard jacket cords retain the shape of however they were rolled and are hard to work with. I feel like that's why the more expensive cords are the softer polymer jacketed ones.
For the very same reason that I use rubber or rubber blend air hoses. I had some sort of blue hard plastic air hose that even in warm weather was an absolute nightmare to handle. However it was a lot cheaper. It is only used as the first leg of an air hose extension if I need to go longer distances.
Great test! Additionally I would have loved to see how many Amps they can take before showing melting or burning. If they promise a certain amount of Watt they can take, would have been nice to see how hot they become at this load and how much more they're able to take.
I can share my experience with amazon basics 25ft orange 12 gauge extension cord and cryptocurrency mining ethereum running 24/7 at 80% of 15 amps (1440 watts) it has been running strong for a year. They do have some black near the prong end and the female end more black. I just changed to the other 2 female ends and no problems, won't be using these any longer though
Another great video, thanks for your work! I would love to see a showdown for some 10'x10' pop-up canopies! I think your skillful approach to testing structural integrity would be very well suited.
Looking at the extension cords in my garage (average homeowner), the problems I see are abrasions or tears in the outside jacket and the ends pulling away, so abrasion resistance, puncture resistance, and end failure are most important. The Husky comes out on top for my criteria. Great review as always.
Channel Suggestion: I know it would be difficult but Todd could you possibly test tarps? I'm so tired of replacing tarps because of sun and wind tearing them up. Many people use tarps to cover RVs,Boats,Wood,Tractors... it would be nice to get one that lasts a couple of years at least
I have the Flexzilla brand in service and besides the neon-green color fading rather quickly, it's been a very good cord. Thanks, as always, for the effort! We are just as grateful to you, as you are to us, and I imagine a side-benefit is the possibility test-failing companies will take note.
You tested the cords more thoroughly than anyone I know, including myself. Kudos for the great review. Much appreciate the hard work and not accepting sponsorship. 👍 Some ideas for future videos: coolants, caulking, electrical tape, LED headlights, leather cleaner/conditioner, stain remover, etc
I’ve owned the US Wire Extreme extension cord for about eight years and I would not hesitate to purchase additional units if needed. It’s superb in cold weather!
Ditto. If you live in a place that gets cold, and/or use a wire retractor, this is a great cord. Also, US made and I had no trouble with a warranty replacement some years ago.
I picked one up to be able to run my welder, and other thirsty tools, it's worked great! I also picked up a 25' flexzilla for when I don't really need 100' 🤣
@@WayneWerner Yeah, it really is unwieldy but once I got it put on a cord reel, it's been just fine. I honestly never thought of some of the things that were tested. I picked the Yellow Jacket because of the indicator light, hi-vis yellow color and it's apparent heavy-duty construction. I wish it had placed higher in the testing, but it didn't place low enough for me to buy a new one.
For the tensile strength tests, it would likely be better to have a milli-ohm meter measuring the extension's roundtrip resistance to find out the point at which the conductors got compromised (either rising resistance from breaking strands or falling resistance from conductors getting crushed together and shorting through the insulation) which could be quite a while before total mechanical cord failure for fiber-reinforced cords.
His voltage drop test is an even more effective way to measure the exact same thing... wire resistance... only in a live test. The higher the resistance, the higher the voltage drop.
@@n2omike Ripping a live cable sounds like a completely unnecessary burn, fire and electrical shock hazard. Another problem with the two kill-a-watt approach is you need to check calibration between the two or all your measurements will be off by the mismatched offsets and slopes.
@@stevebrennan9860 How does a four wires milli-ohm meter work? It applies a known test current and measures the voltage across the non-current-carrying wires. There is a test current and voltage. If you absolutely insist on doing a test at 10A, you can simply get a bench power supply with 10A constant-current capacity and a separate multi-meter to measure voltage on the test cable to calculate the resistance. There is no need to use live AC there.
Thank you for reviewing an item so universally owned and employed! Whether you use it every day or only rarely, no other tool is more taken for granted when you have the exact one(s) that you need - or, more longed for when you don't - than the ubiquitous extension cord ♾
I really just want to sit down for an afternoon, have a few beers, pick your brain about your methods of how and why , and walk past the remnants of comparisons done to just learn from you. You scratch an itch for me. I spend way to much time researching stuff, weeding through bs reviews and watching how it's used videos. Seriously, I've looked for days for benign stuff. You are my number 1 spot to start researching for items I use on the daily.
This is one area where I go completely old school and make my own cords. In the last 12 years of being in business for myself, I've made three cords - two 25-ft 14 AWG and one 50-ft 12 AWG. The only reason I needed to make a second 14 AWG cord was because I ran out of SJ cable on a job and stole it from my cord. I use SO cable from the electrical supply house (600V rated vs SJ 300V rated) and the rubber insulation does fantastic when it comes to the cable keeping it's shape over time (none of that funky spiraling you see on store bought cables) as well as much improved performance in cold weather - PVC just can't compete. The two additional tests I would have included would be a table saw or large miter saw test where you try starting the motor on the extension cord which will find voltage drop issues, and a space heater continuous load test to check the cord ends with a IR thermometer or IR camera to see whether there's acceptable resistance in those connections. Thanks for another great video!
Hi Todd! Just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to read through the results at the end of the video. I know it is as time consuming just as planning and executing the whole video. In some videos you do not do it, and though it is not hard for us going back and forth, analyzing the results (for what is important to each of us) and coming back to the end again, it is very helpful to have you also sum everything up with your own words. I really appreciate it. Thank you!
One of my coworkers has a 12ga 50’ yellow jacket brand cord. It’s been through hell and still works great. The only issue I have with it is the exterior insulation has become rather stiff over the years. This is probably do to all the aggressive cleaners, solvents, and lubricants it’s seen. In my personal experience what usually fails on an extension cord for me is the female end. After so many hundreds or so uses it gets loose and becomes an issue. Great video as always!
Most plastics contain 'plasticizers' - i.e. additives that make them flexible and give them a 'feel', but over time they tend to leach out. By the way, when using an extension hose for a portable propane gas heater, the propane may leach the plasticizers out of the hose and they can contaminate the heater with an oily residue (no fun to clean out). There are two ways to deal with this: 1) close the tank valve and let the heater slowly burn off the remaining gas, or ) buy a hose formulated for conducting propane gas. However, it's always best to shut off the tank valve.
@@BobBlarneystone I had that experience with a name brand Mr heater propane extension (and using the filter). Got the heater fixed up and I think all the plasticiser has leaked out by now. It was good for last winter.
I own one of the Utilitech 50 foot cords featured in this video, and would like to add a comment. Generally speaking, it seems to be a decent power cord for the money. However, it quickly became discolored from sun exposure. After a few months of intermittent exposure, the red outer jacket has turned pink. And in some spots, the plastic is getting chalky.
That is common with "red". On red painted cars, red goes to hell sooner cuz of the sun. Merc. trucks were always red, which soon became chalky red and faded red over the years. The UV additive to the paint still does not help on red, it has something to do with the light ray spectrum from the sun. Science stuff. Painters know some schit.
My lime green extension cord from Harbor Freight has faded a lot from sun exposure in just one season being outside. Its shocking how quickly it turned colors.
I just want you know that everyone that I have talked to loves your channel as much as I do you have the best comprehensive reviews on general use products
Great video. I still use a 20 year old, 100' 12 gauge cable of unknown brand. Has been outside, for years I used it to tie a trampoline down which before this had a tendency to take off in high wind, and for the last few years I have used to charge my electric lawn tractor. Never seen this cable again since buying it, but I wish they still made them.
Interesting test! Appreciated the voltage drop test. Tradesmen have long suspected some imports cheat on wire gauge. The consistency is reassuring. I wonder of viewers would be interested in a comparison of insulation specifications, SJT, SJTW, SJO, SO, etc. For hard use in the powerhouses, we often used SO. Thanks for all you do!
That's a good point. Lots of variation from SJT to SJ to S type insulation. It's funny how some letters (O & W) are extra features and others (J & T) indicate lower performance cable.
@@PaulSteMarie it would be good to get the short course, learn how to make good choices. When we made our own cords in the powerhouses, we always used 600v insulation of types that could take a lot of physical abuse. Sometimes a bit bulkier cord is worth it, if you worry less about running over it or dropping tool on it.
@@lanedexter6303 My thoughts exactly. I stick to SOOW for shop use because I want something resistant to metal chips and abrasion. Thicker jacket, better insulation, and more internal support. Also,I think both the SJ and S cable tend to be more flexible than the SJT.
I'm starting to get interested in car detailing so I'd love to see comparisons on wheel brushes, rotary buffing tools and car wash chemicals. There's a lot of different brands out there but very little direct comparisons. Thanks for what you do for this community.
If you told me I'd be interested in extension cords at 5 o'clock in the morning, I would have told you that you were crazy. You make everything interesting and worth watching. Thank you for all your work.
It's been my experience that buying shop cords that multiple people will use, over sizing the wire size and heavier tougher jacket for strength and durability is the way to go. We all know how people like to stand at one end and yank the plug out of the wall socket, drive over them and pull them into knots trying to make it reach without untangling it. I have noticed they rarely do that when they pay for the cords.
I'm from the uk and I can't imagine anybody pulling the cord in order to unplug it. It wouldn't work in this country anyway but is sounds like a terribly dangerous thing to do.
I love how completely unbiased your videos. You tell us at the end which one you think is the best value, but with all the tests you come up with, we can really prioritize what features or areas of performance that are most important to us. Great work, keep it up 👍
The fact you have 2.5M subs and yet you still respond to a vast majority of comments is incredible. Channels with way less subs don’t take the time to respond at all so huge props to you man we all love you and appreciate your hard work 🤙🏻❤️
A few years back I decided to just make my own out of SJOOW 12/3 or 10/3 with Leviton plug ends (their lighted ones are super cheap at a local chain no idea why).
I am always amazed at how you quantify which item is best. That is a very difficult thing to do but your tests are very real world. Excellent job as always!
Re: flexibility. I've seen a lot of brands claiming they're flexible, and they're not. Even in warm weather(Though whether they degrade more quickly with temperature or not, I'm not sure). The blue "extreme" cables(Regardless of brand I think) are usually the most flexible 14AWG cable. Ridgid has some 14AWG and 12AWG extension cords, both claiming they're flexible. Spoiler? The 12AWG 50FT is far softer and more flexible, go feel them in-store. Too bad they didn't end up in your test. Definitely do a 12 gauge comparison, and bring both Ridgid cables in, 14AWG and 12AWG.
Extension cords will have lower resistance and less power loss, as well as greater safe power handling capability, under extremely cold weather, which means that for some applications you can probably get away with the thinner, lighter more flexible 14 gauge cord simply because you're always using it at 0ﾟ or thereabouts.
@@ProjectFarm A lot of larger industrial job sites will confiscate any cord smaller than 12AWG, regardless of length. They will also take any with repairs. The yellow jackets and rigids have been the best 12 AWG for us so far.
@CORNER MARKET PLACE I know in the U.S. a lot of the federal contractors will specify blue cords for outdoor freezing conditions. A lot of the better known brands will make their low temp cords blue.
It's interesting how throughout these tests it seems to be a trend that the box store brands (namely kobalt and husky) actually turn out some very good products for their price and personally I've been pretty consistently impressed with both brands performance throughout a range of their tools
@@stevebabiak6997 Yes, Project Source is one of Lowe's private label brands, and it's positioned very much as their "value" brand. Utilitech, another Lowe's brand, seems to be used for anything electrical in nature regardless of value proposition and is kind of just a catch-all for electrical stuff, so evaluate on a per-item basis. Kobalt is their "we actually care about the brand image" tool brand, so I would imagine they would try to avoid branding anything thats blatantly junk as Kobalt, but you never know, there's probably a few things here and there where some interns have managed to squeeze out some turds with the Kobalt logo pasted on the packaging before their managers caught a whiff of it. lol
Nice! Would have been interesting to see how many copper strands each conductor had. The more the better for both flexibility and current capacity. Like others I've made my own cords from 600V rubber coated electrical cable, but I do like the ends that glow too.
Check out Polar Wire they can make you 100% copper cables up to 4/0 wire size with any conectors you need, plus they have tons of off the shelf wire products, jumper cables, battery bank connectors for hydro or solar systems, extension cords, tinned marine wire, etc
@@repetemyname842 when I ordered my jumper cables shipping was free. I believe they also have a warehouse in the Midwest, I think my cables shipped from Minnesota
Thank you for these videos Todd, you can rest easy at night knowing you’ve helped just about every one of your subscribers pick the best tool for the money and to be sure to have a fair test on every tool so we can see the results of an “every day use” situation.
By far the best review channel on UA-cam! Once again great job. It’s surprising how well Harbor Freight has increased their quality in the recent years. Not the best but they have a lot of great products for the average homeowner.
Recently purchased the yellow jacket and happy with it but it is a little stiff which turned out to be the case in your testing as well haha. Thanks so much for the amazing testing.
As I watched your video I kept thinking surely he has done enough tests, but you kept coming up with creative tests. Seriously, as always the best channel on UA-cam for tool comparison. Great job, your videos are so helpful.
Fantastic tests, I hadn't seen anyone measure the voltage and watts through a cable! I use the Yellow Jacket 12 awg indoors mostly and my US Wire Extreme for outdoors... looks like that's the best way to go. I just got a 12 awg Craftsman retractable that has 4 outlets with a breaker... I'm hoping it just makes life easier with the 100 feet.
Remember that "holiday" 16 (14) gauge light (medium / heavy) duty extension cords are usually 50%-70% off after Christmas. If you don't mind the candy cane or holiday green jacket, picking up a 25' or 50' cord for $3 - $5 is pretty cool. (oh how I miss the Walgreens post Christmas clearance deals.) :(
Whew… what a detailed review 👍… you did however forget the {like} liquorice taste test…best (backup) skipping rope test, and stealth (dont steal my Christmas light) cord test.
How about doing a test of flashlights? Xenon, krypton, led, and those flashlights that supposedly light up a building from a block away? Maybe even the ones that are so bright they can melt plastic or start paper on fire?
Great tests, as always. From a safety standpoint, I would have liked to see the cables tested for how many amps they can handle before overheating/melting/catching fire. Regardless, great data, keep up the good work!
yeah same. of course the 10 guage would be around 30-35, 12 at 25 to 30, 14s 20 to 25 and the 16 at 20. or thats my guess. the 14s would all be within +/- 2 amps of each other im sure. May be a harder test cause the inner wires may fail faster than the outer insulation skewing the results a bit. outside looks good but shorted/melted inside. where others the outer may melt faster. At the very least it be a lesson in overloading to the viewers so they dont use too small gauge for too many amps and too long a distance. after all, overloading extension cords is #1 cause of electrical fires in the usa.
Thank you for continuing to present logical, well edited videos and tests that have good content. I appreciate the hours it takes to get the product, build the fixtures, develop the tests, and produce such content.
Really good video. Your tests are very thorough and informative, and I greatly respect the amount of time and effort you put into your content. I would like to suggest testing air compressor hoses
I’ve been using Yellow Jacket ($34) for about 20 years and is the best cord I’ve ever owned or used in construction. One of my pet peeves is how well does the cord roll up and unroll, I like to grab the prong end and toss the cord where I need it. This cord does it without twisting every time and is the 25’ length. No cuts, punctures yet.
I'd rather have my own leads made & tested/tagged over buying them off the shelf. The end result is so much better. Currently the main ones I use in the shed are 3G2.5mm² high temp silicone rubber (SIF) 300/500V, -60C/+180C with tinned annealed copper wires Plug & socket are easily replaceable if damaged, the silicone cable is incredibly flexible, absolutely beautiful to wrap and I don't have to be as concerned about melt through when carrying out hot works. For more ruggedised cables I use some made from 3G2.5 & 3G6 RV-K (XLPE) which is thin & light for its CSA and has -40C/+90C ratings which is still better than PVCs - 15C/+75C I really like using RV-K because it wraps well, has a good memory and whilst it might not quite be as tough as Titanex it's significantly cheaper, thinner & lighter which makes a massive difference. Both cable types have their benefits, and save cost are so much nicer to use than PVC. In my past job, it was nothing to wrap well over a kilometre (3280' or 0.62 miles) of cables in a day so believe me when I say that this stuff is nice in the hands.
Very interesting but my approximately 40 year old extension cords are still performing very well...somewhere between very, very light duty to extremely light duty with no signs of aging. I am 76 years old so I doubt I'll ever have to refer to this video again and did not take pictures of the charts. I do continue to find your practical testing methods very interesting.
Fun to watch, amazing all the test procedures Todd creates. Can you do one on small air compressors, and hoses? The most recent hoses I have are by a major name, but a trip hazard to the extreme. Yet, some hoses are 30 years old, and still work.
I would love to see you test different drill presses. It is such an important tool and I always wondered if there is a big difference between different models or if it all comes down to the drill bits anyway.
I find myself thinking of your comparisons before buying many products where I have limited experience. For extension cords, I usually just look at the gauge - but as usual, your thorough comparisons give me a completely different way to evaluate which cord I really need for the purpose. Thanks!
I am an electrician, and on job sites , I rarely see fellow electricians buy extension cords like those you been testing. Many of us prefer to start with a coil of SJ Cab Tie wire, which is black neoprene jacketed and make our own, and we try to use spec grade cord ends or Hospital grade (highest) We make it any length we want, and we rarely need 12 gauge, for in multistory construction, there is a electrical outlet station at every floor with a panel and 15, 20 receptacles mounted on the board. For really heavy duty uses, we can also use SJOW wire, sometimes even 600 volt rated , but generally the boss would resist paying for it. Even the SJ is more expensive than those you tested. Most of these wires are marked , rated for 90 degree C so even in the southern US desert heat, that is within the operating range. But not if you put more than 15 amps through a 14 gauge wire for extended period.
Great video, as always. Simple suggestion: if you're going to average (mean) rankings across tests, it would probably be useful to also include a variance calculation. Just noting the cord with the highest mean finish across tests also has the highest range, and hypothetically speaking I'd probably rather purchase an item that finished 7th across the board over a cord that finished 1st in half the tests and 12th in the other half.
I was thinking about it your a very smart man. This channel allows you not only to make money off of views but allows you to buy all the tools and toys you want for any particular thing and right them off as a business expense. And like with these tests at the end you get some cheap repair ends and you end up with several hundred feet of extension cord in 40 ft sections. Brilliant.
Never disappointed with your content. Thank YOU for taking the time and energy to do these tests for us. I look forward to new videos every week. May I suggest testing plumbing pipes? Copper, CPVC, ABS, SCH40, PEX A, PEX B, Galvanized, ect.. Interesting to see how they behave in cold weather and puncture resistance for example. Thanks again PF! Keep up the great work. We appreciate you
Man it just makes me cry to see the distraction of various products. I really do like Your videos because they are very educating and I myself am a retired educator. Keep going!!!!!!!
Really interesting results. I know I have never regretted when I bought a few big beefy store-brand 12ga extension cords a few years back, with a slightly nicer than normal (not SJTW) jacket. They are by far my favorite to use. (I can leave them out all winter with Christmas lights and they don't stiffen or fade) Don't skimp on extension cords if you can avoid it. Glad to see the Harbor Freight is a good value for less rugged use, I may replace some beat-up old cords with those.
I'm really surprised to see how consistent the voltage drop results came out. I was sure that some of the discount brands would have skimped on the conductor size, but apparently they're all on the up and up.
Not really possible since the AWG system directly correlates with conductor size in mm^2, only variable with be with the strands being more strands more better due to the skin effect which tbh for only 60hz wouldn't be that noticable compared to solid wire.
@@Gianns_TDM I understand the AWG standards, my point is that off-brand, offshore manufacturers are not exactly known for honest business practices. I was pleasantly surprised that none of these sellers cheated a little bit. I would assume Todd is aware of this trend, otherwise there would be no point in doing the load test. If you look inside cheap hookup wire or cheap charging cables, sometimes there's almost nothing in there. Just three or four strands per conductor.
I have a Consumer Reports subscription but I still check your channel first. Thank you for always providing great reviews and testing. Your channel is such a blessing.
Thanks for your great work, as always! Would be nice to see chemical resistance of each of these jackets, as well as other wear items like UV exposure. Hopefully you saved the remnants and could maybe do a "1 year later" test like you did with wiper blades. Thanks again for your work!
I'm always surprised how well Husky does, I have a few of their things but I've always just thought of them as Home Depot's cheapie brand. Maybe you can use the off-brands from all of the main hardware stores: Husky (Home Depot), Kobalt (Lowe's), Masterforce (Menards).
I have a husky triple tap that I use for my handyman business, and it is the best I could get for the price by far. Has held up to a lot of abuse also.
The man spent upwards of $500 and destroyed all of the cords to bring us the most comprehensive content. Absolute champ! More thorough than the science/discovery/TLC channels.
As someone who lives in Minnesota, I can appreciate the cold weather test and thus put more weight on that. I’m always close to getting the flexzilla brand but wouldn’t due to cost but now I think I can justify it! My cheapo cords are a hazard 6 months of the year
Have you thought about testing flashlights? I’ve tried a few different models from Amazon that I thought were decent values for LED flashlights but most fail or have poor light patterns. I’d love to see you put some through your excellent testing methodology to whittle down the field. Great work again as usual!! You’ve become my primary reference for equipment reviews in short order.
Can't go wrong with the Yellowjackets . Another good cord are the ChannelLocks a little bit expensive but i appreciate the slide-locking feature especially when working alone and the power source is in another room or on another story.
Here’s the list of products reviewed. More details in the video description. Thank you!
US Wire Extreme: amzn.to/3vqa9f4
Woods: amzn.to/3OJ8cBc
Yellow Jacket 14 gauge: amzn.to/3Sbjl0o
Yellow Jacket 10 gauge: amzn.to/3SbKDE7
Southwire 14 gauge: amzn.to/3zmsT0e
Southwire 12 gauge: amzn.to/3cPyAMg
Husky: amzn.to/3oFZid7
Snow Joe: amzn.to/3beIQxa (no longer available)
Flexzilla Pro: amzn.to/3cOXewt
Bergen Industries: Available at Lowes
GoGreen: Available at Lowes
US Wire: Available at Home Depot
Utilitech: Available at Lowes
Vanguard: Available at Harbor Freight
Pro tip, if you ever want to prevent your good extension cords from growing legs and walking off when you take them somewhere like camping, wrap electrical tape around the cord in a couple spots, it'll make people think it's a bad cord and they'll leave it alone
A few pieces of poorly wrapped duct tape works great for that too!
LOVE IT 😂
lol. Great tip!!
My dad did the same thing... only he chopped them up a bit first with the electric lawn mower...
@@campbellpaul 😄
I can only imagine what kind of impact you've made on not only consumers choosing the best product for their budget, but also encouraging manufacturers to up their game compared to their competitors. Excellent work!
I wish manufacturers tried to make the best product. Anymore it looks like a race to the bottom and the big brand name just means they charge more.
@@31dknight Yes it seems that engineers and designers go to school to learn not how to make the best product for a human to use, but how to make the cheapest facsimile of a product, so that appears to be the product, but is just junk masquerading.
@@31dknight that's true of big box stores. Thankfully we can buy stuff from anywhere online these days. The Japanese don't seem to have an issue with making low quality stuff; they and the Germans take pride in the stuff they produce
It's called planned obsolescence. It is junk so you have to buy more and do it more often.
I bought several things, from pliers to oil based on his testing
Now more then ever consumers truly need the kind of high quality and unbiased tests PF performs, especially because the majority of tests are viewer suggested increasing their relevance to us. Keep up the great work, cause they just keep getting better & better!
Thank you!
It's pretty clear that there are a lot of fake product reviews on Amazon and any of the major big box websites. But PF is always reliable for me!
@@GunWillTravel I couldn't agree more!
I totally agree!
The only issue with this channel is that I usually am not able to find ANY of those products being available in the other side of the globe :(
Except for a few very well known international brands (Makita, DeWalt)
I love how even when he spends hours coming up with and doing these tests, not to mention the money, he also does more tests off camera and just gives us the data. That's just going the extra mile for the viewer, the puncture test was a nice addition which definitely wasn't necessary, but extremely appreciated
Thanks!
He has almost 3M subscribers for a reason. 🙂
The tests he came up with are really creative.
It never ceases to amaze me just how well these videos are put together. This man is a national treasure and must be protected at all costs!
Thank you! This means a lot to me!
We could send him to area 51 where he will be very protected and could upload some amazing videos testing alien ships and devices. 🛸
Ask will Smith for clearance, he's been there twice lol.
Nicholas Cage has entered the room.
well said, agreed
National ??? World Treasure you mean, his the best and very great dedication on every video, just pure data.
When I pitched this idea, I never imagined there were so many ways to test it! Thanks so much Todd, your dedication to your work is inspiring.
Thank you for recommending this one!! I'll put together a round 2 on 12 AWG brands if there's enough interest and will include a couple of more tests.
@@ProjectFarm please include Rigid as it is my goto brand for extension cords in 12 AWG, I do like cords that light up to know it's plugged in as well as having 3 receptacle ends because splitters get lost.
@@ProjectFarm Ha! I guess by the time I suggested it last month, you already had it in the pipeline. :) Nice job on the testing!
@@ProjectFarm sounds great!! Test 10AWG ones too!!
@@ProjectFarm Yes, 12 gauge would be a good follow up. Please add a jacket melting test of some sort.
When it comes to tools and thing that guys actually use PF is the absolute best at letting us know what's out there. I've made a bunch of purchases from the recommendation from PF videos and I couldn't be happier ☺️
Me too. I look here first before buying now
Thank you!!
Me too. I only buy what he says is good!
Ditto .
As a contractor that has bought scores of cords, my most important criteria are wire gauge (Skil-saws draw up to 15 amps.) and coil ability (as at the end of the day they need to be put away). We use twist lock cords to prevent disconnection or tie a knot where the tool and cord meet.
I love these tests and often use them to direct my tool purchases! Thank you so much Project Farm for all the hard work and inventive testing protocols!
Thanks and you are welcome!
do contractors ever really sign contracts tho
So what would be your go to cord? The 10 gauge?
You can have a 4/0 entrance cable with a sorry connection its no different than a #16 gauge cord .
Terry Goyan, I have the same question -- I would love to know which cord you would choose. I bought a corded mower and I just don't want to damage my electrics or the mower and I don't want a fire. I'm a middle-aged woman and I'm clueless. ☺
I step on my extension cords too often, and I've found that the ones that feature stronger plug blades also tend to snap when straightened back out. The folded blade type are easier to bend, yes, but they always straighten back out without ruining the plug.
Thank you for the feedback!
I've had the same experiences.
I try to plug the extension cord back into itself when I am not using it. Helps avoid bending the blades, but not always possible to do that.
They can only bend so many times before they fatigue and snap. Had to replace a plug on a shop vac a month or 2 ago for that reason
It is better to damage the extension cord than an outlet, I think that flexibility in the plug is an engineered safety.
I use the US Wire Extreme to plug my truck in over the winters here in Fairbanks, AK and was not surprised to see how well it did on the -40 test. It's the only cord I have found that stays flexible when the temperatures drop and its interesting to see how it stayed as the only cord to receive a "1" rating.
Impressive! You've seen temperatures at -40F and colder many times for sure!!
I frequently hit -40 in northern MN also. I usually just give up with trying to bend extension cords when it gets really low...
Rigid makes a nice ext. Cord for the cold we dont even take the husky out the truck after fall... we don't get quite that cold here in Michigan tho
@@sminthian Whats that’s crazy I live in East Central Wisconsin and we get -15° at worst in the winter usually like -5° and that plenty cold enough can’t imagine -40°. 🥶🥶
@@sminthian I got a friend who was hauling pipe for one of the pipe lines. Minus 47. Most of the guys were gelling. He somehow was fueling with jet fuel and had no issues. Never heard of that till him.
Two ideas spurred from this test:
1) Replacement ends for damaged extension cords. Would love to know which ones are worth buying.
2) Retractible cord reels. So many garbage ones out there.
Thanks!
1) Hubbell is pricey but extremely good. HBL5266C plug, HBL5269C receptacle. Pass & Seymour/Legrand makes a passable substitute, but it's not as good.
@@PaulSteMarie Would be nice to see something like that with a strain relief built in. I used something similar a few years ago but the cable took a beating at the junction.
@@WordupG Have you seen the strain relief on a Hubbell plug? It's pretty massive. The cable will snap before you can pull it out.
as far as replacement cord ends. Proper installation is a big factor. If money isn't a concern, the Hubbells and P&S Legrands are Beef. I also find the black rubber/plastic Levitons are good too. Handles up to 12awg SJOOW and takes punishment well. Also you can buy in bulk on amazon for like $4 ea. Fun Fact, Hubbell industrial cord ends are compatible with Hubbell cord grips/strain reliefs. The function like chinese fingers and attach to the 2 screws used for the stock cord relief. Not a fan of the Hubbell hinged caps. The Harbor freight ends are junk, and anything built like it too.
Retracting air hose reels and water hose reels too!
I'm amazed at your creativity for inventing those tests after you decided what characteristics to test. These tests are just getting better and better! Thank you so much!
Thanks and you are welcome!
I really appreciate the final breakdown where you explain different scenarios where a particular cord might excel over the others. I find that most helpful when I'm actually going to buy an item and just need a quick reference. Your videos are greatly appreciated.
Glad it was helpful!
I bought a 75 dollar 12 gauge extension last year, and have never regretted it. I know this isn't what most people look for, but here in the south, how cords take the heat is more important than how they do in cold temperatures. I have had a plug melt on me when running under my carport, in the shade.
Thanks for sharing.
Sure, but which one and how did you decide it would perform better?
I wish Project farm guy did a maximum current test under hot conditions like 95f. How much current can go through before the insulation melts.
For me, in Canada, cold weather numbers is more important than heat. I wait till all the snow is gone when I wrap up the 14 GA wire I use for my vehicle (We have to plug in a block heater, if parking on the street over night, or may not be able to turn over in the morning!), as trying to wrap it up when very cold is hard.
I'm glad I don't have to deal with the plugs melting...
I'm having to put together a replacement power cord for a small dairy pasteurizer. The original cord plug _roasts_. The rest of the cord is cool as can be.
Right on time for another video from the most valuable consumer channel on UA-cam!
Thank you!
I've been happy with my 100 foot long, 12 gauge Yellow Jacket cable. The lighted end indicating current is a wonderful feature, and the 12 gauge delivers power well for the 100 foot length. Used mostly for an electric lawnmower, the cable lays flat on the lawn and has some weight so it's not easily sucked into the mower blade (this was tested on more than one occasion 😄).
Thanks for sharing.
Corded mower?
@@jesseshasteen8158 probably a electric reel mower maybe
@@swirlyboi8484 Maybe, but what I use and what I mostly see for corded electric are just your basic horizontal blade mower, just like a typical gasoline mower except with an electric motor (and usually a bit smaller, 18-20" instead of 20+", good for smaller lawns). I like them because they are quite, cool, lightweight, nearly maintenance-free, and I never have to mess with gasoline or oil.
Mine is a Black-n-Decker model MM675, it's about 24 years old now and probably has over 1000 hours on it. Back when it was new cordless electrics were not really available because rechargeable batteries were pretty crappy (NiCad mostly, I don't recall even NiMh being commonly available yet), so if you wanted electric, corded was the only realistic option. If I ever need to replace mine I might consider a cordless now that lithium batteries are available, but it's hard to beat the low cost and infinite run time of a cord.
😂😂😂@@jesseshasteen8158
With Project Farm, I can always click on the "Like" button before the video even starts... I am confident that the testing will be consistent, fair, and well engineered. It doesn't hurt matters any that Todd is pleasant, well-spoken, and has a sense of humor to boot! This channel is a boon to UA-cam!
Thanks so much!
Agreed 👍!
Check out "BOLTR" or "AVE" on YT Different guy different tests different stuff & he has a hell of a lot of knowledge. His language may be harsh(I call normal) so he also does not have sponsors nor does he flucking care. You never see him as he is not promoting him. He checks out new electrical equipment.
@@bunzeebear2973 you aint right
Lmao I do that as well. This man is worth his weight in gold!
When I lived in Alaska, I had a US Wire Extreme to plug in my engine block heater. When not in use, I kept it in a bucket in my extended cab and none of my orange covered ones would go in the bucket after use. Like you found, it was very easy to work with in the cold and had no problem getting it to coil up into the bucket.
That orange jacket is really cheap PVC. It's pretty stiff in cold temps.
@@1pcfred
UK bloke here.
I've got an extension cord on a reel made by B&Q, a DIY outlet over here. Said cord is bright orange, it's over 18 years old, the insulation (jacket?) Is still in excellent fettle and it's super flexible even in very cold conditions (like lying in snow for a couple of days). It also refuses to get any significant damage inflicted on its self in use, it gets used A LOT to this day. The cord on a Flymo hover mower is also seemingly the same type of cord and doing just as well at the same age.
A case of 'they don't make 'em like the used to'?!
@@skylined5534 I'm sure they can make orange insulation that's decent. There's a common kind that's pretty bad though. It's a bright orange and usually has fine ribs.
The "tripping hazard demonstration" got me!
I'm always amazed with the experiments and tests you come up with to test products! All are very thorough and well thought out in terms of real world use.
I hope Cousin Eddie is ok and doesn’t decide to sue!
Excellent video and test methods. Being an electrical contractor and a sound guy, I use extension cords a lot. Most seem to hold up pretty well. I have had good luck with Yellow Jacket cords from 14-10 gage. They aren't cheap but are flexible and pretty durable. I particularly like the light up plugs. Have used Husky, Woods, Dewalt and other than the Woods they all were satisfactory. I would never use a 16 gage extension for anything. Those cheap white or green cords that are sold around Christmas are junk and could burn your house down. I mostly use 12 gage wires for current flow and durability. Keep up the good job!!
Thanks, will do!
As a construction worker that uses extension cords daily, the softer cords are usually preferred. The harder jackets are stuff and a huge pain to roll up. When winter rolls around the hard jacket cords retain the shape of however they were rolled and are hard to work with. I feel like that's why the more expensive cords are the softer polymer jacketed ones.
Thanks for the feedback
For the very same reason that I use rubber or rubber blend air hoses. I had some sort of blue hard plastic air hose that even in warm weather was an absolute nightmare to handle. However it was a lot cheaper. It is only used as the first leg of an air hose extension if I need to go longer distances.
Great test! Additionally I would have loved to see how many Amps they can take before showing melting or burning.
If they promise a certain amount of Watt they can take, would have been nice to see how hot they become at this load and how much more they're able to take.
I can share my experience with amazon basics 25ft orange 12 gauge extension cord and cryptocurrency mining ethereum running 24/7 at 80% of 15 amps (1440 watts) it has been running strong for a year. They do have some black near the prong end and the female end more black. I just changed to the other 2 female ends and no problems, won't be using these any longer though
Another great video, thanks for your work! I would love to see a showdown for some 10'x10' pop-up canopies! I think your skillful approach to testing structural integrity would be very well suited.
Thank you for the video idea!
Looking at the extension cords in my garage (average homeowner), the problems I see are abrasions or tears in the outside jacket and the ends pulling away, so abrasion resistance, puncture resistance, and end failure are most important. The Husky comes out on top for my criteria. Great review as always.
Thanks so much!
Thank you for your comment. It's bizarre to read such a straightforward and helpful comment that isn't plagued with desperate attempts to be cute.
Channel Suggestion: I know it would be difficult but Todd could you possibly test tarps? I'm so tired of replacing tarps because of sun and wind tearing them up. Many people use tarps to cover RVs,Boats,Wood,Tractors... it would be nice to get one that lasts a couple of years at least
Thanks for the suggestion.
Good idea, I second that
Amen AMEN!
I have been waiting a long time for your testing on extension cords! Thank you for doing this, Todd!
Thank you very much!
Outstanding tests as always. Great close ups and testing methods! Thank you! A++
Thank you very much!! I always enjoy your videos too! Great repair video you published today!
I have the Flexzilla brand in service and besides the neon-green color fading rather quickly, it's been a very good cord.
Thanks, as always, for the effort! We are just as grateful to you, as you are to us, and I imagine a side-benefit is the possibility test-failing companies will take note.
You are welcome! Thanks for sharing.
You tested the cords more thoroughly than anyone I know, including myself. Kudos for the great review. Much appreciate the hard work and not accepting sponsorship. 👍
Some ideas for future videos: coolants, caulking, electrical tape, LED headlights, leather cleaner/conditioner, stain remover, etc
Thank you for the video idea!
@@ProjectFarm Coolant would be good.
the headlamps please
I would like to see condoms tested.... Because having a failure here is life changing.
I dont think that is gonna happen...
Holy cow! This is a BRILLIANT idea for something to test! I'm excited for this one!!
Thank you!
I’ve owned the US Wire Extreme extension cord for about eight years and I would not hesitate to purchase additional units if needed. It’s superb in cold weather!
Great feedback and a great extension cord! Thank you
Ditto. If you live in a place that gets cold, and/or use a wire retractor, this is a great cord. Also, US made and I had no trouble with a warranty replacement some years ago.
Not only do I love the channel, but I also love the exciting comments people make on your channel.
Thanks!
I've been a fan of Yellow Jacket for years. I love the indicator light that shows it has power. I use their 10 gauge though. I hope it holds up!
Great choice! Thank you
I picked one up to be able to run my welder, and other thirsty tools, it's worked great! I also picked up a 25' flexzilla for when I don't really need 100' 🤣
Been using them for years great cord.
@@WayneWerner Yeah, it really is unwieldy but once I got it put on a cord reel, it's been just fine. I honestly never thought of some of the things that were tested. I picked the Yellow Jacket because of the indicator light, hi-vis yellow color and it's apparent heavy-duty construction.
I wish it had placed higher in the testing, but it didn't place low enough for me to buy a new one.
For the tensile strength tests, it would likely be better to have a milli-ohm meter measuring the extension's roundtrip resistance to find out the point at which the conductors got compromised (either rising resistance from breaking strands or falling resistance from conductors getting crushed together and shorting through the insulation) which could be quite a while before total mechanical cord failure for fiber-reinforced cords.
Exactly what I was thinking
His voltage drop test is an even more effective way to measure the exact same thing... wire resistance... only in a live test. The higher the resistance, the higher the voltage drop.
@@n2omike Ripping a live cable sounds like a completely unnecessary burn, fire and electrical shock hazard. Another problem with the two kill-a-watt approach is you need to check calibration between the two or all your measurements will be off by the mismatched offsets and slopes.
@@teardowndan5364 A milli-ohm measurement isn't taken under a load or voltage.
@@stevebrennan9860 How does a four wires milli-ohm meter work? It applies a known test current and measures the voltage across the non-current-carrying wires. There is a test current and voltage. If you absolutely insist on doing a test at 10A, you can simply get a bench power supply with 10A constant-current capacity and a separate multi-meter to measure voltage on the test cable to calculate the resistance. There is no need to use live AC there.
Thank you for reviewing an item so universally owned and employed! Whether you use it every day or only rarely, no other tool is more taken for granted when you have the exact one(s) that you need - or, more longed for when you don't - than the ubiquitous extension cord ♾
Thank you for sharing!
I really just want to sit down for an afternoon, have a few beers, pick your brain about your methods of how and why , and walk past the remnants of comparisons done to just learn from you. You scratch an itch for me. I spend way to much time researching stuff, weeding through bs reviews and watching how it's used videos. Seriously, I've looked for days for benign stuff. You are my number 1 spot to start researching for items I use on the daily.
Thanks!
This is one area where I go completely old school and make my own cords. In the last 12 years of being in business for myself, I've made three cords - two 25-ft 14 AWG and one 50-ft 12 AWG. The only reason I needed to make a second 14 AWG cord was because I ran out of SJ cable on a job and stole it from my cord. I use SO cable from the electrical supply house (600V rated vs SJ 300V rated) and the rubber insulation does fantastic when it comes to the cable keeping it's shape over time (none of that funky spiraling you see on store bought cables) as well as much improved performance in cold weather - PVC just can't compete. The two additional tests I would have included would be a table saw or large miter saw test where you try starting the motor on the extension cord which will find voltage drop issues, and a space heater continuous load test to check the cord ends with a IR thermometer or IR camera to see whether there's acceptable resistance in those connections. Thanks for another great video!
Great feedback! Thank you
I love how you just blast out solid information. There isn't 1 second where I feel I can leave the video, even if I wanted to!
Thanks!
your videos are making this world a better place, thanks for all the work you put into these high quality tests
Thank you very much! This means a lot to me!
This is our generations version of consumer reports. Always quality and unbiased.
Thanks!
Hi Todd!
Just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to read through the results at the end of the video. I know it is as time consuming just as planning and executing the whole video. In some videos you do not do it, and though it is not hard for us going back and forth, analyzing the results (for what is important to each of us) and coming back to the end again, it is very helpful to have you also sum everything up with your own words. I really appreciate it. Thank you!
Thanks and you are welcome!
One of my coworkers has a 12ga 50’ yellow jacket brand cord. It’s been through hell and still works great. The only issue I have with it is the exterior insulation has become rather stiff over the years. This is probably do to all the aggressive cleaners, solvents, and lubricants it’s seen. In my personal experience what usually fails on an extension cord for me is the female end. After so many hundreds or so uses it gets loose and becomes an issue. Great video as always!
Most plastics contain 'plasticizers' - i.e. additives that make them flexible and give them a 'feel', but over time they tend to leach out. By the way, when using an extension hose for a portable propane gas heater, the propane may leach the plasticizers out of the hose and they can contaminate the heater with an oily residue (no fun to clean out). There are two ways to deal with this: 1) close the tank valve and let the heater slowly burn off the remaining gas, or ) buy a hose formulated for conducting propane gas. However, it's always best to shut off the tank valve.
Have the same cord, both ends have been replaced (due to abuse) would buy again.
@@BobBlarneystone I had that experience with a name brand Mr heater propane extension (and using the filter).
Got the heater fixed up and I think all the plasticiser has leaked out by now. It was good for last winter.
Most female holes get loose after hundreds of insertions. Lol
Ends are easy to replace and let you upgrade to better materials.
I own one of the Utilitech 50 foot cords featured in this video, and would like to add a comment. Generally speaking, it seems to be a decent power cord for the money. However, it quickly became discolored from sun exposure. After a few months of intermittent exposure, the red outer jacket has turned pink. And in some spots, the plastic is getting chalky.
Thanks for sharing.
mine too. though for the price im pretty happy with it.
So basically a test for UV resistance would be good too
That is common with "red". On red painted cars, red goes to hell sooner cuz of the sun. Merc. trucks were always red, which soon became chalky red and faded red over the years. The UV additive to the paint still does not help on red, it has something to do with the light ray spectrum from the sun. Science stuff. Painters know some schit.
My lime green extension cord from Harbor Freight has faded a lot from sun exposure in just one season being outside. Its shocking how quickly it turned colors.
I just want you know that everyone that I have talked to loves your channel as much as I do you have the best comprehensive reviews on general use products
Thanks so much!
Great video. I still use a 20 year old, 100' 12 gauge cable of unknown brand. Has been outside, for years I used it to tie a trampoline down which before this had a tendency to take off in high wind, and for the last few years I have used to charge my electric lawn tractor. Never seen this cable again since buying it, but I wish they still made them.
I got 1 of those it's finally failing though, the contacts wore out
Interesting test! Appreciated the voltage drop test. Tradesmen have long suspected some imports cheat on wire gauge. The consistency is reassuring. I wonder of viewers would be interested in a comparison of insulation specifications, SJT, SJTW, SJO, SO, etc. For hard use in the powerhouses, we often used SO. Thanks for all you do!
Thanks and you are welcome!
That's a good point. Lots of variation from SJT to SJ to S type insulation. It's funny how some letters (O & W) are extra features and others (J & T) indicate lower performance cable.
@@PaulSteMarie it would be good to get the short course, learn how to make good choices. When we made our own cords in the powerhouses, we always used 600v insulation of types that could take a lot of physical abuse. Sometimes a bit bulkier cord is worth it, if you worry less about running over it or dropping tool on it.
@@lanedexter6303 My thoughts exactly. I stick to SOOW for shop use because I want something resistant to metal chips and abrasion. Thicker jacket, better insulation, and more internal support.
Also,I think both the SJ and S cable tend to be more flexible than the SJT.
Absolutely! LU 756👍
I'm starting to get interested in car detailing so I'd love to see comparisons on wheel brushes, rotary buffing tools and car wash chemicals. There's a lot of different brands out there but very little direct comparisons.
Thanks for what you do for this community.
If you told me I'd be interested in extension cords at 5 o'clock in the morning, I would have told you that you were crazy. You make everything interesting and worth watching. Thank you for all your work.
You are welcome!
It's been my experience that buying shop cords that multiple people will use, over sizing the wire size and heavier tougher jacket for strength and durability is the way to go. We all know how people like to stand at one end and yank the plug out of the wall socket, drive over them and pull them into knots trying to make it reach without untangling it. I have noticed they rarely do that when they pay for the cords.
Thanks for the feedback.
The bishop has spoken.
I'm from the uk and I can't imagine anybody pulling the cord in order to unplug it. It wouldn't work in this country anyway but is sounds like a terribly dangerous thing to do.
I love how completely unbiased your videos. You tell us at the end which one you think is the best value, but with all the tests you come up with, we can really prioritize what features or areas of performance that are most important to us.
Great work, keep it up 👍
Thanks, will do!
The fact you have 2.5M subs and yet you still respond to a vast majority of comments is incredible. Channels with way less subs don’t take the time to respond at all so huge props to you man we all love you and appreciate your hard work 🤙🏻❤️
Thanks so much!
I think it's amazing that he can reply to all comments, that shows he cares about the viewers
Thanks!
For the love of all things Project Farm, please create a sticky roller/lint/pet hair roller comparison video!
Thanks for the suggestion.
Fantastic idea
The details in your reviews are outstanding. I'm an engineer and I really appreciate having so many facts.
Thanks!
A few years back I decided to just make my own out of SJOOW 12/3 or 10/3 with Leviton plug ends (their lighted ones are super cheap at a local chain no idea why).
Thanks for sharing.
That’s what I did too.
It may very well blow the doors off of ALL of these products. Journeyman Wireman here, LU756.
have to worry about encroision 4:30
I am always amazed at how you quantify which item is best. That is a very difficult thing to do but your tests are very real world. Excellent job as always!
Re: flexibility. I've seen a lot of brands claiming they're flexible, and they're not. Even in warm weather(Though whether they degrade more quickly with temperature or not, I'm not sure). The blue "extreme" cables(Regardless of brand I think) are usually the most flexible 14AWG cable.
Ridgid has some 14AWG and 12AWG extension cords, both claiming they're flexible. Spoiler? The 12AWG 50FT is far softer and more flexible, go feel them in-store. Too bad they didn't end up in your test. Definitely do a 12 gauge comparison, and bring both Ridgid cables in, 14AWG and 12AWG.
I'll do a 12 AWG comparison if there's enough interest and will include Ridgid too.
Extension cords will have lower resistance and less power loss, as well as greater safe power handling capability, under extremely cold weather, which means that for some applications you can probably get away with the thinner, lighter more flexible 14 gauge cord simply because you're always using it at 0ﾟ or thereabouts.
@@ProjectFarm A lot of larger industrial job sites will confiscate any cord smaller than 12AWG, regardless of length. They will also take any with repairs. The yellow jackets and rigids have been the best 12 AWG for us so far.
@CORNER MARKET PLACE I know in the U.S. a lot of the federal contractors will specify blue cords for outdoor freezing conditions. A lot of the better known brands will make their low temp cords blue.
@@goodun2974 Good luck getting the safety prudes to sign off on that.
It's interesting how throughout these tests it seems to be a trend that the box store brands (namely kobalt and husky) actually turn out some very good products for their price and personally I've been pretty consistently impressed with both brands performance throughout a range of their tools
I agree, Husky is never really top tier, but rarely ever bottom tier either. Not bad for the price.
Thanks for sharing.
Well, I think Project Source is a Lowes brand, and it was not ranked too high.
I’ve also had really good luck with Kobalt stuff. Often the least expensive, but very adequate for anything but daily professional use.
@@stevebabiak6997 Yes, Project Source is one of Lowe's private label brands, and it's positioned very much as their "value" brand. Utilitech, another Lowe's brand, seems to be used for anything electrical in nature regardless of value proposition and is kind of just a catch-all for electrical stuff, so evaluate on a per-item basis. Kobalt is their "we actually care about the brand image" tool brand, so I would imagine they would try to avoid branding anything thats blatantly junk as Kobalt, but you never know, there's probably a few things here and there where some interns have managed to squeeze out some turds with the Kobalt logo pasted on the packaging before their managers caught a whiff of it. lol
Nice! Would have been interesting to see how many copper strands each conductor had. The more the better for both flexibility and current capacity. Like others I've made my own cords from 600V rubber coated electrical cable, but I do like the ends that glow too.
Thanks! Thanks for the suggestion.
Check out Polar Wire they can make you 100% copper cables up to 4/0 wire size with any conectors you need, plus they have tons of off the shelf wire products, jumper cables, battery bank connectors for hydro or solar systems, extension cords, tinned marine wire, etc
@@chrisdaniel1339 CD: How much extra does shipping cost for those of us not in Alaska?
@@repetemyname842 when I ordered my jumper cables shipping was free.
I believe they also have a warehouse in the Midwest, I think my cables shipped from Minnesota
@@chrisdaniel1339 : cool thx.
Thank us? No brother, thank you from every man/woman who’s ever done real work with their hands
You are welcome!
Thank you for these videos Todd, you can rest easy at night knowing you’ve helped just about every one of your subscribers pick the best tool for the money and to be sure to have a fair test on every tool so we can see the results of an “every day use” situation.
Thank you very much!
By far the best review channel on UA-cam! Once again great job. It’s surprising how well Harbor Freight has increased their quality in the recent years. Not the best but they have a lot of great products for the average homeowner.
Thank you very much!
Recently purchased the yellow jacket and happy with it but it is a little stiff which turned out to be the case in your testing as well haha. Thanks so much for the amazing testing.
You are welcome!
As I watched your video I kept thinking surely he has done enough tests, but you kept coming up with creative tests. Seriously, as always the best channel on UA-cam for tool comparison. Great job, your videos are so helpful.
Fantastic tests, I hadn't seen anyone measure the voltage and watts through a cable! I use the Yellow Jacket 12 awg indoors mostly and my US Wire Extreme for outdoors... looks like that's the best way to go. I just got a 12 awg Craftsman retractable that has 4 outlets with a breaker... I'm hoping it just makes life easier with the 100 feet.
Remember that "holiday" 16 (14) gauge light (medium / heavy) duty extension cords are usually 50%-70% off after Christmas.
If you don't mind the candy cane or holiday green jacket, picking up a 25' or 50' cord for $3 - $5 is pretty cool. (oh how I miss the Walgreens post Christmas clearance deals.) :(
I use the extreme for winter camping. It's the best cold weather cord I have found. I am glad your tests agreed with its flexibility during cold
Thanks for the feedback.
Whew… what a detailed review 👍… you did however forget the {like} liquorice taste test…best (backup) skipping rope test, and stealth (dont steal my Christmas light) cord test.
I am always duly impressed with how you make these tests so competitive, using the scale with negative weight is so DIY and just beyond genius!
Thank you!
How about doing a test of flashlights? Xenon, krypton, led, and those flashlights that supposedly light up a building from a block away? Maybe even the ones that are so bright they can melt plastic or start paper on fire?
Thanks for the suggestion.
Great tests, as always. From a safety standpoint, I would have liked to see the cables tested for how many amps they can handle before overheating/melting/catching fire. Regardless, great data, keep up the good work!
Thank you!
yeah same. of course the 10 guage would be around 30-35, 12 at 25 to 30, 14s 20 to 25 and the 16 at 20. or thats my guess. the 14s would all be within +/- 2 amps of each other im sure. May be a harder test cause the inner wires may fail faster than the outer insulation skewing the results a bit. outside looks good but shorted/melted inside. where others the outer may melt faster. At the very least it be a lesson in overloading to the viewers so they dont use too small gauge for too many amps and too long a distance. after all, overloading extension cords is #1 cause of electrical fires in the usa.
As a Canadian, I love that you took the time to freeze them. It’s almost the most important thing I look for in a cord.
Thanks! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for continuing to present logical, well edited videos and tests that have good content. I appreciate the hours it takes to get the product, build the fixtures, develop the tests, and produce such content.
Thanks and you are welcome!
Really good video. Your tests are very thorough and informative, and I greatly respect the amount of time and effort you put into your content. I would like to suggest testing air compressor hoses
Thank you for the video idea and thank you for the positive comment!
I’ve been using Yellow Jacket ($34) for about 20 years and is the best cord I’ve ever owned or used in construction. One of my pet peeves is how well does the cord roll up and unroll, I like to grab the prong end and toss the cord where I need it. This cord does it without twisting every time and is the 25’ length. No cuts, punctures yet.
Great feedback on the Yellow Jacket!
I have 2 yellow jackets that are every bit of 20yrs old and they are still in great shape (home shop use, not daily/commercial)
Yep agreed and I got mine at Costco.
I'd rather have my own leads made & tested/tagged over buying them off the shelf. The end result is so much better.
Currently the main ones I use in the shed are 3G2.5mm² high temp silicone rubber (SIF) 300/500V, -60C/+180C with tinned annealed copper wires
Plug & socket are easily replaceable if damaged, the silicone cable is incredibly flexible, absolutely beautiful to wrap and I don't have to be as concerned about melt through when carrying out hot works.
For more ruggedised cables I use some made from 3G2.5 & 3G6 RV-K (XLPE) which is thin & light for its CSA and has -40C/+90C ratings which is still better than PVCs - 15C/+75C
I really like using RV-K because it wraps well, has a good memory and whilst it might not quite be as tough as Titanex it's significantly cheaper, thinner & lighter which makes a massive difference.
Both cable types have their benefits, and save cost are so much nicer to use than PVC.
In my past job, it was nothing to wrap well over a kilometre (3280' or 0.62 miles) of cables in a day so believe me when I say that this stuff is nice in the hands.
I've been using one for 10+ years for my car's block heater and power tools and it still looks brand new!
Very interesting but my approximately 40 year old extension cords are still performing very well...somewhere between very, very light duty to extremely light duty with no signs of aging. I am 76 years old so I doubt I'll ever have to refer to this video again and did not take pictures of the charts. I do continue to find your practical testing methods very interesting.
Fun to watch, amazing all the test procedures Todd creates. Can you do one on small air compressors, and hoses? The most recent hoses I have are by a major name, but a trip hazard to the extreme. Yet, some hoses are 30 years old, and still work.
Thank you for the video idea!
Good idea. I wonder if there is a flexible hose like the uswire extreme or flexzilla garden hose for air lines. That would be *kiss sound * perfection
@@Version135 flexzilla makes air hoses
I second the request for a test of small compressors and hoses. I have such from Harbor Freight and they are laughably bad.
I would love to see you test different drill presses.
It is such an important tool and I always wondered if there is a big difference between different models or if it all comes down to the drill bits anyway.
Thank you for the video idea!
Been waiting for this one. But now I'm probably going to upgrade from all my Walmart brand cords.
Thank you!
You sir, are the gold standard of product reviews.
Thanks!
I find myself thinking of your comparisons before buying many products where I have limited experience. For extension cords, I usually just look at the gauge - but as usual, your thorough comparisons give me a completely different way to evaluate which cord I really need for the purpose. Thanks!
You are welcome!
I am an electrician, and on job sites , I rarely see fellow electricians buy extension cords like those you been testing. Many of us prefer to start with a coil of SJ Cab Tie wire, which is black neoprene jacketed and make our own, and we try to use spec grade cord ends or Hospital grade (highest) We make it any length we want, and we rarely need 12 gauge, for in multistory construction, there is a electrical outlet station at every floor with a panel and 15, 20 receptacles mounted on the board. For really heavy duty uses, we can also use SJOW wire, sometimes even 600 volt rated , but generally the boss would resist paying for it. Even the SJ is more expensive than those you tested. Most of these wires are marked , rated for 90 degree C so even in the southern US desert heat, that is within the operating range. But not if you put more than 15 amps through a 14 gauge wire for extended period.
Great video, as always. Simple suggestion: if you're going to average (mean) rankings across tests, it would probably be useful to also include a variance calculation. Just noting the cord with the highest mean finish across tests also has the highest range, and hypothetically speaking I'd probably rather purchase an item that finished 7th across the board over a cord that finished 1st in half the tests and 12th in the other half.
Thanks! Thanks for the suggestion.
I was thinking about it your a very smart man. This channel allows you not only to make money off of views but allows you to buy all the tools and toys you want for any particular thing and right them off as a business expense. And like with these tests at the end you get some cheap repair ends and you end up with several hundred feet of extension cord in 40 ft sections. Brilliant.
I love the testing that you do, it's very useful and quite scientific in nature .
Thank you very much!
That Vanguard seems like a really decent value. I've stayed away from them because... well, HF and electricity. But maybe my fears are unfounded.
Thanks for sharing.
Never disappointed with your content. Thank YOU for taking the time and energy to do these tests for us. I look forward to new videos every week.
May I suggest testing plumbing pipes? Copper, CPVC, ABS, SCH40, PEX A, PEX B, Galvanized, ect.. Interesting to see how they behave in cold weather and puncture resistance for example.
Thanks again PF! Keep up the great work. We appreciate you
Thanks so much! Thanks for the suggestion.
Man it just makes me cry to see the distraction of various products. I really do like Your videos because they are very educating and I myself am a retired educator. Keep going!!!!!!!
Thanks, will do!
Really interesting results. I know I have never regretted when I bought a few big beefy store-brand 12ga extension cords a few years back, with a slightly nicer than normal (not SJTW) jacket. They are by far my favorite to use. (I can leave them out all winter with Christmas lights and they don't stiffen or fade) Don't skimp on extension cords if you can avoid it. Glad to see the Harbor Freight is a good value for less rugged use, I may replace some beat-up old cords with those.
Thanks for the feedback.
I'm really surprised to see how consistent the voltage drop results came out. I was sure that some of the discount brands would have skimped on the conductor size, but apparently they're all on the up and up.
Thanks for the feedback.
Not really possible since the AWG system directly correlates with conductor size in mm^2, only variable with be with the strands being more strands more better due to the skin effect which tbh for only 60hz wouldn't be that noticable compared to solid wire.
@@Gianns_TDM I understand the AWG standards, my point is that off-brand, offshore manufacturers are not exactly known for honest business practices. I was pleasantly surprised that none of these sellers cheated a little bit. I would assume Todd is aware of this trend, otherwise there would be no point in doing the load test.
If you look inside cheap hookup wire or cheap charging cables, sometimes there's almost nothing in there. Just three or four strands per conductor.
@@g.tucker8682 You sure got a point there, have seen china shipping out even USB cables with like 3 conductors.
These are all sold commercially in the US so they most likely all carry UL listing - so they can't really skimp out on the conductor sizing
Great way to start off a Sunday morning 🙌🏼
Thank you!
I have a Consumer Reports subscription but I still check your channel first. Thank you for always providing great reviews and testing. Your channel is such a blessing.
I appreciate that! Thanks!
Good day everyone!!!!
Hello!
Thanks for your great work, as always! Would be nice to see chemical resistance of each of these jackets, as well as other wear items like UV exposure. Hopefully you saved the remnants and could maybe do a "1 year later" test like you did with wiper blades. Thanks again for your work!
Thank you for the feedback!
Exposure to solvents would have been a great test. Hope the Farm adds that to the battery of tests.
I'm always surprised how well Husky does, I have a few of their things but I've always just thought of them as Home Depot's cheapie brand. Maybe you can use the off-brands from all of the main hardware stores: Husky (Home Depot), Kobalt (Lowe's), Masterforce (Menards).
I have a husky triple tap that I use for my handyman business, and it is the best I could get for the price by far. Has held up to a lot of abuse also.
This would be a good one… and not as expensive. 🤠🇺🇸👍
Twenty years ago, Husky sold a lot of decent US-made tools.
@@ExtremeSquared Thank-you! :)
The man spent upwards of $500 and destroyed all of the cords to bring us the most comprehensive content. Absolute champ! More thorough than the science/discovery/TLC channels.
Thanks!
As someone who lives in Minnesota, I can appreciate the cold weather test and thus put more weight on that. I’m always close to getting the flexzilla brand but wouldn’t due to cost but now I think I can justify it! My cheapo cords are a hazard 6 months of the year
Thanks for sharing.
Have you thought about testing flashlights? I’ve tried a few different models from Amazon that I thought were decent values for LED flashlights but most fail or have poor light patterns. I’d love to see you put some through your excellent testing methodology to whittle down the field.
Great work again as usual!! You’ve become my primary reference for equipment reviews in short order.
Thanks! Thanks for the suggestion.
Check out the torque test channel for led flashlight testing
Look for about 100 lumens for every watt. Anything more and the odds of the seller exaggerating lumen count goes through the roof.
@@wallacegrommet9343 Thanks for the reference.
@@TheDwightMamba Good info, thanks!!
Can't go wrong with the Yellowjackets . Another good cord are the ChannelLocks a little bit expensive but i
appreciate the slide-locking feature especially when working alone and the power source is in another room or on another story.
Thanks for the feedback.