Please DO NOT plug the heat press in to a extension cord. The press pulls 1800 watts/15 amps of power, and it will overload the power strip and possibly cause a fire.
Always plug the heat press directly into the wall socket in the room.
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@BarkingChicken - I suggest that we buy a heavy duty extension cord that is rated for 15A and squirrel it away into the teacher’s cabinet. This would allow the heat press to be temporarily used in a classroom. At some point someone will do that, and they will use an extension cord.
I’d recommend this one from Grainger for $18.41.
- 10 foot
- 12 ga
- One socket
It’s a real beefy cord rated for 15A. It’s a single socket cord that would prevent someone from plugging a whole bunch of things into it.
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Would suggest getting longer cord, 10’-15’, rated at 15 amps, and replace existing machine cord. This would eliminate the need for the extension cord in most cases.
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That’s a good suggestion. The manual says “use SJT type rated 300 V cord for replacement”. However, I will note that the SJT cords I could find online are smaller gauge wires than the extension cord listed above.
Does anyone know how long the existing cord is?
I’d recommend a 20 amp cord - not 15.
1800 watts @115 volts is 15.6 amps. That would be over 100% of the rated power at peak draw. Better to operate in the 70% range.
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^^ This.
Just from an IEC perspective I’m surprised it wouldn’t have a 20 Amp plug already given that level of draw since it’s above the 80 percent threshold for a 15 Amp circuit.
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I totally agree with getting a 20 amp extension cord. I also tell people in my class never to plug multiple heat presses into the same outlet, due to the amount of power they pull.
The reason I use the old CA studio for classes is because there are multiple circuits that the separate heat presses can be plugged into.
Which press are we talking about? The 3D press has a non-standard plug at the machine end.
This is the flat heat press (not the vacuum one). It was plugged into the power strip behind the dye sub computer setup along with the computer, monitor, and printer. There was still an open plug on the wall socket that could have been used instead of the power strip.
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As an option check out this one
Lighted ends and 12 gauge wire that is rated to 20 amp
That’s a 15 Amp cable …
Please DO NOT plug the heat press into the power strip with the other dye sub gear in the room. Plug the press directly into the wall plug.
All of the talk here about beefy extension cords is well and good, but not the safety point I was trying to address when I created this thread.
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Thank you, Paul, for point out this safety issue. I am going to update the wiki page to specify that the heat presses should always be plugged directly into a wall socket.
Grainger has a 20A cord that’s 12 gauge/3 wire.
I’d like to point out that the cord I linked above is also a 12gauge/3 wire cord.
AFAICT, the only difference between them is the receptacle.
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Tag on plug also.
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Good idea. Does anyone have a good source for cable tags that I could get to put on all of the heat presses?
Dye Sub dog tag and zip-tie maybe?
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D’oh! And a few more characters!
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That’s a 240v plug and receptacle configuration.
I’d suggest we get a 20A IEC plug for the heat press of longer length and appropriate gauge. That way it can go directly into the 20A receptacle on the wall, but not into a typical power strip.
Can someone confirm what connector is on the press end? No idea where I got that it was a C17/18 setup when rereading the thread.
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