I know very little about electrics and worried I’ll melt the extension cable / cord somehow or start a fire.
My plan was to have the treadmill in the garage and unplug the extension cable from the house when I’m done, so it wouldn’t be permanently plugged in between my house and garage.
The extension cable I have is “Masterplug 2 socket Grey Outdoor Cable reel, 20m” and the treadmill I’d want to buy is a more affordable one than most (Reebok One GT40S) if that helps.
Thank you!
8 comments
Fully unwind the cable from the drum and pop in an RCD on the plug end just incase and you should be fine.
It should be fine, but after a quick search I can’t see the power consumption. I’d unwind the reel fully, that will reduce the chance of it heating up, but most of all ensure the cable stays DRY, clean, and undamaged. Do not allow anyone to tread on it and inspect it each time you use it.
Same as you would with anything electrical.
Would just run on the treadmill personally
Does it have to go outdoors at any point?
What is the power rating (watts) of the treadmill & what is the fuse rating of the circuit?
What you’ve suggested should be fine as long as the cable is fully unwound as others have said and you keep the terminals dry.
But is there any reason why you wouldn’t install a permanent socket in the garage? If you’re willing to do some of the work yourself, like getting proper outdoor rated cable, run it from your garage to the house, and maybe install the socket at the garage end. Then all you’d need is an electrician to connect it to your fuse box/consumer unit, and probably put an isolator switch in before it goes outside, and then test the circuit and socket.
It won’t be cheap, but probably around the price you’re paying for the treadmill, and could save you money if the budget wiring option goes wrong. Plus having a socket in the garage could be a benefit in itself.
As long as it’s an outdoor-rated extension cord, it’ll be fine – just make sure the whole thing is unwound. For extra safety get one with a built-in thermal cut-off, or use an RCD plug with it.
If you want a more permanent solution to power your garage, you can run the cable through a hosepipe and bury it a few inches underground.
Double check the amp rating on the extension cord, havw seen a few cheap ones thats are only rated to 5 amps. Best bet is a proper twin and earth 2.5mm cablr buried in some of that blue water pipe, will stop the rats or squirrels getting at it, and is shovel or garden fork proof