Extension Cord w/Dehumidifier

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MassWineGuy

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I need a dehumidifier in my basement asap, along with a condensate pump. Outlets are scarce and I’d have to connect via an extension cord, 15 or 25 feet. I know that manufacturers say don’t hook dehumidifiers to an extension cord, but I have no choice.

The unit draws about 4.8 amps. Would a 12 or 10 gauge cord work safely?

Thanks very much.
 
I run mine on a 12’ 14ga cord. I ran the discharge line to the small sump that takes away water for the furnace this spring and it has been working great all summer pumping the water out.
 
I’m also connecting the condensate pump, so I’m going with 12 gauge just to be safe.
 
Ok, folks. Frustration rises. I have one outlet in my basement and it is for two prong plugs. Is using a 3-to-2 adapter safe, or do I need to have an electrician install an additional outlet?

Or, how hard is it to replace the 2 prong outlet with a three prong gfci outlet? And would this be any safer re: electricution risk?

Thanks again.
 
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Ok, folks. Frustration rises. I have one outlet in my basement and it is for two prong plugs. Is using a 3-to-2 adapter safe, or do I need to have an electrician install an additional outlet?

Or, how hard is it to replace the 2 prong outlet with a three prong gfci outlet? And would this be any safer re: electricution risk?

Thanks again.
An adapter would work fine, but the idea of switching out the outlet to a GFCI is what I think I would do. It is very simple and would make your setup closer to code and much safer.
 
I’m probably going to have an electrician in to rewire things up to code. More outlets, including one closer to where I’m putting the dehumidifier.
 
If you put a GFCI at the old point as there should be one there anyway. You can then run more regular outlets off that GFCI and they will all be protected.


It is a basic home DIY task if you want to try you can get advice here on how to do it.
 
If there's just a two prong outlet, he probably doesn't have a ground
 
Often, the ground wire is attached to the metal box instead of the outlet. The metal box can be part of the grounding path. It's pretty simple to pull the outlet and take a look. Don't forget to turn off the breaker first!
 
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