Perhaps the weakest link in the US electrical system

I hope this discussion really strikes a cord.
(and hey, there's a pinned comment I think you should read)
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[TechnologyConnections]

Hey there! Correction time (and more thoughts!): THHN wire is what’s _inside_ the sheathing of Romex, which is actually classified as NM-B cable/wire. As in, the conducting wires are THHN, the whole thing together is an NM-B cable. Yep. So there’s that.
Also, I want to be clear that of the problems we have, this isn’t a huge one. Generally, when things get hot because of overloading, it’s at the connection point and not in the wire. For instance, a lot of electrical fires start at the plug/socket interface either because the connection is poor, there could be corrosion, etc. And sometimes they can happen when nothing is overloaded! This is one of the circumstances in which arc-fault circuit interrupters can save lives. It may well be the case that very few fires are started because of the problem we’re discussing in this video. Especially since outside of certain high-draw devices, the risk of overloading the actual conducting wire is low in the first place. That’s why I am comfortable using them!
That said, I remain perplexed that this is an issue we’ve let persist. Most electrical fires aren’t the result of a single thing; they’re a cascade of individually not-great circumstances combining to make a bad situation. In order to reduce the risk of fires, we’ve continually been making the not-great things less bad. That way an increasingly large number of bad circumstances have to align for a fire to happen. Simply put, I think allowing unfused 16 gauge extension cords into the market is a potentially bad link in the chain that we could probably do with cutting out.
In fairness, it used to be much worse. 18 gauge (maybe even 20 gauge) extension cords were available many years ago, but we at least had the sense to make 16 the minimum as time went on. However, as I hope I’ve demonstrated here, that can still be problematic. Pulling 20 amps through that cord made it get very hot quite quickly.

[ElectroBOOM]

You DO realize that with proper protection everywhere, my channel won't be able to operate, right?!

[grantlack]

"I plugged these two resistive heaters into this thin copper filament, and now I have three resistive heaters!"

[TheBitGuy]

I've noticed that every electric vehicle manual in the world says not to use extension cords with them. And I suspect the reason is simply because these cheap extension cords exist and they don't want to attempt to explain to the owner that they need a specific type of extension cord to handle the current. So instead, they just say not to use them at all. Interestingly enough, I know several people that use extension cords with their EVs, I've even been known to do it occasionally. But we all understand how to pick an extension cord with the right size of wire.

[samvanasselt]

Bedankt. You know how to turn absolutely boring subjects into interesting videos. And suddenly the subject is not boring anymore! You're great, keep up the good work.

[CSAlso]

My in-laws are deaf and, as such, we always have the CC on. I really appreciate that you manually create the CC. it is a noticeable difference when I watch your vids. I love the "Overloadedly Smooth Jazz" at the end.

[IstasPumaNevada]

For my final in my high school speech class I demonstrated making pancakes right in the classroom. To do this I brought in a (rather modest) countertop griddle and, to reach the wall outlet... a flimsy brown extension cord. I didn't think twice about it.
...until partway through the demonstration-speech there was a flash of light as the cord literally melted away from the plug in the wall. We had to get a maintenance guy to come safely remove the now-bare-wire plug from the wall outlet. (He also brought a (better) extension cord, I finished my speech, and got a 99%. And the class got sample pancakes. :)

[justinkashtock]

Space Heater: "Do not use with extension cord!"
Also Space Heater: "Here's an incredibly useless 3 foot cord. Enjoy!"

[LUM-kbrl]

This is really eye opening, as a guy who doesnt know anything at all about electricianship. I have always used extension cords to try to distribute the power demand across several outlets. Come to find out, not only are the outlets often drawing from the same supply behind the wall, but the extension cords themselves are more dangerous than an overloaded circuit! This was a real eye opener for me.

[AngelArm]

Talent: The ability to get people to happily spend 25 minutes learning about extension cords

[meganheartswell]

I work at a hardware store. One lady came in complaining her fuses kept blowing. So I sold her more, she came back a week later for more. She had told me she was only using a hot plate. Her friend ran into her. Turns out it was a small range type thing, microwave, coffeemaker and more. It was like everything in her kitchen was running off the same outlet. She wanted higher fuses. I said no it's a fire hazard. "But what if I'm home" no lady it's in your walls. You cannot see it.

[DaraulHarris]

The fact that you cover, in depth, the technology that we all take for granted, and not the new-fangled fancy stuff that everybody can't afford, makes you my favourite tech channel. Thank you

[nolanharriott]

Spot on. As an electrician I see this all the time. Another thing I run into is people using outdoor rated cords indoors. They think because the extension cord is thicker that it can handle more load. However, it’s still just a 16AWG cord it just has heavier insulation on it to prevent it from cracking in the cold. But used inside it’s like running an extension cord under the carpet, the heavier insulation causes it to heat up more. Heat is what damages the insulation. It caused stress fractures, which causes arcing, which causes heating, which causes fires! So, over heating your cable is what is bad and like you said, that’s why they have over load protection on building wiring. You size the wire to the load and the breaker to the wire. AFCI breakers are used in new houses now to protect the extension cords that are plugged into the walls.

[blindsniper]

You never met my friend's neighbor. He took the fuses out of Christmas lights and replaced them with a nails or a bit of wire. The reason he did this was "the stupid fuses keep blowing when I plug all the strands in on this run". Yes this man systematically defeated every single fuse in his Christmas lights because he was plugging too many in to each other and was irritated that they kept blowing fuses.

[MichaelSteeves]

One guy in my engineering group works full time making a model of the electrical system in our plant, ensuring that overcurrent protection is, in fact, appropriate at every level of the electrical system. Another person did some work on extension cords and ended up banning most extension cords, causing grief and hard feelings throughout the plant: only 14 AWG cords with single outlets allowed!

[aKadoki]

i now realize i have a small fridge, two monitors, my pc and my neon lights on one outlet

[Doc_Holaday]

First the pre-wash in the dish washer and now extension chords. This channel is giving me more things to be a dad about.

[EvanBoldt]

Unless there are more plugs per outlet, I don’t think having more outlet locations will reduce how often people use power strips. Even the simplest TV or computer setup needs more than just two outlets, and if the choice is between running an extension to the next outlet another 6ft away or to put a strip on the closest one, you still run into the gauging issue either way.

[klfjoat]

I have to say, the approach you took to explain this issue ("the breakers only protect the wires in the walls") is SUCH A GREAT way to frame the problem. How an explanation is framed is one of the most important parts of good explanations, and you do that really well in general. But I think it really shines here. Kudos!

[chromefan]

As somebody who’s been an engineering hobbyist for quite some time now, I can confidently say this guy is the absolute best at dumbing things like this down enough for the average person to understand.