Load draw

[VroomVroom]

this is about electricity. I have done electrical courses...but I cant remember the answer Im looking for. And being at work in the middle of nowhere for the next few weeks, i wont be about to find my answer. A coworker and I were discussing something. I have a small electric woodsplitter that uses about 1500 watts if I remember correctly. I had a generator that was bigger and could run the splitter no problem. When I went to use the splitter, the generator was maybe 40 feet away and the only extension cord I had was one someone spliced together with a much smaller cord. Needless to say, I knew it wasnt a good cord for the job. So I tried using the splitter but I found it was really killing the generator. I didnt blow any fuses in the generator as I only tried it once or twice and backed off. So I'd split the wood another day. But we got to talking and I said quickly something about the splitter drawing too much current through the wire. I know the bigger the wire, the easier the current flows and less resistance. I know all the basic formula for power and voltage and resistance. And I know that more current can flow through a larger diameter wire with less resistance. But if your load is working (1500 watts), why does the generator die out so much. Is it because regardless of the small wire, that splitter will draw the power it needs ? And therefore the generator has to put out extra current to compensate for the losses in the small wire? Or should the generator only put out the required 1500watts the load is trying to take, meanwhile the splitter doesnt receive all the power it needs because of the loss in the wire? I kinda made the statement quick about it was killing the generator drawing too much current, even though I knew the wire was too small, I figured it was because the gen was working harder (more power) to supply the load (splitter). Normally with a small wire like that , its so much resistance that it will blow a fuse near the gen.

 

[RoyBrooks]

The small diameter extension cord is producing a voltage loss along the cord, so the splitter isn't getting enough voltage. When the splitter starts to work hard it draws more current and increases the voltage drop in the cord. If you replace the cord. In Canada voltage drop our code states that you cant have more than a 3% voltage drop in a circuit. Going with that 3% and your voltage of 120v, 1500 watts for a current flow of 1500/120= 12.5 amps . From table D3 in the Cdn electrical code a 16 awg cord and be run 9.3m or 30.5 ft before the voltage drop exceeds the 3% rule. If you increase the cord size to say a #12 cord the distance the cord can be run is 76 ft which still seems really too long to me. So as the current goes up the voltage to the motor will go down but the motor still wants its 1500 watts so it will try to draw more current that will cause more of a voltage drop. I have the same thing going on with a water pump at my cottage. When I try to back feed the panel on a power outage everything will work but the water pump. The generator is sized well to run it but that little pump has such a draw on it, it will kick the generator breaker out everytime. If I direct wire the pump to the generator with larger wire and keep the wire run short the generator will run it fine. Does that help?