How to Make Multiple Electrical Cords Into One Cord
When stringing multiple extension cords together is not a viable option for an electrical cord, you can always wire multiple electrical cords together to make one long cord. The benefit of having one cord is that you will not need multiple extension cords or adapters to extend a power cord to reach an electrical outlet. You can make multiple electrical cords into one cord by learning how to splice them together. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Utility knife
- Wire cutters
- Soldering iron
- Solder
- Hair dryer
- Electrical cord with the plug attached
- ¼-inch heat-shrink tubing
- ½-inch heat-shrink tubing
- Electrical tape
Instructions
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1
Cut the plug end off the power cord that needs to be extended or made longer. Cut the opposite end off the cord that still has the plug to remove any frayed ends.
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2
Place the two cords on a flat surface, such as a table, so they lie end to end with one on the left and one on the right.
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3
Place a 6-inch section of ½-inch heat-shrink tubing over one piece of electrical cord. This will be used to go over the completed splice.
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4
Remove about four inches of the outer jacket from each cord. A utility knife or wire cutters can be used to remove the outer jacket.
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5
Splice the wire together at different places to keep the splices separated.
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6
Remove the insulation covering the wires from the cord on the left. Cut 2 inches away from the jacket for the hot wire and 3 inches for the neutral wire. Do not cut the ground wire.
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7
Remove insulation covering the wires from the cord on the right. Cut 3 inches away from the jacket for the neutral wire and 2 inches away from the jacket for the ground wire. Do not cut the hot wire.
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8
Strip each wire 1 inch using a pair of wire cutters.
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9
Cut the ¼-inch heat-shrink tubing in three 1½-inch pieces and place over the ends of the exposed wires on one section of cord.
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10
Join the stripped wires together by crossing the wires in the middle and twisting them together.
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11
Solder the wires together using the soldering iron and then place the heat shrink tubing over the splice. Shrink the tubing using a hair dryer or soldering iron. Repeat this process for each wire until all wires have been sliced together.
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12
Place the ½-inch heat-shrink tubing over the splice and shrink it using a hair dryer or the soldering iron.
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13
Wrap electrical tape over the splice to complete the project.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Each splice will be separated by 1 inch to keep enough insulation between the bare wires.
The process for splicing a two-wire cord is the same as for the three-wire cord.
Repeat this process if you need to connect more than two electrical cords.
You can only splice a two-wire cord to a two-wire cord or a three-wire cord to a three-wire cord.
If the wires are not soldered properly, they will not conduct electricity correctly.
