The microwave oven is considered one of the most commonly used kitchen appliances. It is highly efficient and helpful to warm foods. In today’s article, we will discuss if you can plug a microwave oven into an extension cord.
Plugging a microwave into an extension cord
Generally, it is not recommended to plug and microwave oven into an extension cord. The extension cord may not be able to handle the electricity flow that should run the microwave oven. As a result, it can cause significant damage to your most used kitchen appliance and its components as well.
The microwave oven is considered one of the most essential kitchen appliances that are found in almost every household. The microwave oven is used to warm frozen foods in the kitchen.
Nowadays microwave ovens are available with many unique and advanced features. These features make the microwave oven a highly electricity-consuming appliance that should be provided with seamless energy and power supply when in use.
In addition to that, the microwave oven is one of the most frequently used kitchen appliances. That is why the microwave oven should be equipped with an uninterrupted power supply to run the appliance properly.
Generally, most people use power outlets to run the microwave oven in the kitchen. However, if you run short of power outlets, you may consider using extension cords to run the microwave oven.
Generally, most kitchen appliances nowadays are highly electricity-consuming materials that should not be run using extension cords.
If you are willing to run the microwave oven using extension cords, it can cause significant damage to the microwave oven and its components.
Most experts recommend using power outlets to run the microwave oven because they are designed to deal and handle with an appliance that requires higher power consumption.
Generally, the extension cord will not be able to handle a load of electricity when used to run a microwave oven. To overload electricity, the cable can get burnt and cause a fire.
In addition to that, using extension cords to run kitchen appliances can also cause significant damage to them. That is why you should always be careful and try using the power outlets to run the kitchen appliances and use them properly.
There is a variety of power outlets available in the market and most of them are equipped with good technology that can handle such types of appliances to maintain the performance of your appliance and provide them with the proper amount of electricity.
A microwave oven uses an average of 1000 watts of electricity. If you ever think of using extension cords, you should use specially designed power outlets and wires that can handle the electricity that is required to run a microwave oven.
It will be much easier and more efficient to use your microwave oven if you connect it with a power outlet and reduce the risk of fire.
Is it safe to use an extension cord for a microwave?
It is not safe to use an extension cord to power up a microwave oven. It is prohibited to power up any kitchen appliances using an extension cord.
Generally, the extension cords are not designed to handle such types of appliances that require a high amount of electricity. Considering that you should not power your microwave oven using extension cords.
This can be very dangerous and damage your kitchen appliance. Generally, due to an overload of electricity, the extension cord can damage the microwave oven components and make it unusable.
That is why you should always try to put the microwave oven with the power outlet or grounded house socket to prevent any fire emergency.
In addition to that, when you use extension cords to run the microwave oven, you will notice cracks, breaks, or damages in the cords caused by the overflow of electricity.
That is why using power outlets to run microwave ovens is much more efficient and convenient for you.
What happens when you plug a microwave into an extension cord?
Microwave ovens are considered a commonly popular type of kitchen appliance that is found in almost every household. Microwave ovens are required to warm foods. It is a very frequently used kitchen appliance.
Nowadays, microwave ovens are available with many unique and advanced features that make them technologically advanced. That is why you should be careful when operating a microwave oven.
Many people tend to plug in a microwave, often with an extension cord. However, it is not recommended to plug in any kitchen appliances using an extension cord because the cords are not made to be compatible with kitchen appliances.
Due to the overflowing of electricity, the extension cord can get overloaded and create a fire. Below is a brief discussion on what happens when you plug a microwave oven into an extension cord:
Create fire risks:
Generally, the microwave oven runs on high electricity flow. That is why if you power a microwave oven using an extension cord, the extension cord can cause a fire due to an overload of electricity.
Damage to the components:
It is very normal for the microwave oven to get damaged if you run them using an extension cord. Generally, the extension cord will not be able to provide the microwave oven with the maximum electric flow.
As a result, the microwave components can get damaged. That is why you should avoid using a microwave oven connected with an extension cord to prevent any damage to your microwave oven.
Short circuit:
If the extension cord is not able to run the microwave oven, it can cause a short circuit and create significant damage to the electrical power supply line. That is why you should avoid using an extension cord to run a microwave oven.
It is always recommended to power the microwave oven using the power outlet in the kitchen because they are designed specially to provide power supply to heavy kitchen appliances like microwave ovens.
What kind of extension cord is safe for a microwave?
Although it is not safe to run kitchen appliances using an extension cord, sometimes you may run out of power outlets to run the microwave ovens. Generally, most kitchen appliances are not compatible to run using extension cords.
Because those extension cords are not designed to handle the heavy electricity that is required to run the electric appliances.
That is why if you still need to use an extension cord to run your microwave oven, you need to follow the electrical code to run the microwave oven using an extension cord safely.
Considering that the extension cord must be a three-wire grounding type appliance cord. Generally, the three-wire grounding type appliance cord has an under-writer’s laboratory approval and mentions the current it can handle.
Generally, these electrical extension cords are usually marked 15 or 20 amp switches completely fine to run a microwave oven.
What gauge extension cord do I need for a microwave? How to measure?
Nowadays, most people tend to use a variety of electrical kitchen appliances in their kitchen. Due to the use of a variety of kitchen appliances, you may run out of power outlets inside the kitchen.
Considering that you may want to use extension cords to run kitchen appliances. However, using extension cords to run kitchen appliances may not be a good idea as they are not designed to be compatible with kitchen appliances.
Generally, kitchen appliances require heavy electrical flow to run smoothly. Generally, the best type of extension cord you need to use for a microwave oven is a #10 heavy Duty gauge extension cord.
There are some steps you need to follow to determine what gauge extension cord you will need to run a microwave oven and how to measure them. You can simply follow the steps below to figure out that:
Choose thicker cords:
Generally, most people should use thicker cords compared to the power cable of the microwave oven to avoid any type of fire risk or short circuit. This will be completely safe and efficient.
Check the amperage:
The best way to determine the right type of cords for the microwave oven is to check the amperage. If the microwave oven draws more than 12 amps, you should use a 14 gauge cord or heavier than that.
Use heavy-duty cords:
Using heavy-duty cords will be the best option to run a microwave oven using extension cords.
This is how you can easily determine what size code you will need to run your microwave oven if you’re looking to operate it using an extension cord.
Final Thoughts
It is not recommended to run a microwave oven using an extension cord because the cords are not compatible with the microwave oven, due to overflow of electricity, the extension cords can cause fire risk. That is why you should always choose the right type of cord to run a microwave oven.