Thread: 240v Extension lead, How long can you go

For the daily stuff, solar panels, a deep cycle battery bank and an inverter. For the big stuff a generator. You could also rig a petrol powered compressor for the big jobs, coupled with an alternator to top off the battery in overcast weather. Or just do the underground trench and get a decent cable (16mm2) to the shed permanently.

Originally Posted by bee utey

For the daily stuff, solar panels, a deep cycle battery bank and an inverter. For the big stuff a generator. You could also rig a petrol powered compressor for the big jobs, coupled with an alternator to top off the battery in overcast weather. Or just do the underground trench and get a decent cable (16mm2) to the shed permanently.

Thanks, I should've been clearer, it's just for the building of the shed that I need power, I've edited my post.

Cheers, Murray

I would run the power feed first, then build the shed...
You can fit a stand alone JB/Distro board at the shed site and plug into that.

Just changing the order around

i run 6 @ cheapy 10amp 30m leads from bunnings from my builders power pole 170m up to the shed at wattlemere and have run a 10amp compressor for a short time without difficulty. leads got warm but not hot and the motor on the compressor only got to it usual temp.

so decent 15amp leads should cope easily with a 10amp load over 120m in my experience.

If you scroll down to the bottom of this page there is a chart with voltage drop over distance for a given wire size.
Industrial Extension Leads Maximum extension lead length

In practice you can see how hot the leads get. If they get too hot IME the plugs will start to melt/distort.

We used to run the shearing shed from a single lead of 10amp, about 45mts, then a 15amp, about 55mts with no problems. Ran the lights, shearing unit and radio and sometimes a fan all at once, and at other times and ran my stick welder down there.
Never had any issues other than sheep pulling the plugs apart ,,,, soon fixed that though. The hardest part was rolling it all up when we were finished.

Why not run the compressor directly at the power source and run long hoses. My compressor blows fuses when connected to a 25m lead. If you are worried about pressure loss with that length you may need bigger diameter hose, or maybe a second air reservoir at the shed.

Cheers, Mick.

You know it would be less loss if you ran a long air hose (damn Killer got in first )

Voltage Drop Calculator
find the thickness of your cable, find the amperage drawn by the compressor.