[CajunSmoker]

Originally Posted by Divemaster

Since the light is not on the same breaker, yes, you had an overall power drain. This could very well be because of the extension cord you ran from the trailer.

My guess is that the extension cord is 14 guage wire. If I recall, and it's been a while so I could be wrong, 14 guage required for 15 amp circuit, and 12 is required for 30 amps, and 10 guage is used for 50 amps. Like I said, it's been a while so double check with a pro.

Since I'm only pulling less than 20 amp for my trailer, I was able to use 12 guage exterior cord that I found at Home Depot and just had to put on the plugs. I don't recall the cost of the cord but I'm willing to bet it wasn't much more than $.30 to $.40 a foot.

Hope this helps and like I said, please double check...

Generally speaking #14 wire is good for 15A
#12 wire is good for 20A
#10 wire is good for 30A

and the longer the run, the larger the wire size required for the same amperage.