We recommend to never use an extension cord to connect your dishwasher to an electrical outlet. Yes, using an extension cord will work, but it's extremely dangerous. Your power cord will eventually overheat, causing your cord and anything surrounding the cord to melt.
Correct Plug Type
Most heavy-duty household appliances, such as geysers and dishwashers, use 15-amps three-prong cord.
Large Kitchen Appliances (Refrigerator, Dishwasher, etc.)
These appliances are so high-powered that they'll easily overload a poor, little power strip. Plug your large appliances directly into the wall. Do not use a multi-outlet converter to plug in more things, or you'll risk tripping the circuit.
Safety Considerations. The biggest concern with using an extension cord to power a refrigerator is using the wrong cord, which can lead to overheating of the cord, damage to the appliance and increased risk of fire or electric shock. Never try to plug a three-pronged appliance into an un-grounded extension cord.
Extension Cords with High Wattage Appliances
Certain high wattage appliances should not use an extension cord when possible (check the owner's manual). Using an extension cord on these appliances could cause excessive heat and voltage drop, this could damage the appliance or motor.
The best size extension cord for a refrigerator is 14 gauge awg. This will carry up to 15 amps of current over a distance of 30 feet without any issues. It is not recommended to use a smaller size than that as it could cause a voltage drop in the cord, causing the cord to heat up and harm the refrigerator.
Dishwashers are hardwired. They consume a relatively high amount of power, so it is not advised to use the same method to connect your other household appliances.
However, the main difference between the two lies in the purpose: If you want to multiply the number of electrical outlets from a single source, use a power strip. If you want to stretch out a power source towards a distant appliance, use an extension cord.
Dishwasher – A large range of dishwashers use the standard current of 110 volts. It is best to use an outlet that has a Ground Fault Interrupter or GFI. This will provide an extra precaution if the outlet gets wet. A GFI is designed to trip or disconnect power to prevent electrocution.
Household dishwashers use 10 amps of power, mostly. Having said that, your breaker should be on a higher rating than the appliance being used for safety purposes.
According to the electrical code, the dishwasher should be on its own circuit. The dedicated dishwasher circuit can't supply any other appliances, lights, fixtures, or outlets. In addition, the circuit that is servicing the dishwasher also needs to have a circuit breaker with at least 15-amps.
No, not all dishwashers are hardwired. Instead, you can purchase dishwashers that come prepared with an electrical cord and a three-prong plug. These units will easily connect to a regular wall socket that you'd have in your household kitchen.
When it comes to plugging your appliances into power strips, a surge protector is safer than an extension cord. Surges can occur for any number of reasons, including lightning strikes and faulty wiring.
Only use one socket extension lead per socket and never plug an extension lead into another extension lead. Use an extension lead with multi sockets rather than a block adaptor (those blocks of plastic with many sockets on them). This will put less strain on the wall socket.
A power strip plugs into a wall outlet and offers outlets for multiple devices. But that's all a simple power strip does. It's essentially an extension cord with multiple outlets and no fancy features, although it might have a switch to quickly cut power to all connected devices.
Dishwasher: If your kitchen is designed to have a dishwasher under the counter or sink, then it should be ready to hard-wire in the appliance. Using a long cable, get the dishwasher in place and open its junction box. Split the cable, attach it to the dishwasher's leads and close the junction box.
Choose cords with polarized or three-prong plugs. For use with larger appliances, thick, round, low-gauge extension cords are best. For smaller appliances and electronics, you can use thin or flat cords.
Common household extension cords are available in 16 gauge (smallest), 14 gauge, 12 gauge, and 10 gauge (biggest). The lower the number, the bigger the gauge and the greater the amperage and wattage is.
DON'T plug extensions cords together.
Extending the length of an extension cord by “daisy-chaining” can lead to overheating the cord by overloading it, creating a serious fire hazard.
One of your best bets is an outlet tap, which plugs into and covers your existing outlet to add more receptacles. They are commonly available in three- and six-outlet configurations, and some even offer USB ports to charge your devices.
An extension cord (US), power extender, drop cord, or extension lead (UK) is a length of flexible electrical power cable (flex) with a plug on one end and one or more sockets on the other end (usually of the same type as the plug).
Kitchen dishwashers installed in dwelling units require GFCI protection whether hard wired or cord and plug connected. Code Change Summary: A new subsection was added regarding dwelling unit kitchen dishwashers. Now, outlets that supply dwelling unit kitchen dishwashers must have GFCI protection.
Registered User. The receptacle should not be behind the dishwasher. To access it; you would have to remove the dishwasher. Just like the dishwasher drain and water line that go to the sink water valve and drain; the dishwasher electric cord plug should go to a receptacle under the kitchen sink.
Each dishwasher comes with a junction box (with power cord) to be installed in a cabinet next to the dishwasher cutout. It can be installed by an installer, servicer, technician, electrician or other qualified professional and is intended for hard-wired installations.
When installing a dishwasher, the circuit should be a dedicated 120/125-volt, 15-amp circuit. This 15-amp circuit is fed with a 14/2 NM wire with a ground. You may also elect to feed the dishwasher with a 20-amp circuit using 12/2 NM wire with a ground.