To use an extension lead for condenser tumble dryer?

[Eggplant19]

I didn’t bat an eyelid because naively thought my tumble dryer would fit to the wall socket. It doesn’t. The lead is very short!

I know many people who use an extension lead for theirs but the manufacturer advises against it and after researching it’s a big fire hazard? I’m just thinking worse case scenario of a house fire

should I just get an electrician to put a new outlet into the wall?!? Before that happens do you think it’s ok to run on the extension lead? Do people do this?
thanks!

Is it easier to replace the lead with a longer one? I definitely wouldn't use an extension lead with a large electric appliance because they need a lot of electricity and the extension could get hot/malfunction.

Our tumble dryer has been running like that the whole time I've had one. Probably 10+ years now!

That’s what I thought! I googled it and all the AI overviews says it’s dangerous etc but everytime I go to my parents their dryer is connected to an extension lead

But but but! Everyone is telling you - including me - that it IS dangerous to have an extension lead, you're going on the only machine you've seen with one which has been fine!
Bottom line it is dangerous, especially with a long wire on a reel. The very nature of the machine is to get hot!

It's an increased fire risk because it's a high powered appliance and the extension lead might overheat, but that doesn't guarantee a fire, you could do it and be fine.

The people you see doing it unharmed is an example of survivorship bias though.

It's up to you whether you want to take the additional risk.

Mine runs on an extension and has done for nine years. The extension is only 1.5m do not coiled up, we are never out when it is on and I have never felt the extension get hot in any way. Plug is removed when the dryer is not in use. This is not a risk that bothers me.

Note there is nothing else in the wall socket or the extension cord, that I would not chance. Although I remember my parents house with most plugs downstairs using adapters to allow three appliances, fuses being blown were part of my upbringing 😱

Get a socket put in. Much better to be safe than sorry. We live in a park home and had a fire safety inspection and the chap couldn't express enough how dangerous it was, even though I wasn't doing it, but apparently a lot of people were because for some reason our particular homes only have sockets on one side of the building.

It’s extremely dangerous to plug in items like this into extension leads so no I would never recommend it let alone do it.

It might invalidate your home insurance using an extension lead!

I used one on a portable air con unit. Stupidly, a small part of the cord was wrapped around the circular roll up thing. I'd only had it on an hour when I smelt smoke. The cord was over heating and started to melt! Never again. I'd speak to an electrician, but again, I have no idea if modifying your machine might also pose insurance issues?

We've had the same issue with our chest freezer. I bought a heavy duty extension lead for it, the type they'd use in industrial setting (cost 20-30 quid i think).

From my research at the time, that's the next best option if you can't plug it into the wall socket.

Personally I'd would also look whether you could swap with something else. I could be wrong but my understanding is that tumble dryer are one of the highest risk item for house fire... So I'd rather use the extension lead for something else if possible.

I recently had a specialist surveyor and a fire inspection team both tell me that tumble dryers are a real fire hazard ( and that’s without using an extension).It’s put me off ever having one.

I would investigate if a longer cable could be fitted. A new length of cable has to be the correct rating, a lot of extension leads are rated at 5A and fused at 5A despite having 13A plugs and sockets. It's not difficult but does require a certain level of competence,

Get an extension lead that trips if it's too hot.

i did this recently during a home renovation. Tumble dryer is newish. First extension lead broken forever because I didn't realise it wasn't high amp enough. Bought a new heavy duty one; tripped that when I put it on too high a setting. Didn't try it again.

Noooooo! Tumble driers should be plugged into a wall. You can of course choose to ignore safety warnings but if something goes wrong, it will be on you.

Condenser tumble dryers run at much lower power to vented ones. Ours runs at about 700W (3A), compared to closer to 2500W (10A) for a vented one.
A quick look shows amazon sells short ( 30cm to 1m ) high power rated (13A) extension leads with 1 plug and 1 socket. One of these would be perfectly suitable. Buying the cheapest roll up extension you can find and using it rolled up would not.

Manufacturers don't lie about risks for fun. To use an extension lead on a large appliance would be an unacceptable risk and extremely foolhardy.

A few people on here have been lucky to get away with it, but that doesn't mean it's safe and doesn't mean those people will continue to be lucky indefinitely.

It's a huge risk and one I definitely would not take, especially if your tumble dryer is close to an external door or any other means of escape from your home in the event of a fire.

I know of a number of fires caused by tumble dryers. One of the fires resulted in the death of a woman.

Lint buildup can be a cause of the dryer catching fire, so everyone should clean their dryer regularly and thoroughly.

I wouldn't risk running a tumble dryer off an extension lead, they're already a fire risk as it is.

I’ve used my tumble dryer with an extension lead for 20 years, never had a problem. Fires are caused by not getting rid of the dust/fluff after every use.

If anything went wrong while using an extension lead, will insurance cover you?

I would say call an electrician in to get another socket put in just to be on the safe side. I think modifying your appliance will invalidate any insurance.

Buy an extension with a fuse trip switch on it.

We ran our old dryer on an extension and it melted the plug on the wall. Luckily I could smell electrical burning smell before a fire broke out.

We replaced the socket and the electrician recommended an extension with a trip switch. We've had no issues since. It has tripped a couple of times when it overheated. So it obviously does what it's supposed to.

Been running mine off an extension lead for years. I just make sure it's unplugged once finished, make sure the lead is straight rather than coiled round, and so far, the house is still standing,.

Using an extension lead for any device (such as a tumble dryer) which has high continuous power demands is really, really stupid. Get a sparky to put a proper socket in.

It might be easier to get an engineer to fit a longer flex to your dryer ?

We had extension leads all over our last house. I think it’s sensible to keep
an eye on them but in 30 years we never had an issue.

But it's overheated...if the trip fails there's a fire. Which is why you're told not to do it.