What's the max length of power cord I can get away with (mount & DSLR)?

[Trippelforge]

I found a few camping spots that are very close to large open fields. Each of them has power, so I thought it would be super cheap to run my equipment off of a cord, rather than invest in a power station right now. The problem is "close" means 150'ft (45m) or so, and obviously that's getting a bit far to run an extension cord. However I am simply running a mount (12v 3.5A) and a DSLR (9v 4.5A) over that distance. So I was curious on everyone's thoughts on if it would work? As driving 3hrs to find out it won't... would kind of suck (lol).

Thanks

[Ouroboros]

Personally I’d say that’s OK.  That’s basically 50m cable reel extension length isn’t it? You can easily run a shredder or hedge trimmer down the garden you can certainly run an Astro rig.  My astronomy shed is powered on the end of a 13A 50m extension cable.  I run an astronomy rig, small light, small ancillaries like power supplies for a laptop etc plus, on occasion, a fan heater. It copes fine with that.  My set up incorporates a residual current trip too just in case. 

Edited October 24, 2023 by Ouroboros

[symmetal]

50m mains extension reels are very common. There's no problem if you take basic safety precautions with mains power outdoors. As the power you're consuming is low as far as mains power is concerned that won't be an issue either.

Alan

[Trippelforge]

Thanks guys! 🙂

[bwj]

My woodshop is 200ft from my garage. Until I could get power to the shop, I used extension cords to power my tablesaw and other tools. I used 12 gauge. extensions. I currently set up my Nexstar8SE anywhere from 50 to 100 feet from a power source and use an extension cord.  You shouldn't have any issues. 

Clear skies!

[Cosmic Geoff]

Personally, I think a battery power pack would be better on grounds of convenience and safety.  A trailing cable is a trip hazard, and it would be much quicker to plonk down a power pack than to unreel an extension cable and reel it up again afterwards. 

I have mains power within a few yards of my observing positions, but I always use battery packs. It's less bother and it's safer.

[teoria_del_big_bang]

A 50M extension reel will be fine.
The rule with any extension reel is to always unwind all the cable even if using a 50M extension 10M away from the power source.
If left wound on the reel the cable can get very hot and melt the sheathing. Yes the power draw will be very low running astro gear, yes at these low powers it may be okay but I would still unwind all the cable.
At the power source if it is not already protected by an RCD then use a plug in RCD.

@Cosmic Geoff 's point about a trip hazard is very relevant and the empty reel itself will add to the trip hazard so something to be aware of and put the reel directly under the mounts tripod out of the way and keep the trailing cable straight and flat to the ground with any slack well out of the way.

If I use an extension anywhere outside I like to put a bucket upside down over the reel and plugs to protect from moisture and maybe keep the whole lot off the ground a little.

Steve

Edited October 24, 2023 by teoria_del_big_bang

[Trippelforge]

20 minutes ago, teoria_del_big_bang said:

At the power source if it is not already protected by an RCD then use a plug in RCD.

What is an RCD? 

[Cornelius Varley]

11 minutes ago, Trippelforge said:

What is an RCD? 

Residual Current Device

Residual-current device - Wikipedia