“But the crux: Why is it bad to plug a power strip into another power strip? I do that in my garage when I need a few extra feet of cord.”
If you are using it as an extension cord just for the length, that’s not a problem. If you have extra cords plugged into each one, with a total of 27 items essentially plugged into one outlet, you are probably trying to draw WAY more power than one outlet can give you.
A 15 Amp circuit can supply up to 1800 Watts (120V x 15 Amps) a 20 Amp circuit can supply up to 2400 Watts (120 Volts x 20 Amps). Remember, that includes all outlets on that breaker or fuse. Just add up all the Watts on everything on that circuit, everything should have the Watts printed on the bottom somewhere.
Hey, thanks for the response.
I merely use the 1st strip, plugged into the wall, as an extender, and the only thing plugged into it is the 2nd strip.
I live in an old house (1950). The outlets were not grounded back then, and somebody did a half hearted retrofit so that next to several old outlets are newer 3 prong outlets. It’s odd, as if the previous owner just ran out of money part way through.
I remodeled my bathroom and put in a new outlet. There was no place to ground it so I ran a wire through the wall to a pipe going down into the ground, It hasn’t sizzled yet! My friend advised me; He is an electrical engineer but he also smokes a lot of pot, so I’m sorta dubious..