Customer Reviews

Yellow Jacket 2884 12/3 Heavy-Duty 15-Amp SJTW Contractor Extension Cord with Lighted Ends, 50-Feet

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have been using Woods yellow cords for a long time for mobile DJ use. I recently decided to upgrade my cords from 14/3 to 12/3 gauge to get a thicker cord. The 14 gauge cords are thinner and easier to handle than the 12 gauge cords so buy the size needed for your application. For light use with small items or simple household use, go with the 14/3 gauge. For power tools or anything heavy duty, go with these 12/3 cords. The ends are constructed very well and light up when power is present. Overall the cord is well made and very sturdy.

I had to wire 2 new outdoor Fountains from my yard to a power outlet at my house. I was using an 18 year old 16 gauge cheapo and it scared me to death. Ordered this and expected an unyielding Cable but am surprised it is very pliable. It is over sized but with 3 12 gauge wires inside plus insulation I would HOPE so! Made in TAIWAN. Never thought I would be HAPPY to see that! But after all the pure crap from China that is flat out dangerous, well, I'm grateful. It is (the packaging so states) "designed to last 15 years with DAILY use". It comes with a lifetime warranty however so not to worry. At this price who cares anyway? And with my being 60 and married, I figure my wife will kill me before I have to worry about this thing anyway....
So after seeing this, I am tossing ALL my nearly 20 year old crap Home Depot 16 gauge cord and ordering more for whatever I may need them for. If I thought old age and an old woman were something to be afraid of, well, lets just say it's nothing compared to the shock I get when a cord goes bad!

At first, I wasn't too sure that I had made a smart decision paying extra for this particular cord. But after having used it for a couple of months with my electric mower - I can now safely say, without equivocation, that it was one of my better decisions.

The cord is lighter and more flexible than your typical cord 12/3 cord. If you've ever had to drag a 100 feet of cord across your lawn, you know it can be quite a chore due to gravity and friction. You'd think it wouldn't matter - but after an hour or two - it does.

It certainly makes mowing that much less of a chore for me. I'm glad I spent a few more bucks.

I first bought the "US Wire 99100 12/3 100-Foot SJEOW TPE Cold Weather Extension Cord Blue " to be used with the Toro snow blower. It was rated at 15 AMP and 12 Gauge etc etc..First time, it began to smoke and the wire began to disintegrate. I bought the Yellow Jacket 12/3 heavy duty extension cord next and had no issues. Well built, ran the snowblower with no issues. Heavy duty, weighs quite a bit. Used it in the snow and it was not stiff..end is lit , so its easy to connect/disconnect. Well pleased with this extension cord. Wish it was made in USA just like the other cord ...

This is a basic HEAVY DUTY 100foot extension cord with a 12/3 wire size. For those new to extension cord wire sizes, the lower the first number, the better... so 10 is better than 12, and 8 is better than 10. When I say better, I mean that the lower gauge (lower numbered) cords actually use a thicker wire, which contains more metal, (hopefully copper!) and thus have a better ability to conduct electricity flow, which means more power to that item which is being supplied electricity by the cord. Many home power outlets supply a maximum of 15 amps of electricity, which is about 1875 watts, but in order to convey "all" of that electricity through an extension cord, without excessive losses, the cord must be a bit heftier than the 16/3 size 100ft. cords you buy for $20 to $30 at hardware stores, warehouse clubs, and various other stores.

You really don't need a cord this thick to power most home appliances, and tools. You can run almost any 120volt device with a 16/3 thickness extension cord; however there are some applications which call for a cord of this thickness. Once such application is an electric chainsaw I recently purchased which draws a full 15 amps of power. This was the minimum thickness of 100 foot cord that was advisable for said electric chainsaw.

Extension cords are not high on features. This one does have lighted ends, which are nice "let's say" if you have a power outage, and you turn on your generator, at night, and then run an extension cord from your generator into the house... at least you'll be able to see the female end of the cord, in the dark, so that you may plug a light into it, or instead plug in your TV if that has a higher priority.

This is a nice extension cord and there are many cords, at local stores, which are less expensive but appear to have the same thickness as this one. This is an illusion! If stores are selling a 100ft. cord which is as thick as this one, and the price is much lower, it's because their cord is a small wire cord which has a very very thick plastic insulation around it. Thick plastic insulation is a gimmick and is no substitute for the numbers. The numbers for this cord are 12/3 and the numbers for the cheaper immitation at your local store are probably much higher and thus much inferior. Remember, plastic does not conduct electricity, so you don't want thick plastic... you want thick metal. With quality cords, such as this one, the metal wire inside the plastic insulation is copper and thick copper at that! Copper is super expensive, so when you pay that extra money to get this cord, it's because you are paying for all that copper... and you will know it when you hold this cord because it is noticeably heavier than the cheapy cords. Buy this cord and hold onto it for 20 years, and you might be able to melt it down, for the copper, and finance your kid's education with the money from selling the copper... but, don't hold your breath on the price of copper going to $6000 per pound.

If you do buy this 12/3 cord, you'll appreciate that it is almost impossible to get this cord permanently twisted and tangled, which invariably happens to the 16/3 cheapy cords.

Seniors would do well to think twice before buying this cord, though, because some may liken moving this cord around to dragging an elephant by the tail. For everyone else who needs a thick, quality, HEAVY DUTY extension cord, this one fits the bill nicely.

I bought this cord for my Earthwise 12 amp lawnmower. With 15 amp capability it's nice to know it is more than adequate to the task for my mower. Previously, before I knew amps from watts, I was using a 16/3 cord. This cord was absolutely no more difficult to move around, and possibly even easier as a little more weight made it easier to "throw". I winds up easily and cleanly on the Alert Stamping 7000WR Pro-Reel Cord Carrier. Nice to be reminded by the light on the female end that you have a live wire in your hands if you are going to unplug it from the mower before you unplug it from the wall!

Product as expected - appears durable with no concerns in the month I've had it, is very flexible compared to other cords I've used. Is heavy and unwieldy to store as one would expect for a 12/3 100ft cord so go shorter if you don't need 100'.

This cable works beautifully. All my passed extensions cords were 14/3 and worked okay for hedge trimmers and electic drills and other tools. I recently had need of a chain saw and decided I did't want to fight the starting issues with gas saw. With this heavy duty cable it powers my electric chain saw just like a gas operated saw. I had no trouble cutting 12" trees and it made quick work of making fire wood.

This cord was available locally but at almost double the price. Many national stores sell this product so it's easy to check it out before buying. Cord came packaged exactly as I saw locally, shipped free from Amazon, and half the price what more needs to be said except this quality cord will probably be the last extension cord I ever buy. Rugged, flexible, and not that heavy.

Bought this cable to run from my generator to appliances inside my home. This cable works great, and the lighted ends let me know if I still have electricity flowing from the generator. I am very happy with this purchase.