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Extension Cord Safety

Extension cords are meant to be temporary, but on many farms they become permanent wiring. Treat them as tools that wear out.

Why do extension cords cause so many problems?

Cords are convenient, so they get overused. They are stepped on, driven over, pinched by doors, chewed by animals and left outside in all weather. A damaged cord can shock a person or overheat and start a fire, often where it is hidden under a pile or behind a stack of feed.

OSHA publishes a short fact sheet on extension cord safety that is worth reading and posting in the shop.

Extension cord misuse is a common finding in workplace electrical incidents because it is so easy to do. A cord that works is rarely questioned until it does not.

How do I pick the right cord?

Match the cord to the job. The cord's label and the tool's nameplate or manual tell you what the cord is built for. Heavier loads and longer distances need heavier cords, and outdoor or wet locations need cords marked for that use. The specific ratings come from the labels and from official guidance, so read them rather than guessing.

Choose factory-made cords from a reputable source with a recognized testing mark, and avoid homemade or modified cords. Do not buy by price alone.

What should I check before each use?

Run your eyes and hands along the whole length. Look for cuts, cracks, flattened areas, bare conductors, loose plugs and bent or missing prongs, including the grounding prong. Feel for heat when the cord is in use; a warm cord is a warning sign.

Retire a damaged cord. Do not patch it with tape. Cutting off a damaged end and fitting a new plug is a repair for someone qualified, and a replacement is often the safer choice.

Ask yourself three quick questions each time: Is it damaged, is it the right type for this place and is it truly temporary? A no on any of the three means stop and fix the setup.

• Never remove the grounding prong or use an adapter to defeat it.
• Do not plug one extension cord into another to gain length.
• Do not run cords through doorways, windows or across walkways where they can be damaged or cause trips.
• Unplug by gripping the plug, not by pulling the cord.

Where and how should cords be used?

Keep cords out of water and away from heat and sharp edges. Do not cover a cord in use with rugs, bedding or stored items, since heat cannot escape. Uncoil cords fully when in use, because a coiled cord can trap heat.

Cords are for temporary use. If a cord has been in place for months, the building needs a proper outlet in that spot. An electrician can install one in line with local code.

What about outdoors and animal areas?

Barns and yards add moisture, dust and animals that chew. Use only cords made for outdoor use, keep connections off the ground and out of puddles, and protect plugs from rain. Ground-fault protection is especially valuable here, and a qualified electrician can tell you where to install it.

Keep cords out of reach of livestock, pets and children. Unplug and put away when work is done.

Check cords after storms, floods and rodent problems. Moisture and gnawing are hidden causes of damage, and a cord that looks fine from the outside may have bare wire inside a chewed spot.

How do I store and maintain cords?

Wrap loosely and hang rather than kinking them tightly or stuffing them in a bucket. Keep them away from fuel, chemicals and sunlight. Do a periodic inspection of every cord you own and discard any that fail.

Label heavy-duty cords by use so the right one is grabbed. Show teens and new workers how you inspect and coil, and explain why.

A shop cord policy can fit on one page: who inspects, how often, what gets tagged and where cords are kept. Post it by the door and update it when something changes.

What mistakes show up again and again?

The most common mistakes are using a cord that is too light for the tool, running cords under rugs or through doors, using indoor cords outside, plugging one cord into another and ignoring a warm cord. Another is the missing ground pin, snapped off to fit a two-hole outlet. All of these remove a layer of protection.

If an outlet does not fit your plug, the answer is to have an electrician install the right outlet, not to modify the plug or the cord. A short conversation about why helps make the rule stick.

Last reviewed: November 12, 2026. Written by the Farm Safety Editorial Team. See our editorial policy.