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Power cords: does length matter?

This is a serious question, however if you don’t believe that anything about power cords matter, and you feel the need to make a joke out of the question, feel free.

Anyway: I have noted that all the stock power cords that have been provided by the manufacturers for my equipment are about six feet long. After looking at various aftermarket power cords on the internet, I note that they can be ordered in various lengths from one meter on up.

I would think that the shortest possible power cord in any given application would be desirable (meaning one meter if it would work), but I find that a lot of notions I had about things like this are often wrong (such as what I very recently posted on misc about manually tripping breakers to protect components). So am I also mistaken about selecting lengths of power cords?

TIA for any and all legitimate consideration and answers to this question, and to all others, enjoy the laughs.

immatthewj

Showing 2 responses by panzrwagn

panzrwagn's avatar
panzrwagn
633 posts
 

Benjamin Franklin was once asked how long a man's legs should be. His answer was simple: "Long enough to do the job." Unsatisfied, the questioner continued, "And how long is that? Franklin replied, "Long enough to reach the ground." The questioner continued, "What then his manhood?" Not missing a beat, Franklin replied, "The same."

Similarly, I think that holds true for power cables. They should long enough to reach the outlet. And from there, the electrical wiring should be long enough to reach the power generators. As for how that cabling should be configured, I leave that to you and your power company to work out. 

panzrwagn's avatar
panzrwagn
633 posts
 

@brian8383 Excessive girth has been known to cause unwanted high frequency noise, especially in demanding high impedance conditions. 

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