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extension lead Vs. trailing lead

English translation: See explanation below...

09:50 May 27, 2008
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Tech/Engineering - Electronics / Elect Eng / leads/cables
English term or phrase: extension lead Vs. trailing lead
Hello!

I would like to know what difference there is in the above terms - if any.

TIA
S.
sassa
Selected answer:See explanation below...
Explanation:
An extension lead (OR: cable) is an accessory used to extend the length of a (usually) power cable so it will reach further. So an electric drill, say, might only have 1.5 m of cable, but if you need to use it down the bottom of the garden, you will need a 50 m extension lead

(generally speaking, the use of the word 'lead' suggests it is more likely to be a power cable, whereas the use of the word 'cable' may refer to either a power cable, or possibly an audio, video, computer or telephone cable — as in a microphone extension cable)

A 'trailing lead' NORMALLY (if one is being technically accurate!) simply refers to the cable that is attched to some piece of equipment — imagine you are carrying the piece of equipment around, and the lead 'trails behind'!

Usually, this means that the lead / cable is permanently attached to the equipment, as distinct from those types of mains cable that can be unplugged) — though this is often more by implication than being necessarily explicit.

Once again, it might be other things than power, of cousre, though the use of 'lead' again tends to incline that way.

Of course, it all depends on context, as people do use the terms imprecisely!

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2008-05-27 11:29:09 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

My answer is definitely the technically accurate one; however, it is clear that there are a large number of people who use the terms INaccurately. Asker will have to decide if the source text was using the terms with technical precision in order to specifically differentiate between the terms, or whether it was merely a case of using them at random as synonyms.

Note, of course, that context is also vital: any lead might fortuitously be described as 'trailing', in a non-technical sense — as for example "The cleaner tripped over the trailing lead from the hoover"

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2008-05-27 11:34:13 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

To reply to Dimitris's ATA note above:

Language is a living thing, and usage changes; in particular, technical usage gets assimilated into everyday language, quite often with a distortion of meaning.

The use of 'trailing lead' to refer to an 'extension lead' can't be considered a mistake, no — and I never said it was! But it is technically inaccurate, and since asker was apparently querying what the difference is between the two terms, I was merely pointing out that (depending on how accurately the 2 terms are being used) there may well be a technical difference between their meanings.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2008-05-27 11:44:51 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

There is nothing "subtle" about the difference, and it has nothing at all to do with the relative length of the leads; this just shows the danger of making wild extrapolations on the basis of empirical observation.

I repeat: the term 'trailing lead' originally meant 'an attached power cable' (to some piece of equipment); by extrapolation from that meaning, it has also come to be used, in layman's language, for any cable that happens to 'trail', including self-contained extension cables.

The issue of length, nor even of diameter, doesn't really come into it.

You will find countless references to "..supplied with 1.5 m trailing lead/cable" — this does not mean it comes complete with a free (though pointlessly short!) extension lead, but rather, that the power cable is attached rather than detachable.
Selected response from:

Tony M
France
Local time: 16:40
Grading comment
Thank you very much for your detailed explanation! :)
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
3 +3plug-in extension lead vs. long built-in lead
Jack Doughty
5 +1See explanation below...
Tony M
5An extension lead is an electrical lead
Gary D
3Mobile (manual device) vs. tracked device
David Moore (X)
3No difference
Egil Presttun


Discussion entries: 3





  

Answers


17 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
extension lead vs. trailing lead
Mobile (manual device) vs. tracked device


Explanation:
I really don not know whether I am right, but my understanding would be that an extension lead is a cable such as would permit a mower to be run up and down the garden, or a manual power drill operation as in D-I-Y work, and a trailing lead would be a cable attached to a crane, for example, which is mounted on tracks, or perhaps another type of appliance with a restricted range, but which might well be controlled from a console, rather than by hand.

David Moore (X)
Local time: 16:40
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 12
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thank you :)


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Tony M: i think you're making it more complicated than necessary, David! All you say MAY well be true — but I don't believe it's the essence of Asker's question
21 mins
  -> Okay, another idea is that an extension lead has a plug one end and a socket at t'other, while a trailing lead probably doesn't - it may well be hard-wired into the appliance.
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47 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
extension lead vs. trailing lead
An extension lead is an electrical lead


Explanation:
An extension lead is an electrical lead that you connect into a power point so that you can use appliances at a distance from the power point. You then attach this extension lead to the trailing lead.

The lead that is permanently attached to the appliance is the trailing lead.

An extension lead has a male and a female end. A trailing lead only has a Male end only for connecting to the power point or to the female end of the extension lead.

Hope this helps..

Gary D
Local time: 00:40
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 28
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thank you :)

Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

43 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +3
extension lead vs. trailing lead
plug-in extension lead vs. long built-in lead


Explanation:
As I understand it, and extension lead is a separate lead with a plug at one end and a socket at the other, which can be used to extend a lead built into an electrically powered device such as a power drill or an electric fire. Such an existing lead may be described as a trailing lead, especially if it is fairly long itself.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2008-05-27 10:59:22 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Replace last sentence with:
Such an existing lead is called a trailing lead.

Jack Doughty
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:40
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 16
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thank you :)


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Tony M: Pretty much agree, Jack — although 'trailing lead' doesn't per se imply an extension accessory (though that might well be 'a lead that trails'!), and as an attached cbale, needn't specifically be a long one. It's a standard technical term.
3 mins
  -> Thank you. Yes, I agree with what you say.
agree  Gary D
5 mins
  -> Thank you.
agree  Phong Le
46 mins
  -> Thank you.
neutral  Egil Presttun: http://www.edirectory.co.uk/pf/880/mia/d/faithfull power plu... This is one of many examples of a trailing lead.
50 mins
  -> Thank you.
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15 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
extension lead vs. trailing lead
No difference


Explanation:
Both terms are being used for the same leads.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2008-05-27 11:08:32 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Since there are so many different opinions about this, I have taken the time to prove that both terms are being used to describe the same leads. All of the links below leads to pages that describe the same lead as an extension lead and as a trailing lead. Naturally, I could collect a lot more evidence if necessary.

Trailing leads that are also called extension leads on the very same page:
http://www.tooled-up.com/Product.asp?PID=81566
http://www.transtools.co.uk/store/prod_6026/electrical/exten...
http://www.diytools.co.uk/diy/Main/sp-1-52-21908-faithfull-w...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Masterplug-4gang-Surge-Protected-Ext...
http://www.thesitebox.com/Category/5628/extension-leads-110v...

And this is the tip of the ice berg of examples. But I think these terms may give different associations depending on where in the world you are.


Egil Presttun
Norway
Local time: 16:40
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Norwegian
PRO pts in category: 8
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thank you :)


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Tony M: In any technically accurate meaning of the term, this is wrong. Sadly, there are a lot of people out there who do not use the term with any kind of technical accuracy! / Retail shops aiming at the lay public
22 mins
  -> I have referred to shops that (more or less) specialize in these products, not to ordinary people chatting in the streets...
agree  d_vachliot (X): Virtually, none.
1 hr
  -> Thanks, Dimitris!
disagree  Gary D: If they were termed the same than it would have been a mistake on their behalf. I have a limited Electrical licence so you will find my answer is correct. Trailing lead, Pig tail lead and tail lead are all attachments to an appliance
12 hrs
  -> If you search through 10 or 20 web pages using the term "trailing lead", you will probably find that all of them refers to an extension lead. But I can agree that the term is ambiguos.
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45 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +1
extension lead vs. trailing lead
See explanation below...


Explanation:
An extension lead (OR: cable) is an accessory used to extend the length of a (usually) power cable so it will reach further. So an electric drill, say, might only have 1.5 m of cable, but if you need to use it down the bottom of the garden, you will need a 50 m extension lead

(generally speaking, the use of the word 'lead' suggests it is more likely to be a power cable, whereas the use of the word 'cable' may refer to either a power cable, or possibly an audio, video, computer or telephone cable — as in a microphone extension cable)

A 'trailing lead' NORMALLY (if one is being technically accurate!) simply refers to the cable that is attched to some piece of equipment — imagine you are carrying the piece of equipment around, and the lead 'trails behind'!

Usually, this means that the lead / cable is permanently attached to the equipment, as distinct from those types of mains cable that can be unplugged) — though this is often more by implication than being necessarily explicit.

Once again, it might be other things than power, of cousre, though the use of 'lead' again tends to incline that way.

Of course, it all depends on context, as people do use the terms imprecisely!

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2008-05-27 11:29:09 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

My answer is definitely the technically accurate one; however, it is clear that there are a large number of people who use the terms INaccurately. Asker will have to decide if the source text was using the terms with technical precision in order to specifically differentiate between the terms, or whether it was merely a case of using them at random as synonyms.

Note, of course, that context is also vital: any lead might fortuitously be described as 'trailing', in a non-technical sense — as for example "The cleaner tripped over the trailing lead from the hoover"

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2008-05-27 11:34:13 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

To reply to Dimitris's ATA note above:

Language is a living thing, and usage changes; in particular, technical usage gets assimilated into everyday language, quite often with a distortion of meaning.

The use of 'trailing lead' to refer to an 'extension lead' can't be considered a mistake, no — and I never said it was! But it is technically inaccurate, and since asker was apparently querying what the difference is between the two terms, I was merely pointing out that (depending on how accurately the 2 terms are being used) there may well be a technical difference between their meanings.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2008-05-27 11:44:51 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

There is nothing "subtle" about the difference, and it has nothing at all to do with the relative length of the leads; this just shows the danger of making wild extrapolations on the basis of empirical observation.

I repeat: the term 'trailing lead' originally meant 'an attached power cable' (to some piece of equipment); by extrapolation from that meaning, it has also come to be used, in layman's language, for any cable that happens to 'trail', including self-contained extension cables.

The issue of length, nor even of diameter, doesn't really come into it.

You will find countless references to "..supplied with 1.5 m trailing lead/cable" — this does not mean it comes complete with a free (though pointlessly short!) extension lead, but rather, that the power cable is attached rather than detachable.

Tony M
France
Local time: 16:40
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 304
Grading comment
Thank you very much for your detailed explanation! :)

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Gary D
2 mins
  -> Thanks, Gary!
neutral  Egil Presttun: http://www.pentagondirect.com/p/faithfull-power-plus-trailin... Normally trailing leads are like this. Google and see for yourself.
45 mins
  -> No, NOT "normally" — it is an unfortunate, technically inaccurate, and misleading MISuse of the term by ignorant people
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