re: How far can I run my 30 amp generator cord without losing power?

Do you even Ohms Law baw?

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Get a 100' of 8/3 and rock it, you'll be fine.

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He most likely needs 4 conductors, not 3. And he would be fine with 100’ of 10/4, no need to upsize

Voltage drop is virtually never considered in residential applications.
I would use up to 100’ 10/4 SO in addition to the home branches if your big loads are 240v.
50’ if you are maxing out 120v branches.

As we speak my generator is running my house and it is sitting in my shed about 75 ft from my panel on my house. I have it plugged into a 220 plug mounted under the panel in my shed. Everything in my shed is turned off except for the main. My main on my house is turned off and I have all of my 110's turned on. My generator is backfeeding and powering my whole house. Just running a tv, laptop and a couple of fans.

I used to hunt with a guy whose camp only had generator power. He laid out some 4x8x16 solid concrete blocks for a base. then used more to make a wall on 2 sides and laid a piece of treated plywood over top with another couple of blocks on top to keep wind from getting it.

The blocks could be stacked some where out of the way and the plywood kept somewhere else when not in use.

He had made the base large enough that the generator could be pulled out and fueled easily. His was gas.

Seemed to work well but we never had hurricane winds.

1. What voltage are you talking about? Are you running a 240V cord to an interlock on your panel or are you running 120V cords to your appliances?

2. Are you buying off-the-shelf assembled cords or trying to make them up yourself.

Any 240V cord you buy off the shelf with 30A connectors will have minimum #10 AWG wire anyway, as that’s the smallest wire size for a 30A breaker. And at 240/220V, #10 wire is plenty big enough to get you 100 feet with minimal voltage drop. That’s assuming you can even find a 100’ 240V assembled cord anywhere.

If you’re running individual 120V cords to your appliances, they’re only going to be rated for either 15 or 20 amps anyway. Your generator probably only has 15A 120V plugs. Most “heavy duty” 100’ 120V extension cords will probably have #12 wire, which again should be fine for that application. I would not buy a 100’ extension cord with #14 or #16 wire (usually labeled as “light duty” or “medium duty”, but not always) if you’re planning on loading it up.

If, on the other hand, you’re planning on doing something like making your own suicide cord without knowing anything about voltage drop calcs.. all I will say is “good luck.”

Get 8/3, you will have two hots, a neutral, and a ground.

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Get 8/3, you will have two hots, a neutral, and a ground.

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With SO cord that would be 8/4. I’d hate to see this guy spend $200 on a piece of 8/3 he can’t use

They sell a bunch of covers you can use. Just about anything such as 4 saw horses plywood and something heavy to hold it down. Just keep the sides open so it doesn’t overheat or shut off due to carbon monoxide.

Personally my ryobi 6500 sits in the middle of my back yard getting rained on.

As far as length, you can buy the rv cords which I would trust could support what you want.

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I would use up to 100’ 10/4 SO

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And get the wire at an electric supply house and not HomeDepot or Lowe’s. Unless you like just wasting a lot of money.