Thread: Damned power cords!

WW I am no sparky but the original lead if it has done as you say sounds like it has over heated at some stage. What your asking about the other plugs being fitted is dangerous. They can come loose to easy, fill with dirt and dust. Besides designers may not have considered it.

I do tend to agree leads are often to short requiring an extention to be used often plugged into a power board.

Maybe you should have bought the De-walt battery range instead

A good argument for a shed full of cordless gear.

Originally Posted by wheelinround

WW I am no sparky but the original lead if it has done as you say sounds like it has over heated at some stage.

The lead was like this straight out of the box.

Originally Posted by wheelinround

Maybe you should have bought the De-walt battery range instead

Do they make a cordless ROS? I doubt if I would buy yellow again.

Originally Posted by Woodwould

The lead was like this straight out of the box.


Do they make a cordless ROS? I doubt if I would buy yellow again.

Nah take it back

I thought they did WW I was sure but I checked sites and can't find one.

I know last year they had so many recalls on many of their products for saftey issues it was not funny

Woodwould, I am a sparky and that's a bloody good idea.
I'm not sure you can get a suitable 'socket' (it's actually a plug, male pins) to suit a cord but you could purchase a 0.5m extension, cut the socket off and fit the plug to the power tool.
Ideally it would be good to have some sort of retaining clip/lock (Festool style) but the plug/socket is fully shrouded and they generally fit pretty tightly.

Taking this further, a coiled/extendable socket over the workbench and just plug in whichever tool you are using.

It would be irresponsible of me to not tell you to have a sparky fit the leads to your power tools

Edit: Note and Warning, may invalidate warranty. But all my tools are out of warranty anyway so ...meh

Originally Posted by NCArcher

Woodwould, I am a sparky and that's a bloody good idea.
I'm not sure you can get a suitable 'socket' (it's actually a plug, male pins) to suit a cord but you could purchase a 0.5m extension, cut the socket off and fit the plug to the power tool.

That's exactly what I was thinking of doing; they're only $4.95. If I knew of a tame local sparky, I'd ask him to wire the lead in for me, but I don't, so...

Warranty? If this thing fries, I'd have no hesitation in throwing it in the bin. They are horrid tools.

My power tool service guy usually fits a better quality lead for me for about $30.00. I've had to do that with a couple of Dewalt tools and a couple of other brands as well.

Have the same trouble with my Makita drill. It's been a long time since I could be bothered to put it back in the moulded plastic carry case. I get the impression that the case was manufactured to the drill dimensions but the designer never saw a drill with cord attached. Unless of course he worked in a very hot office.
Cheers,
Jim

Rub lanolin on the plastic lead covering?

Of course, if you bought Festool you wouldn't have this problem.....

Mind you, if you bought Festool you'd have other problems instead, like a bank account that makes hollow, empty noises when you tap it

The Festool mains lead system is great, but the way they have implemented it points up one problem with generic IEC leads - they are not captive, and it doesn't take much tension to pull them out. Festool has a removable lead with twist lock instead.

The standard Festool leads are nice and flexible, and they even make a urethane sheathed version for better abrasion resistance, etc.

I haven't looked, but surely there must be a design of in-line mains plug/socket that has a locking facility (either by twisting or a locking tab)??

Woodwould, I reckon the best solution is to replace the cord, especially if the tool does the job. You may also find it handy to put a short lead and plug on it and hang an extension from the roof so the cord is held up and out of your way. Eventually I would like a boom arm with compressed air, vac hose and power that I can swing around the shop and keep those things off the floor.

Originally Posted by Mr Brush

I haven't looked, but surely there must be a design of in-line mains plug/socket that has a locking facility (either by twisting or a locking tab)??

So what's wrong with cable ties, duct tape or fencing wire??

Or yes, as per Groggy, complete new cord; but there can be diff length wires inside, specific clamping block etc. I'm happy to butcher these things but always have the prospect of an insurance assessor lurking in the back of the mind.

I'm sure there are some nice mil-spec lockable in-line connectors, but a pair of them would undoubtedly cost more than a replacement cordless sander.

If the IEC connectors on the back of my puter are anything to go on, they'd be plenty secure enough for hanging off the back of a sander. If I can find a local electrician/tool repairer, I'll run it all by him, otherwise, I think you're right Groggy, I'll just replace the lead with a similarly rated but more supple alternative.

If you want to give it a go, this should be what you want. $3.99 each in 1 off quantities.

They used to have a very flexible silicon insulated mains cord but don't seem to list it anymore.