Widget for joining 3-core mains flex

[Jamie]

Coleman wrote:

On 01 Jun 2007, Homer J Simpson <nobody@nowhere.com> wrote:


"Coleman" <no@no-email.com> wrote in message
news:Xns99425BB8D990071F3M4@127.0.0.1...


I usually extend the mains flex by soldering but the finished join
is too bulky when winding the flex or pulling it around a corner.


If the flex goes round a indoor doorpost and I pull the flex then I
am not putting much strain on it at all.


Then you are dangerous beyond belief. You cannot do this - it
violates UK regulations.

You must add a socket and a plug to connect the two cables.



I will have to live in sin then!



Any other joining method will result in potential loss of fire
insurance and possible prosecution.




Buy a longer cable or use a plug and socket.

Why do you need such a long cable?



The cable on my fan heater is about 4 to 5 foot and is too short to
be used whre I want it to be.

I want it to extend it to about 10 foot.

Hey, are you related to the Coleman company? I just bought

a 21 volt cordless drill from Coleman.?

P.S.
Can some one tell me what a flex is?

--
"I'm never wrong, once i thought i was, but was mistaken"
Real Programmers Do things like this.
http://webpages.charter.net/jamie_5

 

[Michael A. Terrell]

Jamie wrote:

Hey, are you related to the Coleman company? I just bought
a 21 volt cordless drill from Coleman.?

Coleman is an old AMERICAN company that made gasoline lanterns and
camping gear. Good luck with that drill. I was given several new 18 and
19.2 volt Coleman Powermate drills, along with eight batteries. The
piece of crap doesn't have enough torque to do much, and one snapped the
steel shank that connects the chuck to the gearbox. The other was
shipped without a wire from the PWM board, to one side of the trigger.
I fixed it, and made one complete set out of the pile of parts. I
couldn't even give it away. A $9 drill from Harbor Freight works a
WHOLE lot better.

P.S.
Can some one tell me what a flex is?

Are you really that dense? It is a British term for flexible line
cords. It has been discussed countless times on the electronics and
electrical engineering newsgroups.


--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

 

[Jamie]

Michael A. Terrell wrote:

Jamie wrote:


Hey, are you related to the Coleman company? I just bought
a 21 volt cordless drill from Coleman.?



Coleman is an old AMERICAN company that made gasoline lanterns and
camping gear. Good luck with that drill. I was given several new 18 and
19.2 volt Coleman Powermate drills, along with eight batteries. The
piece of crap doesn't have enough torque to do much, and one snapped the
steel shank that connects the chuck to the gearbox. The other was
shipped without a wire from the PWM board, to one side of the trigger.
I fixed it, and made one complete set out of the pile of parts. I
couldn't even give it away. A $9 drill from Harbor Freight works a
WHOLE lot better.



P.S.
Can some one tell me what a flex is?



Are you really that dense? It is a British term for flexible line
cords. It has been discussed countless times on the electronics and
electrical engineering newsgroups.


well, I'm not British and I have never heard of the term "FLEX"..

Here we have different names, maybe not the correct name but different
never the less.

SJO, Rubber cord, zip cord, curly cord and yes FLexible cord I can
comprehend, but when using the terms "FLEX" with out cord or what ever
afterwards kind of throws me. For all I know you could have been talking
about "GreenField", BX, BC, Seal Tight, what ever....


--
"I'm never wrong, once i thought i was, but was mistaken"
Real Programmers Do things like this.
http://webpages.charter.net/jamie_5

 

[Huge]

On 2007-06-01, Palindrome <me9@privacy.net> wrote:

I would suggest that soldered joints covered with normal heat shrink and
insulating tape, "lack tensile strength, abrasion resistance, general
robustness, spillproofness (they can make a small spill live), good
insulation, petproofness & small childproofness."

Methinks you worry overmuch. I've been doing this for years, although
it's solder, adhesive heatshrink (don't forget to put it on *before*
soldering the joint), more adhesive heatshrink over the whole thing
then insulating tape. OK, it isn't that bendy or pretty, but it'll
go on a drum and I've never, ever, had a joint fail, and there's one in
the lead for my big mains drill.


--
"If only I had known, I should have become a watchmaker." ~ Albert Einstein
[email me at huge {at} huge (dot) org <dot> uk]

 

[Huge]

On 2007-06-01, Homer J Simpson <nobody@nowhere.com> wrote:

"Coleman" <no@no-email.com> wrote in message
news:Xns99425BB8D990071F3M4@127.0.0.1...

I usually extend the mains flex by soldering but the finished join is
too bulky when winding the flex or pulling it around a corner.

Then you are dangerous beyond belief. You cannot do this - it violates UK
regulations.

You must add a socket and a plug to connect the two cables.

Any other joining method will result in potential loss of fire insurance and
possible prosecution.

Jesus Christ, do you drive? You're about 300 times more likely to
die in a car crash. Get a grip.


--
"If only I had known, I should have become a watchmaker." ~ Albert Einstein
[email me at huge {at} huge (dot) org <dot> uk]

 

[Huge]

On 2007-06-02, Andrew Gabriel <andrew@cucumber.demon.co.uk> wrote:

In article <4eec9119ecdave@davenoise.co.uk>,
"Dave Plowman (News)" <dave@davenoise.co.uk> writes:

Maybe. But most garden tools have a plug/socket arrangement at the
appliance to make lead changing easy.

That's a safety break, for many reasons.
If you drop something like a hedge trimmer, it won't be left
dangling around your nuts on the cord looped over your
shoulder.

My recently purchased Bosch trimmer, although it had the inconvenient
"needs 2 hands" feature (the reason God created gaffer tape) did not
have a plug/socket, making it inconvenient to store. I fitted one.


--
"If only I had known, I should have become a watchmaker." ~ Albert Einstein
[email me at huge {at} huge (dot) org <dot> uk]

 

[Palindrome]

Huge wrote:

On 2007-06-01, Palindrome <me9@privacy.net> wrote:


I would suggest that soldered joints covered with normal heat shrink and
insulating tape, "lack tensile strength, abrasion resistance, general
robustness, spillproofness (they can make a small spill live), good
insulation, petproofness & small childproofness."


Methinks you worry overmuch. I've been doing this for years, although
it's solder, adhesive heatshrink (don't forget to put it on *before*
soldering the joint), more adhesive heatshrink over the whole thing
then insulating tape. OK, it isn't that bendy or pretty, but it'll
go on a drum and I've never, ever, had a joint fail, and there's one in
the lead for my big mains drill.

I did write "normal" - which you too seem to think is inadequate, as you
use adhesive heatshrink.

Whether it will go on the drum neatly depends on the size of the cable
and the drum.

I've used similar techniques to the one you mention where cable
replacement was impractical, eg re-joining the command and power cable
of a tethered submersible. That has been good enough to survive a few
weeks of fairly deep salt water immersion, etc. But the repair only ever
lasted a few weeks, no matter how carefully it was done. The cable alarm
would inevitably sound and the fault was inevitably at the join.. So no
way was it as good as the original cable, unjoined.

--
Sue

 

[Andrew Gabriel]

In article <f3rnv0$3gj$8@apophis.demon.co.uk>,
Huge <Huge@nowhere.much.invalid> writes:

On 2007-06-02, Andrew Gabriel <andrew@cucumber.demon.co.uk> wrote:
In article <4eec9119ecdave@davenoise.co.uk>,
"Dave Plowman (News)" <dave@davenoise.co.uk> writes:

Maybe. But most garden tools have a plug/socket arrangement at the
appliance to make lead changing easy.

That's a safety break, for many reasons.
If you drop something like a hedge trimmer, it won't be left
dangling around your nuts on the cord looped over your
shoulder.

My recently purchased Bosch trimmer, although it had the inconvenient
"needs 2 hands" feature (the reason God created gaffer tape) did not
have a plug/socket, making it inconvenient to store. I fitted one.

I don't know if the safety break was a regulatory requirement,
although it was pretty universal. Does your Bosch have active
breaking (stops dead when you release the handle)? I guess that
would do the same thing, although the active breaking on two
lawnmowers I have both stopped working after a couple of years,
and now the blades just spin down under their own momentum when
the trigger is released.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

 

[Coleman]

On 03 Jun 2007, Homer J Simpson <nobody@nowhere.com> wrote:

"Coleman" <no@no-email.com> wrote in message
news:Xns9943CECC3190671F3M4@127.0.0.1...

Why do you need such a long cable?

The cable on my fan heater is about 4 to 5 foot and is too short to
be used whre I want it to be.

I want it to extend it to about 10 foot.

Then a regular extension cord will work fine.

Yes it will but it s clumsy and inconvenient to get out each time!

 

[Coleman]

On 02 Jun 2007, Huge <Huge@nowhere.much.invalid> wrote:

On 2007-06-01, Palindrome <me9@privacy.net> wrote:

I would suggest that soldered joints covered with normal heat
shrink and insulating tape, "lack tensile strength, abrasion
resistance, general robustness, spillproofness (they can make a
small spill live), good insulation, petproofness & small
childproofness."

Methinks you worry overmuch. I've been doing this for years,
although it's solder, adhesive heatshrink (don't forget to put it
on *before* soldering the joint), more adhesive heatshrink over the
whole thing then insulating tape. OK, it isn't that bendy or
pretty, but it'll go on a drum and I've never, ever, had a joint
fail, and there's one in the lead for my big mains drill.

I have been doing it for years too (without the heatshrink).

I am genuinely quite surprised that there are so many posts worrying
quite deeply about safety.

Of course what I want to do is less good than having a single piece of
flex. But this is not exactly HIGH risk in the circumstances I want to
use it the appliances in.

 

[Eeyore]

Andrew Gabriel wrote:

Does your Bosch have active breaking (stops dead when you release the handle)?

That would be active braking.

break =/= brake

Graham

 

[Palindrome]

Eeyore wrote:

Andrew Gabriel wrote:


Does your Bosch have active breaking (stops dead when you release the handle)?


That would be active braking.

break =/= brake

Judging from his words, in Andrew's case it does appear that the brake

had been actively breaking...

--
Sue

 

[Owain]

Coleman wrote:

The cable on my fan heater is about 4 to 5 foot and is too short to
be used whre I want it to be.
Then a regular extension cord will work fine.
Yes it will but it s clumsy and inconvenient to get out each time!

Then stop bodging things and install a proper, permanent socket where it
is needed.

Owain

 

[Lurch]

On Sat, 02 Jun 2007 20:21:07 +0100, Coleman <no@no-email.com> mused:

On 02 Jun 2007, Palindrome <me9@privacy.net> wrote:

meow2222@care2.com wrote:
On 2 Jun, 02:02, "Homer J Simpson" <nob...@nowhere.com> wrote:

"Palindrome" <m...@privacy.net> wrote in message

news:js08i.234053$MW1.21635@fe03.news.easynews.com...


You can buy Permanent Mains Flex Connectors that don't involve
plugs and sockets, eg
http://www.maplin.co.uk/images/Full/VJ81C_VJ82D.jpg

"Waterproof" versions are also available, for outdoor use.


These are frowned on in many jurisdictions, however if they are
approved in the UK then they can be used there.


Whats the problem with them? Ours all have cord grips.


In the UK portable equipment has to be provided with a fitted plug
- in recognition of the fact that many people were incapable of
correctly fitting (and fusing) one themselves.

So, what are the chances that one of those will correctly choose
and wire one of the above? Or use a non-rugged one outdoors, drag
it around corners, let it fall into a bucket of water, etc?

Many (most?) do not have anything to limit the bending radius of
the cables at the point of entry close to the fixed cord grip. So
strands of the cores break, leading to the risk of fire, failure,
etc.

Few are vapour-tight or even water-tight. As the are often dragged
around through damp grass, left in the shed, etc - there is a real
risk of corrosion..

Bear in mind that a typical application is to "repair" an electric
garden tool - where the user has cut the cable...


Replacing the two cables with a single, contiguous, one is by far
the best solution.


It is the best but sometimes it is too long a job to open up the
appliance and to attach the new flex cores because of the way user-
unfriendly way in which the appliance has been designed.

Make the join at the end near to the appliance so it's not dragged
around corners all the time.
--
Regards,
Stuart.

 

[Homer J Simpson]

"Huge" <Huge@nowhere.much.invalid> wrote in message
news:f3rm0v$2ti$8@apophis.demon.co.uk...

Any other joining method will result in potential loss of fire insurance
and
possible prosecution.

Jesus Christ, do you drive? You're about 300 times more likely to
die in a car crash. Get a grip.

You are a dickhead. What part of "I'm sorry sir. Due to your haphazard
electrical 'repairs' your insurance does not cover the total loss of your
home" did you fail to understand?


--
..

--
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..

--

 

[Dave Plowman (News)]

In article <x6M8i.75197$g63.48816@edtnps82>,
Homer J Simpson <nobody@nowhere.com> wrote:

You are a dickhead. What part of "I'm sorry sir. Due to your haphazard
electrical 'repairs' your insurance does not cover the total loss of
your home" did you fail to understand?

Can you give some examples of this in the UK? It would be very difficult
to prove in a court of law.

--
*I love cats...they taste just like chicken.

Dave Plowman dave@davenoise.co.uk London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

 

[Huge]

On 2007-06-03, Andrew Gabriel <andrew@cucumber.demon.co.uk> wrote:

In article <f3rnv0$3gj$8@apophis.demon.co.uk>,
Huge <Huge@nowhere.much.invalid> writes:
On 2007-06-02, Andrew Gabriel <andrew@cucumber.demon.co.uk> wrote:
In article <4eec9119ecdave@davenoise.co.uk>,
"Dave Plowman (News)" <dave@davenoise.co.uk> writes:

Maybe. But most garden tools have a plug/socket arrangement at the
appliance to make lead changing easy.

That's a safety break, for many reasons.
If you drop something like a hedge trimmer, it won't be left
dangling around your nuts on the cord looped over your
shoulder.

My recently purchased Bosch trimmer, although it had the inconvenient
"needs 2 hands" feature (the reason God created gaffer tape) did not
have a plug/socket, making it inconvenient to store. I fitted one.

I don't know if the safety break was a regulatory requirement,
although it was pretty universal. Does your Bosch have active
breaking (stops dead when you release the handle)?

Yes.




--
"If only I had known, I should have become a watchmaker." ~ Albert Einstein
[email me at huge {at} huge (dot) org <dot> uk]

 

[Andrew Gabriel]

In article <4eed9c81efdave@davenoise.co.uk>,
"Dave Plowman (News)" <dave@davenoise.co.uk> writes:

In article <x6M8i.75197$g63.48816@edtnps82>,
Homer J Simpson <nobody@nowhere.com> wrote:
You are a dickhead. What part of "I'm sorry sir. Due to your haphazard
electrical 'repairs' your insurance does not cover the total loss of
your home" did you fail to understand?

Can you give some examples of this in the UK? It would be very difficult
to prove in a court of law.

Not sure that's relevant -- I've never seen a [UK] policy which
excludes this anyway. Actually, policies often explicitly include
cover for DIY accidents.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

 

[Alex Coleman]

On 03 Jun 2007, Owain <owain47125@stirlingcity.coo.uk> wrote:

Coleman wrote:
[...]

Then stop bodging things and install a proper, permanent socket
where it is needed.

Owain

Bit drastic?

 

[MikeC]

"Alex Coleman" <no@no-email.com> wrote in message
news:Xns9949BC38CC60671F3M4@127.0.0.1...

On 03 Jun 2007, Owain <owain47125@stirlingcity.coo.uk> wrote:

Coleman wrote:
[...]

Then stop bodging things and install a proper, permanent socket
where it is needed.

Owain


Bit drastic?

I didn't see the beginning of this thread, but a technique that I frequently
use when joining wires is as follows. Look at the diagrams in Courier New
font, or they won't make much sense.

-------------- -------------------
Cable +---- wire_1 --------------------+ Cable
sheath +----------- wire_2 -------------+ sheath
+-------------------- wire_3 ----+
-------------- ---------------------

Firstly, strip a piece of the outer cable sheath off and put it to one side
to use later.
Then cut the wires as shown in the diagram. Bare the ends of the wires, and
solder the two ends of wire_1 together, and the same for the other wires.
Because the wires were cut to different lengths in this way, the soldered
joints are not close to each other, and cannot short together.

Now take the piece of sheath that you put to one side, slit it down the
side, and put it over the new joints. At this point, the cable should look
almost as if it had never been worked on.

-------------- ------------------------------------------------- -------------------
Cable | This is the piece of sheath that you | Cable
sheath | kept to one side, now used to | sheath
| cover the joint |
-------------- ------------------------------------------------- ---------------------

Now wind some electrician's tape around the full length of the sheath that
you have inserted, and an inch or so beyond each end. Better still would be
if you had slipped a piece of heat-shrink tubing over the wire before
soldering it together. The heat-shrink tubing should be about two inches
longer than the piece of sheathing you used to cover the joints.
_________________________________________________________________
---------/ / / / / / /
/-----------
/ / / Taped up with electrician's tape / /
----/ / / / / /
/____
/ / / / / / /
/
----------/_________________________________________________________________/------------

I have used the same technique on multi-wire cable - most recently on an
Ethernet cable that I had to cut to get through a small hole, then join
together again, because I didn't have the tool to put the connector back on.
In this case, with 8 wires, the total length of the connection was about 4
inches.

MikeC