Electric cord falls off of mower, wacker
 

My electric cord falls off of lawn mower. It always did this once in a
while but it's gotten much worse. It also falls off of my weed
wacker.

Any helpful suggestions?

In both cases, I use the provided gizmo to hold the cord, and they
work, but the 6 inches of cord or more between the gizmo and 2
electric prongs is enough to make the cord fall out or off.

I'm using a 75' orange electric cord with one 3-prong receptacle on
the end. The mower and weed wacker are both Black and Decker, ten or
more years old.

The prongs in each case are one layer of metal, so I can't open them
like with two-layer prongs. With other things, I would bend one
prong away from the other, and that usually worked, but it hasn't
here. If I bend too far apart, I can't plug the thing in at all.
OTOH, I"ve never had success bending prongs closer to each other.

With the lawn mower, its prongs face alsmost down, so gravity alone
does most of the pulling on the cord. It used to last 10 minutes or
more, but now it's often as short as a minute or two until it falls
out. . The end of the cord is warmer than it should be.

With the weedwacker, the prongs are horizontal, the gizmo into which
a loop of the cord is inserted is right below the prongs, and every 10
minutes or so, the cord works far enough away from all the way in that
it doesn't make contact electrically.

Thanks.

Electric cord falls off of mower, wacker
 

It sounds like the socket is opening up. The legal option is replace cord.
The old fashioned answer is to cut the end off, and put a new socket on.

In between answer might be to buy a short cord, plug that into your 75. And
then use the short cord from the 75 to the appliance. Replace short cord
when it loosens up.

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

"micky" wrote in message
...
My electric cord falls off of lawn mower. It always did this once in a
while but it's gotten much worse. It also falls off of my weed
wacker.

Any helpful suggestions?

In both cases, I use the provided gizmo to hold the cord, and they
work, but the 6 inches of cord or more between the gizmo and 2
electric prongs is enough to make the cord fall out or off.

I'm using a 75' orange electric cord with one 3-prong receptacle on
the end. The mower and weed wacker are both Black and Decker, ten or
more years old.

The prongs in each case are one layer of metal, so I can't open them
like with two-layer prongs. With other things, I would bend one
prong away from the other, and that usually worked, but it hasn't
here. If I bend too far apart, I can't plug the thing in at all.
OTOH, I"ve never had success bending prongs closer to each other.

With the lawn mower, its prongs face alsmost down, so gravity alone
does most of the pulling on the cord. It used to last 10 minutes or
more, but now it's often as short as a minute or two until it falls
out. . The end of the cord is warmer than it should be.

With the weedwacker, the prongs are horizontal, the gizmo into which
a loop of the cord is inserted is right below the prongs, and every 10
minutes or so, the cord works far enough away from all the way in that
it doesn't make contact electrically.

Thanks.

Electric cord falls off of mower, wacker
 

On Sun, 13 May 2012 17:49:35 -0400, micky
wrote:

My electric cord falls off of lawn mower. It always did this once in a
while but it's gotten much worse. It also falls off of my weed
wacker.

Any helpful suggestions?


There was a thread on this subject a few weeks back.

Tie the two cords in a knot and them plug them in.
Buy a cord with a lock made to prevent this
Bend the prongs in slightly, just enough to give them some tension.

It may also be possible to wrap the cord around the handle once or
twice to take the strain off the plug.

Electric cord falls off of mower, wacker
 

On 5/13/2012 6:02 PM, Stormin Mormon wrote:
It sounds like the socket is opening up. The legal option is replace cord.
The old fashioned answer is to cut the end off, and put a new socket on.


Are you implying that replacing the socket is not legal?

Electric cord falls off of mower, wacker
 

On 05/13/2012 07:23 PM, Kevin O. Conner wrote:
On 5/13/2012 6:02 PM, Stormin Mormon wrote:
It sounds like the socket is opening up. The legal option is replace
cord.
The old fashioned answer is to cut the end off, and put a new socket on.


Are you implying that replacing the socket is not legal?

If you're using it on a job site, no it is not. I ASSume that it is
still legal to do so for personal use. (I've actually got at least one
really nice cord that way.)

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

Electric cord falls off of mower, wacker
 

On Sun, 13 May 2012 19:38:23 -0400, Nate Nagel
wrote:

On 05/13/2012 07:23 PM, Kevin O. Conner wrote:
On 5/13/2012 6:02 PM, Stormin Mormon wrote:
It sounds like the socket is opening up. The legal option is replace
cord.
The old fashioned answer is to cut the end off, and put a new socket on.


Are you implying that replacing the socket is not legal?

If you're using it on a job site, no it is not. I ASSume that it is
still legal to do so for personal use. (I've actually got at least one
really nice cord that way.)

nate
Are you saying an "assembled" cord is no longer legal on a job
site?????? And the crappy pre-made useless Chinese crap can legally be
used????

Electric cord falls off of mower, wacker
 

On 5/13/12 4:49 PM, micky wrote:
My electric cord falls off of lawn mower. It always did this once in a
while but it's gotten much worse. It also falls off of my weed
wacker.

Any helpful suggestions?

In both cases, I use the provided gizmo to hold the cord, and they
work, but the 6 inches of cord or more between the gizmo and 2
electric prongs is enough to make the cord fall out or off.

I'm using a 75' orange electric cord with one 3-prong receptacle on
the end. The mower and weed wacker are both Black and Decker, ten or
more years old.

The prongs in each case are one layer of metal, so I can't open them
like with two-layer prongs. With other things, I would bend one
prong away from the other, and that usually worked, but it hasn't
here. If I bend too far apart, I can't plug the thing in at all.
OTOH, I"ve never had success bending prongs closer to each other.

With the lawn mower, its prongs face alsmost down, so gravity alone
does most of the pulling on the cord. It used to last 10 minutes or
more, but now it's often as short as a minute or two until it falls
out. . The end of the cord is warmer than it should be.

With the weedwacker, the prongs are horizontal, the gizmo into which
a loop of the cord is inserted is right below the prongs, and every 10
minutes or so, the cord works far enough away from all the way in that
it doesn't make contact electrically.

Thanks.

Duct(k) tape? Electrical tape? Could you use some sort of glue
to permanently fasten the cords to the devices?

Electric cord falls off of mower, wacker
 

Years ago, someone sent me a link. I can't remember what TLA, but it's
illegal for business to patch and tape or splice and tape extension cords.

Might not apply to residential users.

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

"Kevin O. Conner" wrote in message
b.com...
On 5/13/2012 6:02 PM, Stormin Mormon wrote:
It sounds like the socket is opening up. The legal option is replace cord.
The old fashioned answer is to cut the end off, and put a new socket on.


Are you implying that replacing the socket is not legal?

Electric cord falls off of mower, wacker
 

I did a startpage search, the TLA is OSHA, which would make it a FLA. In
any case, OSHA dot gov, and the web page has several mentions of extension
cords.

Our founding Fathers had a fit over a tax stamp on news papers. I wonder
what they would say if they could see the Federal Government writing pages
of regulations on extension cords? What's next? Regulations on water flow of
toilets?

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

"Nate Nagel"
wrote in message ...


Are you implying that replacing the socket is not legal?

If you're using it on a job site, no it is not. I ASSume that it is
still legal to do so for personal use. (I've actually got at least one
really nice cord that way.)

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

Electric cord falls off of mower, wacker
 

On Sun, 13 May 2012 22:07:22 -0400, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:

Years ago, someone sent me a link. I can't remember what TLA, but it's
illegal for business to patch and tape or splice and tape extension cords.

Might not apply to residential users.

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.

"Kevin O. Conner" wrote in message
eb.com...
On 5/13/2012 6:02 PM, Stormin Mormon wrote:
It sounds like the socket is opening up. The legal option is replace cord.
The old fashioned answer is to cut the end off, and put a new socket on.


Are you implying that replacing the socket is not legal?

Spliced cords and taped cords are illegal for on-the-job use -
assembled cords are not. Put a good set of Hubbel ends on a length of
tech cable and you have a legal extention cord.
Nick the jacket anywhere and tape it, and you have an illegal
extention cord. Cut the damaged cord in half at the damage and install
another set of cord ends and you have 2 legal short extention cords.

Electric cord falls off of mower, wacker
 

On Sun, 13 May 2012 17:49:35 -0400, micky
wrote:

My electric cord falls off of lawn mower. It always did this once in a
while but it's gotten much worse. It also falls off of my weed
wacker.

Any helpful suggestions?

In both cases, I use the provided gizmo to hold the cord, and they
work, but the 6 inches of cord or more between the gizmo and 2
electric prongs is enough to make the cord fall out or off.

I'm using a 75' orange electric cord with one 3-prong receptacle on
the end. The mower and weed wacker are both Black and Decker, ten or
more years old.

The prongs in each case are one layer of metal, so I can't open them
like with two-layer prongs. With other things, I would bend one
prong away from the other, and that usually worked, but it hasn't
here. If I bend too far apart, I can't plug the thing in at all.
OTOH, I"ve never had success bending prongs closer to each other.

With the lawn mower, its prongs face alsmost down, so gravity alone
does most of the pulling on the cord. It used to last 10 minutes or
more, but now it's often as short as a minute or two until it falls
out. . The end of the cord is warmer than it should be.

With the weedwacker, the prongs are horizontal, the gizmo into which
a loop of the cord is inserted is right below the prongs, and every 10
minutes or so, the cord works far enough away from all the way in that
it doesn't make contact electrically.

Thanks.

Get a pack of those reusable tie wraps. Attach the cord to the handle
or frame, then plug it in. Duct tape helps too, but then you'll have to
keep removing it.

I also did this once. Put a little solder on the prongs, but use a
soldering gun and do it quick so you dont melt the plug. File the
solder if it's bumpy. You only want to add a little thickness.

Electric cord falls off of mower, wacker
 

On Sun, 13 May 2012 20:22:27 -0500, Dean Hoffman
" wrote:

On 5/13/12 4:49 PM, micky wrote:
My electric cord falls off of lawn mower. It always did this once in a
while but it's gotten much worse. It also falls off of my weed
wacker.

Any helpful suggestions?

In both cases, I use the provided gizmo to hold the cord, and they
work, but the 6 inches of cord or more between the gizmo and 2
electric prongs is enough to make the cord fall out or off.

I'm using a 75' orange electric cord with one 3-prong receptacle on
the end. The mower and weed wacker are both Black and Decker, ten or
more years old.

The prongs in each case are one layer of metal, so I can't open them
like with two-layer prongs. With other things, I would bend one
prong away from the other, and that usually worked, but it hasn't
here. If I bend too far apart, I can't plug the thing in at all.
OTOH, I"ve never had success bending prongs closer to each other.

With the lawn mower, its prongs face alsmost down, so gravity alone
does most of the pulling on the cord. It used to last 10 minutes or
more, but now it's often as short as a minute or two until it falls
out. . The end of the cord is warmer than it should be.

With the weedwacker, the prongs are horizontal, the gizmo into which
a loop of the cord is inserted is right below the prongs, and every 10
minutes or so, the cord works far enough away from all the way in that
it doesn't make contact electrically.

Thanks.

Duct(k) tape? Electrical tape? Could you use some sort of glue
to permanently fasten the cords to the devices?

Actually he could glue or tape a short 2 or 3 ft. cord on. Then use one
of those cord holders to attach the short cord to the 75 footer.

Electric cord falls off of mower, wacker
 

On 05/13/2012 04:49 PM, micky wrote:
My electric cord falls off of lawn mower. It always did this once in a
while but it's gotten much worse. It also falls off of my weed
wacker.

Any helpful suggestions?

I once had a long cord with a locking device (in the female end) that
fit through the holes in the prongs. I wish I could find one like that
now. It worked well for stuff like that.

--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us

"Theology: The study of elaborate verbal disguises for non-ideas."

Electric cord falls off of mower, wacker
 

On Mon, 14 May 2012 11:05:42 -0500, Mark Lloyd
wrote:

On 05/13/2012 04:49 PM, micky wrote:
My electric cord falls off of lawn mower. It always did this once in a
while but it's gotten much worse. It also falls off of my weed
wacker.

Any helpful suggestions?

I once had a long cord with a locking device (in the female end) that
fit through the holes in the prongs. I wish I could find one like that
now. It worked well for stuff like that.


Thanks you all for a bunch of good answers. I think I'm going to
start with Mormon's suggestion of another cord between the tool and
the current cord.

Putting a new end on might work but both the mower and the current
weed wacker expect the cords's end to go an inch into a hole, so I'd
have to check if a new end will fit.**

I"m saving the other ideas for backup.

**(I found or someone gave me a couple devices I couldn't identify.
Had to ask a friend. They have rubber rabbit ears that are to be
strapped on to a cord, a cord with a female end that is too big to fit
in a hole like my lawnmower has, for the prongs. The device plugs
into the cord, and it has a small male end that will surefly fit into
the hole in the mower or weedwacker. So I could use one of those,
but I don't want to have to