Girl next door has sliced her hedge trimmer cable in half. I'd
previously fixed her battery powered door-bell wire with some crimp
connectors and heat-shrink. She thought In could do same with
hedge-trimmer. Ahem.

I know ideally it should be replaced entirely but its 30m of chunky
high quality cable, and every penny counts for her at mo, so any
suggestions for decent connectors or similar?

Simon Cee wrote:

Girl next door has sliced her hedge trimmer cable in half.
any suggestions for decent connectors or similar?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/9790835949

They are nice and rubbery, so take knocks without problems, 3-pin
version available if it's not a double insulated trimmer.

Simon Cee wrote:
Girl next door has sliced her hedge trimmer cable in half. I'd
previously fixed her battery powered door-bell wire with some crimp
connectors and heat-shrink. She thought In could do same with
hedge-trimmer. Ahem.

I know ideally it should be replaced entirely but its 30m of chunky
high quality cable, and every penny counts for her at mo, so any
suggestions for decent connectors or similar?

Similar method should work. offset the crimp joiners by a inch or so and
lay in a short length of stiff wire (coathanger?)to reinforce the joint.
Bind with several layers of self amalgamating tape. to insulate and seal.

"Andy Burns" wrote in message
o.uk...
Simon Cee wrote:

Girl next door has sliced her hedge trimmer cable in half.
any suggestions for decent connectors or similar?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/9790835949

They are nice and rubbery, so take knocks without problems, 3-pin version
available if it's not a double insulated trimmer.



+1

--
Adam

"ARW" wrote in message
...
"Andy Burns" wrote in message
o.uk...
Simon Cee wrote:

Girl next door has sliced her hedge trimmer cable in half.
any suggestions for decent connectors or similar?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/9790835949

They are nice and rubbery, so take knocks without problems, 3-pin version
available if it's not a double insulated trimmer.



+1


Probably best to say that there is a right and wrong way to fit them. You do
not want the male connector on the live lead.

--
Adam

"Andy Burns" wrote in message
o.uk...
Simon Cee wrote:

Girl next door has sliced her hedge trimmer cable in half.
any suggestions for decent connectors or similar?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/9790835949

They are nice and rubbery, so take knocks without problems, 3-pin version
available if it's not a double insulated trimmer.

Or these -
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lawnmower-Pl...ef=pd_cp_diy_2

Many thanks chaps, but...

Pardon my ignorance, but will a RCD work with a 2pin connector? Safe?

On Mon, 11 May 2015 21:30:07 +0100, "ARW"
wrote:


"Andy Burns" wrote in message
o.uk...
Simon Cee wrote:

Girl next door has sliced her hedge trimmer cable in half.
any suggestions for decent connectors or similar?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/9790835949

They are nice and rubbery, so take knocks without problems, 3-pin version
available if it's not a double insulated trimmer.



+1


Probably best to say that there is a right and wrong way to fit them. You do
not want the male connector on the live lead.

And if you are not used to fitting them remember to push the flex
through the hole on the outer cover then slide it out of the way,
before you neatly insert the conductors into the screw terminals
tighten them and then do up the cable grip.

G.Harman

bm wrote:

Andy Burns wrote:

They are nice and rubbery, so take knocks without problems, 3-pin version
available if it's not a double insulated trimmer.

Or these -
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lawnmower-Pl...ef=pd_cp_diy_2

I did mean to say you might find the Duraplugs cheaper elsewhere, beware
some of the other similar ones are hard plastic, not rubber, and also
(yes, I'm looking at you masterplug) a few mm different size so they
won't mate with other connectors if you already have any of them in use
(all my power tools use 2 or 3 pin duraplugs)

wrote in message
...
On Mon, 11 May 2015 21:30:07 +0100, "ARW"
wrote:


"Andy Burns" wrote in message
o.uk...
Simon Cee wrote:

Girl next door has sliced her hedge trimmer cable in half.
any suggestions for decent connectors or similar?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/9790835949

They are nice and rubbery, so take knocks without problems, 3-pin
version
available if it's not a double insulated trimmer.



+1


Probably best to say that there is a right and wrong way to fit them. You
do
not want the male connector on the live lead.

And if you are not used to fitting them remember to push the flex
through the hole on the outer cover then slide it out of the way,
before you neatly insert the conductors into the screw terminals
tighten them and then do up the cable grip.


Not just me then:-)?

--
Adam

Simon Cee wrote:

will a RCD work with a 2pin connector? Safe?

If the appliance is double insulated it will have the
square-within-square icon on it, if it doesn't have the icon, it will
have a 3 pin lead and you'd use the 3-pin connectors.

RCDs don't need an earth wire to work, if the amount of current going
"out" the Live doesn't equal the amount coming "back" via Neutral, some
has been lost and the RCD will trip.

ARW wrote:

wrote:

if you are not used to fitting them remember to push the flex
through the hole on the outer cover then slide it out of the way,
before you neatly insert the conductors into the screw terminals

Not just me then:-)?

Got a stanley knife, ain't you?

"Simon Cee" wrote in message
...
Many thanks chaps, but...

Pardon my ignorance, but will a RCD work with a 2pin connector? Safe?


The RCD will work - depending on the problem.


--
Adam

On 11/05/2015 21:41, Tim Streater wrote:
In article , Bob Minchin
wrote:

Simon Cee wrote:
Girl next door has sliced her hedge trimmer cable in half. I'd
previously fixed her battery powered door-bell wire with some crimp
connectors and heat-shrink. She thought In could do same with
hedge-trimmer. Ahem.

I know ideally it should be replaced entirely but its 30m of chunky
high quality cable, and every penny counts for her at mo, so any
suggestions for decent connectors or similar?

Similar method should work. offset the crimp joiners by a inch or so
and lay in a short length of stiff wire (coathanger?)to reinforce the
joint.
Bind with several layers of self amalgamating tape. to insulate and seal.

Then you can no longer coil the cable.

Don't see why.

My *preferred* method would be to solder, with each conductor protected
by sticky heat shrink, and sticky heat shrink over the top. I don't
think a "stiffener" is necessary in that case. But I've done a lot of
soldering and used a fair bit of heat shrink. If the OP is happy with
crimping, a crimped repair with heat shrink, self amalgamating tape, or
even just ordinary PVC electrical tape wound on with a fair bit of
tension should make a good repair. The duraplug solution will be quicker
and as others have pointed out, if the failure is near the tool this can
be convenient for storage.

For that matter if the failure is within (say) a metre of the tool it is
probably better to rewire the good piece into the tool, and discard the
odd metre. This assumes the OP is happy to dismantle the tool; in the
old days the wire would invariably terminate in normal screw connectors
(like a 13A plug or socket) but these days spade connections or crimps
are sometimes used. But that is really the most elegant solution if the
lost metre is not a problem.

On Mon, 11 May 2015 22:13:04 +0100, Andy Burns
wrote:

ARW wrote:

wrote:

if you are not used to fitting them remember to push the flex
through the hole on the outer cover then slide it out of the way,
before you neatly insert the conductors into the screw terminals

Not just me then:-)?
Fitted loads, still forgot sometimes .

Got a stanley knife, ain't you?

Worked for the standard 3 pin DuraPlugs in the days before they
changed the design, but if you did it to the ones we are talking about
you would need to make a long cut that would mess it right up,could
always wrap in insulation tape I suppose.
Watched my mate get in a right strop once, he forgot the cover while
fitting a joiner version to some cable coming of a drum, which would
be snipped to about 10" long and then that cut end would later be
fitted to a motor.
We could have mentioned it before he did up all the terminals and the
grip but we didn't and watched him undo them then place the flex
through the hole and remake the terminals. At which point I said
"Pete, why didn't you just snip the (18") length off the drum and
slide the cover from that end rather than undo everything.
Miserable sod was quite rude to me.

G.Harman

On 11/05/15 21:58, Simon Cee wrote:
Many thanks chaps, but...

Pardon my ignorance, but will a RCD work with a 2pin connector? Safe?


Yes.

On 11 May 2015, Andy Burns grunted:

Simon Cee wrote:

Girl next door has sliced her hedge trimmer cable in half.
any suggestions for decent connectors or similar?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/9790835949

They are nice and rubbery, so take knocks without problems, 3-pin
version available if it's not a double insulated trimmer.


Why is everyone suggesting a 'plug-and-socket' arrangment for a repair?
When someone (cough) did mine, I repaired it with something along these
lines:
http://www.partmaster.co.uk/image/420/1288430IM/0/z/

--
David

On 11/05/2015 21:34, Tim Streater wrote:
In article , Andy
Burns wrote:

Simon Cee wrote:

Girl next door has sliced her hedge trimmer cable in half.
any suggestions for decent connectors or similar?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/9790835949

They are nice and rubbery, so take knocks without problems, 3-pin
version available if it's not a double insulated trimmer.

+1

Yeah, that's the sort of thing that I used when I, um, sliced my hedge
trimmer cable. Mine may have had a lock type thing too so it clicks in
and doesn't come apart.

Actually it was quite handy since I sliced it near the trimmer. So now
I have a nice 1m cable attached to the trimmer, with a separate
extension cord. Actually makes handling easier.


I've got a hedge trimmer like that. :-)

--
Colin Bignell

On 12/05/2015 08:30, Lobster wrote:
On 11 May 2015, Andy Burns grunted:

Simon Cee wrote:

Girl next door has sliced her hedge trimmer cable in half.
any suggestions for decent connectors or similar?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/9790835949

They are nice and rubbery, so take knocks without problems, 3-pin
version available if it's not a double insulated trimmer.


Why is everyone suggesting a 'plug-and-socket' arrangment for a repair?
When someone (cough) did mine, I repaired it with something along these
lines:
http://www.partmaster.co.uk/image/420/1288430IM/0/z/


Is that IP44 rated, which the Duraplug connector is?

--
Colin Bignell

When you say in half, it really depends on whether the connector is going to
be used to support the cable etc. Personally, I'd not risk such a repair.
There are supposedly garden safe connectors about to lengthen cables. You
pays yer money and takes your chances.
Brian

--
From the Sofa of Brian Gaff Reply address is active
"Simon Cee" wrote in message
...
Girl next door has sliced her hedge trimmer cable in half. I'd
previously fixed her battery powered door-bell wire with some crimp
connectors and heat-shrink. She thought In could do same with
hedge-trimmer. Ahem.

I know ideally it should be replaced entirely but its 30m of chunky
high quality cable, and every penny counts for her at mo, so any
suggestions for decent connectors or similar?

On 11/05/2015 21:34, Tim Streater wrote:

I have a nice 1m cable attached to the trimmer, with a separate
extension cord. Actually makes handling easier.

When I had a hedge, the trimmer came like that.
The lawnmower is like that now (came with meters of cable wrapped around
the handles. I cut all that away and made it so there was a yard or so
of flex attached to the mower then a connector which attaches to the
other half of the connector which is itself on the end of the the rest
of the flex [which is coloured orange presumably so it's easy to see in
grass]).

On 2015-05-11, ARW wrote:

"ARW" wrote in message
...
"Andy Burns" wrote in message
o.uk...
Simon Cee wrote:

Girl next door has sliced her hedge trimmer cable in half.
any suggestions for decent connectors or similar?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/9790835949

They are nice and rubbery, so take knocks without problems, 3-pin version
available if it's not a double insulated trimmer.



+1


Probably best to say that there is a right and wrong way to fit them. You do
not want the male connector on the live lead.

I guess it's easy to do the wrong way round if you're in a hurry or
distracted.

In message , Nightjar
writes
On 12/05/2015 08:30, Lobster wrote:
On 11 May 2015, Andy Burns grunted:

Simon Cee wrote:

Girl next door has sliced her hedge trimmer cable in half.
any suggestions for decent connectors or similar?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/9790835949

They are nice and rubbery, so take knocks without problems, 3-pin
version available if it's not a double insulated trimmer.


Why is everyone suggesting a 'plug-and-socket' arrangment for a repair?
When someone (cough) did mine, I repaired it with something along these
lines:
http://www.partmaster.co.uk/image/420/1288430IM/0/z/


Is that IP44 rated, which the Duraplug connector is?

No, i imagine not, but you can get suitable connectors.

However, as others have suggested, using a plug and socket is useful, so
worth just using that instead,


--
Chris French

"Nightjar .me.uk" "cpb"@ insert my surname here wrote in message
news:Bc2dnfwyMqr4L8zInZ2dnUU7-


I've got a hedge trimmer like that. :-)

All DIYers should have a hedge trimmer like that.



--
Adam

wrote in message
...
On Mon, 11 May 2015 22:13:04 +0100, Andy Burns
wrote:

ARW wrote:

wrote:

if you are not used to fitting them remember to push the flex
through the hole on the outer cover then slide it out of the way,
before you neatly insert the conductors into the screw terminals

Not just me then:-)?
Fitted loads, still forgot sometimes .

Got a stanley knife, ain't you?

Worked for the standard 3 pin DuraPlugs in the days before they
changed the design, but if you did it to the ones we are talking about
you would need to make a long cut that would mess it right up,could
always wrap in insulation tape I suppose.


And are you still able to easily loose the nut that holds the cover on?

--
Adam

ARW wrote:
"Nightjar .me.uk" "cpb"@ insert my surname here wrote in message
news:Bc2dnfwyMqr4L8zInZ2dnUU7-


I've got a hedge trimmer like that. :-)

All DIYers should have a hedge trimmer like that.

Even if they haven't got a hedge.

--
Mike Barnes
Cheshire, England

"Mike Barnes" wrote in message
...
ARW wrote:
"Nightjar .me.uk" "cpb"@ insert my surname here wrote in message
news:Bc2dnfwyMqr4L8zInZ2dnUU7-


I've got a hedge trimmer like that. :-)

All DIYers should have a hedge trimmer like that.

Even if they haven't got a hedge.


Why not?

--
Adam

On 11/05/2015 21:14, Andy Burns wrote:
Simon Cee wrote:

Girl next door has sliced her hedge trimmer cable in half.
any suggestions for decent connectors or similar?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/9790835949

They are nice and rubbery, so take knocks without problems, 3-pin
version available if it's not a double insulated trimmer.

On the surface a brilliant idea, precisely what I did when I cut through
the wire on mine.

However a plug and socket arrangement is a nightmare, the slightest tug,
and I do mean slightest, my trimmers stop working and I have to walk a
modest way to replug them together again. In the end they're strung
together.

So I'm not sure if I recommend any inline plug and socket that comes
apart unless they do so getting close to the cable breaking strength!!

Fredxxx wrote:

a plug and socket arrangement is a nightmare, the slightest tug,
and I do mean slightest, my trimmers stop working

I've got duraplugs on all my tools, admittedly I don't own a
hedgetrimmer, but never had any interruption to power even when the
cable is given a yank, a two-handed operation to separate them.

"Andy Burns" wrote in message
o.uk...
Fredxxx wrote:

a plug and socket arrangement is a nightmare, the slightest tug,
and I do mean slightest, my trimmers stop working

I've got duraplugs on all my tools,

Does that include the cordless ones?

admittedly I don't own a hedgetrimmer,

So why do you need the duraplugs:-)?


--
Adam

On 12/05/2015 22:31, Fredxxx wrote:
On 11/05/2015 21:14, Andy Burns wrote:
Simon Cee wrote:

Girl next door has sliced her hedge trimmer cable in half.
any suggestions for decent connectors or similar?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/9790835949

They are nice and rubbery, so take knocks without problems, 3-pin
version available if it's not a double insulated trimmer.

On the surface a brilliant idea, precisely what I did when I cut through
the wire on mine.

However a plug and socket arrangement is a nightmare, the slightest tug,
and I do mean slightest, my trimmers stop working and I have to walk a
modest way to replug them together again. In the end they're strung
together.

So I'm not sure if I recommend any inline plug and socket that comes
apart unless they do so getting close to the cable breaking strength!!

IME, genuine Duraplug inline plugs are difficult to pull apart, even
when you want to.


--
Colin Bignell

Fredxxx wrote:
On 11/05/2015 21:14, Andy Burns wrote:
Simon Cee wrote:

Girl next door has sliced her hedge trimmer cable in half.
any suggestions for decent connectors or similar?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/9790835949

They are nice and rubbery, so take knocks without problems, 3-pin
version available if it's not a double insulated trimmer.

On the surface a brilliant idea, precisely what I did when I cut through
the wire on mine.

However a plug and socket arrangement is a nightmare, the slightest tug,
and I do mean slightest, my trimmers stop working and I have to walk a
modest way to replug them together again. In the end they're strung
together.

In the days when I used a hedge trimmer I twisted the leads together
(like the first half of a reef knot) before connecting them. Yes I lost
a few inches but it was worth it to stop it coming apart. I think it
also reduced snagging.

--
Mike Barnes
Cheshire, England

On 12/05/2015 19:59, Mike Barnes wrote:
ARW wrote:
All DIYers should have a hedge trimmer like that.
Even if they haven't got a hedge.

That's me buggered then .
Gave ours away to next door when I dug the hedge up.

On Tue, 12 May 2015 22:31:39 +0100, Fredxxx wrote:

On 11/05/2015 21:14, Andy Burns wrote:
Simon Cee wrote:

Girl next door has sliced her hedge trimmer cable in half.
any suggestions for decent connectors or similar?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/9790835949

They are nice and rubbery, so take knocks without problems, 3-pin
version available if it's not a double insulated trimmer.

On the surface a brilliant idea, precisely what I did when I cut through
the wire on mine.

However a plug and socket arrangement is a nightmare, the slightest tug,
and I do mean slightest, my trimmers stop working and I have to walk a
modest way to replug them together again. In the end they're strung
together.

So I'm not sure if I recommend any inline plug and socket that comes
apart unless they do so getting close to the cable breaking strength!!

When I cut through my hedge trimmer cable (a black one note!) I fitted
one of these and did the same on all double insulated garden equipment
and availed myself of an orange cable reel that is reserved for garden
use; they never pull apart unintentionally:

http://www.diy.com/departments/bq-or.../193485_BQ.prd

Plastic yes but the parts are up close to the appliances so never come
into contact with hard surfaces and have survived considerable use ...
and they are very low cost.

In message , Fredxxx
writes
On 11/05/2015 21:14, Andy Burns wrote:
Simon Cee wrote:

Girl next door has sliced her hedge trimmer cable in half.
any suggestions for decent connectors or similar?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/9790835949

They are nice and rubbery, so take knocks without problems, 3-pin
version available if it's not a double insulated trimmer.

On the surface a brilliant idea, precisely what I did when I cut
through the wire on mine.

However a plug and socket arrangement is a nightmare, the slightest
tug, and I do mean slightest, my trimmers stop working and I have to
walk a modest way to replug them together again. In the end they're
strung together.

So I'm not sure if I recommend any inline plug and socket that comes
apart unless they do so getting close to the cable breaking strength!!

Just be a little wary of the 3 pin inline rubberised connectors. We had
a need for 20 of these at work recently and bought most from a local DIY
shop, speed was of the essence, and a couple of a different brand,
although physically the same from another shop. They were marked L N E
inside to aid connecting correctly. Just a pity that one manufacturer
had LEN and the other manufacturer NEL. They shouldn't have gone bang
if swapped over, but it wouldn't have been good! Fortunately we spotted
it before it got too far.

In our case it would have caused serious problems as we were using them
for 12V dc with L being positive and N being negative.

--
Bill

On Tue, 12 May 2015 18:39:06 +0100, Tim Streater wrote:

In article , ARW
wrote:

wrote in message
. ..
On Mon, 11 May 2015 22:13:04 +0100, Andy Burns
wrote:

ARW wrote:

wrote:

if you are not used to fitting them remember to push the flex
through the hole on the outer cover then slide it out of the way,
before you neatly insert the conductors into the screw terminals

Not just me then:-)?
Fitted loads, still forgot sometimes .

Got a stanley knife, ain't you?

Worked for the standard 3 pin DuraPlugs in the days before they
changed the design, but if you did it to the ones we are talking about
you would need to make a long cut that would mess it right up,could
always wrap in insulation tape I suppose.

And are you still able to easily loose the nut that holds the cover on?

Depends how tight it was done up.

Nice one! I seen wot you dun there. :-)

I was about to remark that it was more to with how snug a fit it was in
the moulding before I spotted your pot shot at the use of "loose" for
"lose". :-

--
Johnny B Good

On Mon, 11 May 2015 21:34:50 +0100, Tim Streater wrote:

In article , Andy
Burns wrote:

Simon Cee wrote:

Girl next door has sliced her hedge trimmer cable in half.
any suggestions for decent connectors or similar?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/9790835949

They are nice and rubbery, so take knocks without problems, 3-pin
version available if it's not a double insulated trimmer.

+1

Yeah, that's the sort of thing that I used when I, um, sliced my hedge
trimmer cable. Mine may have had a lock type thing too so it clicks in
and doesn't come apart.

Actually it was quite handy since I sliced it near the trimmer. So now I
have a nice 1m cable attached to the trimmer, with a separate extension
cord. Actually makes handling easier.

It's also a very good way to extend the mains lead on an electric drill.
After all, how often do you expect to be simultaneously mowing the lawn
and drilling holes for fixing hanging basket brackets? Hint: You'll only
be needing the use of a single extension cable. :-)

--
Johnny B Good