Hedge trimmer cable repair

[AnthonyL]

My 30 something nephew cut through the cable on his first use of my Flymo Easicut 6000XT hedge trimmer - quite how is a mystifying as I've used it for years with never a hint of putting the blade near the cable.

The cable has a coiled section near the handle and he's cut just after that.

I haven't got the machine here - he's supposed to have got it fixed and that was 6 weeks ago and I'm still waiting so I'm going to pick it up in a couple of days.

Options seem to be:

1) Rewire from the cut into the machine leaving out the coiled section. Does the coil help a lot in using the machine?

2) Rejoin at the cut, either a) with a connector (which is something else to catch) or

b) using amalgamating tape which will be smoother but more prone to pulling apart I guess

3) Replace the whole cable but I haven't seen any with the coiled section.

4) Take it to a Flymo repair centre

Thoughts? (on the repair not my nephew)

[damduck-egg]

Doesn't it act as sort of shock absorber if the main cable snags. May be useful if you are on a step ladder but not as much if you are stood on firm ground.

At he risk of teaching you to suck eggs some connectors come as a plug and socket and it essential you put them on the correct way around.

By itself ? Shouldn't rely on it . You need a mechanical joint, decent solder job , heat shrink over individual conductors another over both though that may be overkill and affect flexibility just where you want it, then a protective layer of insulation tape or self amalgamating. No harm in doing both as the self amalgamating will help keep some moisture out though where your cut is it won't be likely to come to rest in a puddle and each layer of something will make it less flexible.

As my mum used to say , you are not looking hard enough.

with the cable above being £34 ish what will they add on for labour. You might be near the cost of a new one and sell the damaged one on ebay to a tinkerer. Old cable can be found easily on broken machines at the dump or in a skip or just bought new as cable.

Tell that any cost is going to be deducted from what you may have been leaving him in your will.

G.Harman

[Brian-Gaff]

I'd think the safest is to get the right cable and replace it and charge it to the bloke who cut it. It's been years since I used any kindof tool like this but if you put the cable over your shoulder then you sould not ever be able to cut it that close to the device. Brian

[Clive Arthur]

If you have a proper crimp tool, use red crimps, make a loop so the wires are folded back on themselves for strain relief and overwrap with self-amalgamating tape.

That will last. If you spend any time or effort on this, it will get cut again.

Cheers

[Archibald Tarquin Blenkinsopp]

I assume the coil is to reduce the chance of a cut cable.

I cut the cable on my trimmer [straight cable no coil] I used a two pin connector [5A]. God knows what type, I bought them as a job lot on Ebay.

This in my opinion is better than the original long cable as any tension on the cable will merely part the connector which is about a metre from the trimmer.

If you do not go for this option then a like for like cable replacement would be the best option.

Tape of any description is not an adequate jointing option.

If you are in the habit of loaning the item out, replacement to the original spec is the only option.

The happy smiling soul cheerfully carrying your trimmer away to trim his hedge will become a totally different individual when he lops a few fingers off, so if you loaned it out in the condition it was in when purchased and provided him with a safety talk, gloves, eye protection and an RCD, you might well escape the clutches of all those "wont cost you a penny" claims merchants.

AB

[tabbypurr]

Number 1. Anything else is brainless, especially 4

[alan_m]

I have a hedge trimmer designed that way - the connector is on a short bit of cable from the body of the appliance. As you say, undue tension on the cable disconnects the appliance.

[FMurtz]

Just bung a plug near the handle and use an extension lead and give him a supply of leads to cut in future.

[newshound]

+1, but use "sticky" heat shrink which has a layer of glue-gun type adhesive inside it as the outer layer. Do this properly and you don't need self amalgamating or pvc adhesive tape. (Personally I find PVC tape, properly applied, more secure for a joint which can see tension than self amalgamating tape).

[Nick]

+1

[Halmyre]

On Sunday, September 10, 2017 at 1:38:12 PM UTC+1, [e-mail] wro te:

Heh; many, many years ago I repaired my dad's lawnmower after an uncle borr owed it and sliced through the cable. After I wired it up I realised the ma le part of the in-line connector was on the 'live' end of the cable. I just told my dad never to disconnect the in-line connector. There must have bee n a good reason why I didn't just re-wire it, but I can't think what it was so I'll just put it down to "couldn't be arsed".

[AnthonyL]

I learnt that lesson as a 10yr old trying to fix the old wireless :( Lucky still to be here to tell the tale.

[AnthonyL]

No more loans - lesson learnt. To be fair he was "looking after" a house that I was trying to sell and needed to get the garden tidy.

Lesson 2 - don't get a nephew to look after a house.

And you should have seen the pickle he got into trying to re-feed a strimmer with all bits of spring and other pieces on the floor - he told me he knew how to use one - bl**dy kids. When I showed him how he was at least suitably embarrassed.

[Huge]

Years ago, I bought a S/H electric lawnmower. The lead had been extended with one of those in-line rubber plug & socket jobs, and it was the wrong way round, so live pins were exposed if it were unplugged. No wonder regulations have to be designed for utter bozo's.