Poor Quality Plugs

[jmellc]

I see way too much of this IMHO. I have replaced a lot of plugs, most often same as this, broken ground. And this was from a DeWalt bandsaw. DeWalt brags about industrial quality but the plug certainly isn’t. Is a quality plug that hard to manufacture?

 

[infinity]

Are you talking about the molded plugs on the end of a cord?

 

[LarryFine]

I'm sure they buy completed cord assemblies from the cheapest vendor.

 

[infinity]

It always seems like the ground prong breakers off first.

 

[LarryFine]

It always seems like the ground prong breakers off first.

And, not always by accident.

 

[jmellc]

Yes, molded plugs on cords. I see a lot of that with grounds breaking off long before the other prongs even bend much. The replacement plugs we install last a lot longer.

 

[don_resqcapt19]

I have seen a number of molded plugs where the connection between the cord conductor and the plug blade was poor and resulted in thermal failure.

 

[curt swartz]

I miss the old Bryant solid white nylon cord caps/connectors from 30+ years ago. The ones that had 3 jaws that grabbed the cord as you tightened the body of the connector. I still have multiple cords with them and they are still fully intact.

 

[Fred B]

And, not always by accident.

Caught a GC in the process of breaking off "one of those useless peices" when the house he was at only had ungrounded receptacles and he wanted to use his saw. Told him that wasn't safe but he says he does it all the time, I think he wasn't lieing about it looking at his tool crib. Isn't that an OSHA violation to even have such a tool in service let alone intentionally cause the damage?

 

[zbang]

OSHA? Probably. If there's a ground pin on the factory cord, it wouldn't be double-insulated, and he's "unlisting" the device.