Power tool cord question

[Elektrisch110]

A friend showed me a small wood sander where the neutral insulation of the two conductor no ground, attached factory cord was disintegrated the entire length. The "Hot" insulation was fine. I had no good answer. Does anyone?

 

[GoldDigger]

Other than the possibility that the two bits of insulation had different composition, I have no clue.

Is this a single piece of two wire zip cord, two individual conductors twisted together, or two conductors in a common fabric covering?

 

[Jraef]

Other than the possibility that the two bits of insulation had different composition, I have no clue.

Is this a single piece of two wire zip cord, two individual conductors twisted together, or two conductors in a common fabric covering?

Bad connection to the neutral at one end, so the high resistance increased the current and broke down the insulation?

The problem with that though is that the current would have to be the same in the Hot line too, so why was it OK?

I'm going to have to go too with poor design and/or QC on the neutral insulation material. There's no other viable explanation.

 

[hbiss]

I've seen lots of old tools, including some of my own where the cords have disintegrated. Chalk it up to bad formulation of the rubber or plastic and old age.

-Hal

 

[GoldDigger]

I've seen lots of old tools, including some of my own where the cords have disintegrated. Chalk it up to bad formulation of the rubber or plastic and old age.

-Hal

But why only and entirely one side of the cord?

 

[Phil Corso]

Elektrisch110

Were the (male) prongs on the 2-wire plug the same size?

Phil Corso

 

[hbiss]

But why only and entirely one side of the cord?

The OP doesn't say whether it was zip cord or round covered cordage with white and black conductors. I suspect the latter and the problem was caused by the difference in formulation of the insulation on the white conductor. Since this is deterioration not melting and that affected only one conductor I can't see any electrical reason for this.

-Hal

 

[GoldDigger]

The OP doesn't say whether it was zip cord or round covered cordage with white and black conductors. I suspect the latter and the problem was caused by the difference in formulation of the insulation on the white conductor. Since this is deterioration not melting and that affected only one conductor I can't see any electrical reason for this.

-Hal

If exposed to sunlight, a white insulation with otherwise similar chemical composition will be degraded by light much faster than a black version of the same formulation.
If the conductors are covered, then it is more likely that there is a real chemical difference too.

 

[Elektrisch110]

Power Tool Cord

Power Tool Cord

The cord in question is a (UL) SJ 16AWG/2C 60deg FT-1. FT-2 type. Connector end prongs were same size. With that, I guess I am happy with the answers given!

 

[hbiss]

If it's SJ cord where were you able to see the white conductor? From your OP you said that the cord was disintegrated the entire length. That is typical and my experience with some old tools that used a synthetic neoprene jacket on the cord that was available at the time. The jacket is cracked and brittle so it stands to reason the compound used for the white conductor was no better.

-Hal