Repairing Nicked Extension Cords

[rgsparber]

Do you wrap electrical tape around extension cords that have had their sheath nicked? Are you happy with the result after some time has passed? Me neither.

Here is how I now do the repair.

https://rick.sparber.org/ExtensionCordRepair.pdf

Your comments are welcome. All of us are smarter than any one of us.


Thanks,

Rick

[Tuomas]

That's a good solution. I wonder could " inner tire repairing glue " work too. We don't have that brand on the stores.
Its locktite tough, so i think it sold under different name here.

I have tried something similar with extra fast super glue, that makes repaired section unflexible.

Nice info. Thank you!

[rgsparber]

That's a good solution. I wonder could " inner tire repairing glue " work too. We don't have that brand on the stores.
Its locktite tough, so i think it sold under different name here.

I have tried something similar with extra fast super glue, that makes repaired section unflexible.

Nice info. Thank you!

Give the tire repair glue a try and let us know how it works.

Superglue is brittle so I'm not surprised it didn't work. This Go2 Glue remains flexible and holds tight. Nice product except for its relatively brief shelf life. I suggest people buy it at a big box store which has decent stock turnover.

Rick

[Tonyg]

I use Liquid Tape Electrical. It is a rubber coating for use as electrical tape and insulation. This flexible coating exhibits excellent protection from acid, alkaline, and abrasion, as wells as sealing out moisture and salt permanently. It comes in a container with a built in brush in the lid. I believe it also comes in an aerosol, but I have not tried that.
It is very flexible and bonds really well, feels like rubber to the touch.

[rgsparber]

I use Liquid Tape Electrical. It is a rubber coating for use as electrical tape and insulation. This flexible coating exhibits excellent protection from acid, alkaline, and abrasion, as wells as sealing out moisture and salt permanently. It comes in a container with a built in brush in the lid. I believe it also comes in an aerosol, but I have not tried that.
It is very flexible and bonds really well, feels like rubber to the touch.

Tonyg,

Article has now been updated to include your suggestion.

Thanks,

Rick

[bentonite]

I use Liquid Tape Electrical. It is a rubber coating for use as electrical tape and insulation. This flexible coating exhibits excellent protection from acid, alkaline, and abrasion, as wells as sealing out moisture and salt permanently. It comes in a container with a built in brush in the lid. I believe it also comes in an aerosol, but I have not tried that.
It is very flexible and bonds really well, feels like rubber to the touch.

I am all for the heat shrink tube where possible. We are well into the realm of picky details here, but as I recall many cords have a layer of paper, or talcum powder between the inner insulation and the outermost jacket, probably to reduce friction. I don't think it advisable to intentionally glue the inner and outer insulation to each other. As inelegant as it may seem, the self adhesive silicone tape probably is more than adequate if the inner insulation is intact.

[rgsparber]

I use Liquid Tape Electrical. It is a rubber coating for use as electrical tape and insulation. This flexible coating exhibits excellent protection from acid, alkaline, and abrasion, as wells as sealing out moisture and salt permanently. It comes in a container with a built in brush in the lid. I believe it also comes in an aerosol, but I have not tried that.
It is very flexible and bonds really well, feels like rubber to the touch.

I bought and tried some Liquid Tape. I have to wait 24 hours for it to fully cure. Have to admit, it looks bad. Using a patch with matching color would be more likely to be approved by my wife...

Rick

[Tonyg]

Hi Rick,

Somehow the thread that you started which was repairing small insulation damage moved to repairing bared wires and jointing extension cables which requires a different approach, I liked your approach and have done similar in the past with different glue. I only started using the Liquid Tape (which I purchased for a totally different problem) just to fill those "small nicks". All my extension cords are 3 core and black in colour so I do not have much of a mismatch.
As always, thank you for your insightful input.

Kind regards, Tony.

[Frank S]

I've tried various things hate using vinyl electrical tape for these for the same reasons Rick stated. I've never had much success with the liquid tape for some reason. but the tool handle dip rubber coating seams to work. My cords usually don't just get nicked though so I wind up either having to make a full splice repair or if the break is near the end I wind up cutting it and end up with a shorter cord with a replaceable end once that is done if there are any new nicks I like to remove the end and use heat shrink tubing.
3M also makes a heat shrink tape that you can simply wrap around then heat it to allow it to vulcanize itself.
If you can't find the go2 glue you might try shoe goo That TV advertised flex glue may work with the sheathing like Rick has done. One nice thing about his repair is it is not very noticeable unlike most other repairs.

[Tonyg]

Hi Frank,
The 3M tape is very good, I often use it on underground cables at the splice kits to stop epoxy egress while it cures and moisture ingress once it is buried.