Rat ate my extension cord.

[Travis Conner]

He chewed on the outer jacket of the cord and just barely touched the hot wire of the cord. He must have gotten shocked and moved on. Lol The copper is still intact so I neatly wrapped it with electrical tape. Is an extension cord okay to use with electrical tape? I see it all the time, but I think it's kind of a ghetto repair, but this is a 12 gauge 100ft cord that cost about 90 bucks new.

[David L Morse]

I've done that on occasion for expediency but the permanent fix I prefer is to just get a pair of connectors and make two extension cords out of the damaged one.

[Jim Dwight]

I think David suggested the only better repair. If the issue is near an end, I would probably do it. If it is in the middle, I would probably use as is. Or you could look at it versus the most typical use. If you were to cut it and put new ends on, would it still be usable for your most typical use? A shorter cord has less resistance so there is actually a benefit but only if it still "works".

[Ron Selzer]

David has the best answer in my opinion. Plus side is you end up with two shorter cords, use what size you need. Meaning use the shortest cord that gets the job done, which maybe both cords plugged together.
Ron

[Paul F Franklin]

If you don't need or want two shorter cords, I would cut the cord at the break and splice the individual conductors after slipping heat shrink tubing over the whole cord and each individual conductor. If you use adhesive lined heat shrink tubing, the cord will be fine for exterior or interior use. Only downside is the spliced section won't be very flexible.

A simpler option, if one or both of the ends aren't molded and can be removed, and only one conductor is damaged, is to remove one end, and slide a length of adhesive lined heat shrink down the cable to the damaged area, shrink it in place, and then replace the end.

[eta:] Using the first method, make sure you slide the overall shrink tubing far away when you shrink the individual pieces, so it doesn't shrink from conducted heat. DAMHIKT.

[Jim Matthews]

If the wires can be separated, slide a piece of electrical tape around each before wrapping up the works. You're right to be leery of this as a lasting repair. It will not be water tight.

https://www.amazon.com/Electriduct-Resistant-Repellent-Protection-Expandable/dp/B07VBYD6CN/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Rodent+resistant+power+cord&qid=1602360419&s=hi&sr=1-1

[Mike Henderson]

Depends on a number of things, but I'd probably cut the wire and then do as Paul F suggested. I'd solder the wires together and use shrink wrap tubing to protect them. Shrink tubing on each conductor and one more over the whole wire. But that's just to avoid the extra connectors in the link and the possibility of them coming loose in use.

Mike

[Harvey Miller]

A long term fix? A shop cat, preferably a feral rescue. Maybe a terrier if you're a dog person?

[Doug Dawson]

He chewed on the outer jacket of the cord and just barely touched the hot wire of the cord. He must have gotten shocked and moved on. Lol The copper is still intact so I neatly wrapped it with electrical tape. Is an extension cord okay to use with electrical tape? I see it all the time, but I think it's kind of a ghetto repair, but this is a 12 gauge 100ft cord that cost about 90 bucks new.

Insurance companies are likely to frown on damaged extension cords, no matter what we think of them. Don’t give them a reason to be unhappy.

[Frank Pratt]

Any kind of damaged cord is frowned upon on a construction site, to the extent that if the safety guy see a cord end with a missing ground prong, he'll cut the end off, right on the spot. The user of of a taped one will just be told to take it out of service until properly repaired.

[Anuj Prateek]

Any kind of damaged cord is frowned upon on a construction site, to the extent that if the safety guy see a cord end with a missing ground prong, he'll cut the end off, right on the spot. The user of of a taped one will just be told to take it out of service until properly repaired.

More from curiosity and learning perspective: are properly repaired cables also not allowed? If allowed what constitutes a proper repair?

I have no knowledge of construction site or codes followed there, so the curiosity.

[justin sherriff]

liquid electrical tape about $6 it comes in a few colors too.

[Ron Selzer]

More from curiosity and learning perspective: are properly repaired cables also not allowed? If allowed what constitutes a proper repair?

I have no knowledge of construction site or codes followed there, so the curiosity.


Have been told by contractors NO REPAIRS or DEFECTS allowed in electric cords by OSHA or safety personal. Actually most work was done with battery power, five different buildings going up now.
Ron

[Bill Dufour]

Depends. If you can I would remove one end and slip heat shrink over the repair. If they are molded on ends and too nice to toss I would wrap it with tape and paint the tape with the liquid tape glue stuff. If I cut and splice I cut each wire about one inch longer then the other so there are three different lengths. I twist and solder after heatshrink for each spice is slipped on then a big heat shrink tube covers it all. The different lengths make it almost impossible for the bare wires to touch if they pull apart. You really should do the same for car jumper cables.
Bil lD

[Dan Hahr]

Definitely some good ideas for repairing an extension cord. But if the rat just barely touched the copper and nothing’s broken, tape it up good and get on with life. If the wires break, then get serious. Cords get nicked all the time.

Dan

[Wayne Cannon]

Inspectors are right to disallow ANY repairs to cords because there are so many inappropriate ways to repair cords, and only a few that would be ok.

As an electrical engineer, I would want to assure that:
· conductor-to-conductor breakdown insulation was maintained through flexing, abrasion, aging, etc. Many heat shrink tubings and electrical tapes become brittle with age or overheating during application, for example.
· outer insulation is maintained for users and external materials (e.g., metal) through flexing, abrasion aging, etc.

Yes. I believe a proper taping job of the individual conductor and overall cable is possible with quality tape. Personally, faced with the same scenario, I cut the cable and installed new connectors. I appreciate the flexibility, and ease of handling, of two shorter cables.

[Mark Bolton]

Your larger concern beyond the cord is the rats. We have Eastern Wood Rats here and they are a complete and utter nuisance and just as youve found they love to chewup/eat rubber and plastic. We once walked out to the shed to find an entire pair of rubber gum boots (for working in the garden) sitting just as they were left and a rat or rats had chewed the entire uppers right down leaving just the soles sitting there. The rats also proceeded to eat all the outer jacket off every bit of romex wire in the shed. They never ate the insulation off the conductors just the softer outer jacket.

They are one of the most destructive pest animals around here and oddly enough I believe last I spoke with the DNR about them they are semi-protected. I once had them infest an old dump truck cab I had parked and they packed the cab chuck full of buckeye nuts, poke berry stems (entire cab was stained purple from the berries), leaves, acorns, you name it. They supposedly love shiny things (the buckeye's) and also had packed a couple of blind spot mirror that were on the seat to be installed under and behind the seat. They supposedly build these nest areas with dry rustle'y leaves and debris to act as an alarm for predators (likely snakes). They crap in huge central piles and stink to the high heavens.

For the sake of burning your shop or house down its best to get rid of them ASAP as its my experience that the stink simply attracts more.

Major nuisance.

[Mel Fulks]

Mark, that was great vivid rat writ'en. I might not be able to eat for a couple of days.

[Anuj Prateek]

Have been told by contractors NO REPAIRS or DEFECTS allowed in electric cords by OSHA or safety personal. Actually most work was done with battery power, five different buildings going up now.
Ron

Thank you! Good to know. This is something that can be followed cheaply in home shops. Can't be to safe!

[Anuj Prateek]

Depends. If you can I would remove one end and slip heat shrink over the repair. If they are molded on ends and too nice to toss I would wrap it with tape and paint the tape with the liquid tape glue stuff. If I cut and splice I cut each wire about one inch longer then the other so there are three different lengths. I twist and solder after heatshrink for each spice is slipped on then a big heat shrink tube covers it all. The different lengths make it almost impossible for the bare wires to touch if they pull apart. You really should do the same for car jumper cables.
Bil lD

That's an innovative idea (length part)!

[John K Jordan]

He chewed on the outer jacket of the cord and just barely touched the hot wire of the cord. He must have gotten shocked and moved on. Lol The copper is still intact so I neatly wrapped it with electrical tape. Is an extension cord okay to use with electrical tape? I see it all the time, but I think it's kind of a ghetto repair, but this is a 12 gauge 100ft cord that cost about 90 bucks new.

I’ve repaired cords that were abraded through the insulation by splitting the outer insulation so I could separate the wires, wrapping the damaged wire with electrical tape, then taping the cable. I’ve used one of these for over 15 years now, mostly outdoors on the farm. (we have no inspectors!) I wouldn’t trust just wrapping the outside. I’ve also used the “splice and heat-shrink” method and the method of making one cord into two and I think both of these are better than taping.

Your experience does remind me of one that didn’t work out as well for the rodent - I heard a mouse in the ceiling of my basement studio in a previous house, scurrying then chewing on something. I set traps but the next day the chewing continued until I heard a bang and the power to my computer went out. I cut out a section of the sheet rock and found where the mouse had been working to enlarge a hole feeding a Romex electrical cable through a joist. The power electrocuted the little guy, exploding and splattering his head! I never saw or heard signs of more or caught any in the traps so if there were others maybe that scared them out of the house. 😮

JKJ

[Alan Lightstone]

The rat survived the shock????!!!!????

Damn, it's tough to kill those guys.

[Travis Conner]

I might just make a 240v extension cord out of it.