What is a twist-lock plug?

[Sonny Porter]

Can you use an extension cord with twist-lock fittings as a regular cord somehow? Is it worth buying a couple of regular ends and replacing the twist-lock fittings? Are there adapters you can buy so you can use it like a regular cord? I found a good cheap cord in the length I want but it has this twist lock fitting on the female end. It's a 120volt cord, which is what I wanted.

[Mark Rios]

Twist-locks were designed to actually twist together (go figure) to try to prevent the cords from pulling apart. When you are pulling your Skilsaw around the jobsite and you've got that 100' cord plugged into the temp power box you don't want the plug to be coming apart every time you give a little tug on the cord. Myself, I never found them all that useful as they tend to get loose very quickly and not stay "locked". Some years ago I remember seeing a little device that strapped the two plugs together to help them stay plugged in. Looked like a novel way to fix the problem.


Yes you can use them as "regular" cords. Changing the end to a straight plug is an option but a heavy duty straight plug (to match the durability of the twist lock) can run $8 to $12. There are also adapters, wyes, double wyes, etc. for them. The single straight-to-twist adapters are about one foot long and all the adapters are very heay duty with big rubber plugs and thick (yellow in my case) sheathing over the cord part.

If you get the cord and would like an adapter, PM me and I'll send you one of mine. I don't use the twist lock anymore, just inconvenient and unnecessary for me these days, Even though I've still got 500' or so of twist lock cords in storage. Let me know.

[Don Baer]

I don't mess with the twist locks either. I do however tie the two cord around one another in a knot prior to pluggin em into each other.

[Hoa Dinh]

I have mixed feelings about twist lock plugs.

They are great when there is no or very little chance of someone tripping on the cord, e.g. an extension cord dropped from the ceiling.

But when the extension cord is on the ground, I'd rather have the plugs disengaged when someone strips on it.