I wired my entire shop and used standard 40 amp receptacles and plugs on all my 240v tools, so in case I rearrange the shop, I can plug any tool into any outlet. All the circuits go into a subpanel I added in the shop.

When I leave the shop, I unplug all my tools from the wall, to protect them from power surges. Especially my Clearvue cyclone, I have that wired to a remote control and I dont want that sucker coming on while I'm away due to an errant radio signal. I am in the shop 4 or 5 days a week, so there is a lot of plugging and unplugging going on.

I can't find any information on whether the plugs/receptacles can handle this long term. In hindsight, I guess I should have used all twist lock plugs. Does anyone know if this is actually an issue? After a year of doing this, the plugs stiil take a lot of effort to insert and remove, so I don't think they have worn down at all. I would prefer not to use the breakers to disable the tools, and I'm not even sure if that would protect them from power surges anyway. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks

Brian