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D_E_Bishop's avatar
D_E_Bishop
Explorer
Dec 04, 2015

RE:Power cord lock

Okay, last night I was having a difficult time posting pictures. Today I have at least half of my problem sorted out and I think I will shift to IMGUR as my default image posting link.

ABOUT MY POWER CORD LOCK

There are several times when it is either necessary or easier to use a 30 amp shore line extension cord than to pull out my hard wired shore line. I have worried about how vulnerable to theft the extension cord is just laying there. The following photos show how I am making it harder to disconnect and steal the cord. At home I have to use the extension to reach the outlet in the garage.

It cost less than $12 and took about 45 minutes to make. Prepping it for painting and actually painting will take longer than making it. I intend to paint it International Orange and will put a warning label on it that says, “Caution High Voltage”. I have to put up the outside Christmas lights first and finish several other pre-holiday projects.



These are the two things I needed to make my lock.


This shows the places to be at right angles and the place to cut.


This shows the position the ends will be in when locked.



This is the piece of steel cut and bent.


This shows the 19/64 holes drilled for the shackle of the lock.


This shows the lock in placed and secured.


This is the reverse side.



This is picture of how small my shop area is now. The trunks and furniture were in our house prior to the remodeling and are soon to be sold soon. The bench is 69.5" wide and 36" deep. Next in line are my router tables, tablesaw, floor mounted drill press, chopsaw, 8" grinder and 1" sander. I will be so happy when I can reach all my storage cabinets and clear the clutter and effectively use my power tools.


Darn I forgot to preview and had to edit.
  • Nice idea however the thieves want the cord for the copper not to take home and use on their RV.They will simply cut the cord and take it. The thieves don't care about salvaging the cord. . A thief will cut the cord at the camper and take the entire cord and extension cord.
    Consider many RV's including mine, have a twist lock connection at the RV that can be just removed and taken. Our RV cords are very expensive and vulnerable to theft
    I like the idea but unfortunately your lock will likely not deter a harden low life thief with cutters.Trying to protect the cord is futile.
  • RoyB wrote:
    Hey David - It was worth the wait.... Nice job showing the changeover...

    I suspect the thieves will still just cut the cable off where it comes out of the trailer and then you will eventually end up with not enough cable to work with when repairing the cable again.


    that is my concern with using these to lock on in line surge protectors. that's why I epoxied a padlock hasp on the back of my SP to run a chain to.
    bumpy
  • RoyB's avatar
    RoyB
    Explorer II
    Hey David - It was worth the wait.... Nice job showing the changeover...

    I suspect the thieves will still just cut the cable off where it comes out of the trailer and then you will eventually end up with not enough cable to work with when repairing the cable again.

    On my IMGUR when posting in other forums that doesn't have the SIZE entry form I select the approximate size I want to display listed on the bottom of the IMGUR page... After you select the size you want (small - medium - large etc) then you can select the URL ADDRESS info of your photo and it will be in this size automatically... I use the IMGUR DIRECT LINK (EMAIL & IM) URL address that includes the '.JPG photo format' to post in the various forums...

    RV NET is about the only forum I use here that has an actual FORM SIZE entry form function. ALot of the other forums use an auto built-in size function and at the top of the photo is a place to click on to display the actual size of the presented photo...

    Roy Ken
  • Nice work, DE!

    About shop space: I'm about in the same boat.

    BTW, if you want to beef up that lock, put pieces of pipe on the shackles of the lock. That might slow an inept thief down or discourage him from trying.

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