Pull cord reposition

[morqthana]

I don't own one.

From what I gather, that's good.

 

[SUNRAY]

You can absolutely wet nylon. Water can attach to small crevices in nylon as it can attach to anything else similarly structured. Go find a cord and get a drop of water on the top. The water will conduct all the way down.

Which is exactly the reason there is a plastic 2 compartment insulating joint supplied with every pull-switch and replacement cord set.

Water vapour will condense/settle in/on the nylon cord.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Which is exactly the reason there is a plastic 2 compartment insulating joint supplied with every pull-switch and replacement cord set.

Water vapour will condense/settle in/on the nylon cord.

The OP could always wear a pair of those thick rubber, live working electrical gloves, when operating the switch, if he has concerns.

 

[JohnW2]

Which is exactly the reason there is a plastic 2 compartment insulating joint supplied with every pull-switch and replacement cord set.

That was very probably part of the thinking which resulted in that design (the other being that it often enables one to replace most of the cord without having to fiddle about inside the switch).

However, have you (or anyone else) ever heard of anyone coming to significant ('electrical') harm as a result of touching a switch pull-cord?

 

[pete01]

I thought it was to adjust the height of the do da thing.

 

[EFLImpudence]

No. The do da thing has its own knot.

 

[pete01]

Oh yeah but I always adjust at the upper do da thing

 

[EFLImpudence]

Yeah but it depends whether you want the do da thing higher or the cord shorter.

 

[morqthana]

That was very probably part of the thinking which resulted in that design (the other being that it often enables one to replace most of the cord without having to fiddle about inside the switch).

I've always thought that the "other" reason was the only one.

Because this:

Which is exactly the reason there is a plastic 2 compartment insulating joint supplied with every pull-switch and replacement cord set.

Water vapour will condense/settle in/on the nylon cord.

can't possibly be a real hazard - the amount of (distilled) water which would need to soak into a nylon cord and travel upwards to bridge the electrical connections in a switch is utterly implausible. Cords get grubby, particularly when they have the "traditional" end like this:

and need to be easy to replace.

 

[JohnW2]

I've always thought that the "other" reason was the only one.

Yes - or, at least, the only sensible reason - since, as you go onto say ...

..... can't possibly be a real hazard - the amount of (distilled) water which would need to soak into a nylon cord and travel upwards to bridge the electrical connections in a switch is utterly implausible.

However, that by no means precludes the possibility that the 'non-sensible' reason may well have also been part of 'their' thinking

 

[SUNRAY]

I've always thought that the "other" reason was the only one.

Because this:



can't possibly be a real hazard - the amount of (distilled) water which would need to soak into a nylon cord and travel upwards to bridge the electrical connections in a switch is utterly implausible. Cords get grubby, particularly when they have the "traditional" end like this:

View attachment 382992

and need to be easy to replace.

Who said anything about distilled water?

Where is this ficticious distilled water coming from?

Please don't try to persuade us the moisture in the bathroom miraculously goes through some form of distillation process while you have your shower.

In addition to the damp atmosphere; the bathroom is full of contaminants: Hairspray, deodorants, antiperspirant, towel fluff, dead skin just for starters and according to you; the strings get so dirty they have to be replaced on a regular basis.

So now let's get all of that crap clinging to your switch string and inside your switch wet...

For what it's worth the early pull switches in their early designs were made in a way that the cover was easily unscrewable and the replacement string easily EXTREMELY EASILY knotted to the lever, in fact it was easier than the fiddly little plastic insulators, we see now. Or some models/makes had a length of metal chain and the string tied to it.

Then someone came up with the idea of an external join rather than remove the switch cover and a 2 part brass fitting was used.

People didn't worry about the odd electric tingle years back (hence no earth's on loads of things) and life was good, yeah stand in the bath full of water and reach out to turn the light on or off using the damp string, bit of a tingle but... but well that's just the way this lectrickery malarky is... right?.

Wrong, lets install a plastic insulator... the single chamber was so small the 2 bits of string were in solid contact so MKII version was 2 chambers, no more shocks.

I'm sadly old enough to remember these progressions and also one of my duties on BT included a safety project restoring pull switches back to original (we used thousands of them in exchanges) where string would break and be casually repaired with random string, waxed lacing twine or wire and some equally random knot, usually directly onto the string above the insulator.

 

[JohnW2]

Who said anything about distilled water? .... Where is this ficticious distilled water coming from? .... Please don't try to persuade us the moisture in the bathroom miraculously goes through some form of distillation process while you have your shower.

Eh? You shouldn't need any 'persuading' - evaporation followed by condensation IS 'distillation'.

In any event, even if it were 'dirty' tap water, full of minerals etc., there would be virtually no significant 'risk' - indeed, that would still be more-or-less true if the cord were bare copper wire

 

[SUNRAY]

Eh? You shouldn't need any 'persuading' - evaporation followed by condensation IS 'distillation'.

In any event, even if it were 'dirty' tap water, full of minerals etc., there would be virtually no significant 'risk' - indeed, that would still be more-or-less true if the cord were bare copper wire

Whilst much of what you say is correct, the progression to the insulating device was as I described, IE introduced to reduce electric shock risk.

 

[JohnW2]

Whilst much of what you say is correct,

I'm pleased to hear that you agree ....

the progression to the insulating device was as I described, IE introduced to reduce electric shock risk.

As I said at the start, it wouldn't surprise me if such were one of the reasons in the minds of those who designed these devices (even though 'ease of replacement' would seem a much more practically-important reason), but I'm not clear as to how you can be so sure that such was the primary reason. The change from machined brass to moulded plastic might, for all I know, have been entirely down to cost!

As for 'reducing electric shock risk', I think the risk of a significant shock has always been extremely close to zero, throughout the evolution of the various designs of pull cords.

 

[SUNRAY]

... As I said at the start, it wouldn't surprise me if such were one of the reasons in the minds of those who designed these devices (even though 'ease of replacement' would seem a much more practically-important reason), but I'm not clear as to how you can be so sure that such was the primary reason. The change from machined brass to moulded plastic might, for all I know, have been entirely down to cost!

As for 'reducing electric shock risk', I think the risk of a significant shock has always been extremely close to zero, throughout the evolution of the various designs of pull cords.

Well surely the cheaper version would not include the plastic insulator, to maximise profit make the pull switches sealed units so total replacement is required when the string needs replacement - just like so many other components these days.