Best way go link electric cables outside

[Harry Bloomfield]

Saying that it was in a tree and there are lots of squirrels. I dunno

Was there a squirrel, on the ground, below it, with its legs pointing skywards?

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Every time I speak to them I suggest that they really ought to do something about 'protection' of the cable, but, a few years down the road, they do not seem to be listening

Assuming you cannot disturb the plugs, on the ends - Could you not wind some of that metal spiral, from an old shower hose, around it?

 

[JohnW2]

Assuming you cannot disturb the plugs, on the ends

no plugs - ends of cable disappears into things that would probably need a tin-opener to get into

- Could you not wind some of that metal spiral, from an old shower hose, around it?

I could, or all sorts of other things like that - but why should I do their work for them (and, of course, they might complain that I had been 'interfering with their equipment'!)

 

[Why Not Indeed]

Thecwires are so thin. How do you strip the insulation off?

Wire strippers.
This style is a bit fiddly but works:

I've got some cheap ones of these but sometimes they cut instead of strip:

 

[JohnW2]

Wire strippers.
This style is a bit fiddly but works:
View attachment 402359

I have to say that's what I still mainly use, and it does the job.

 

[morqthana]

Wire strippers.
This style is a bit fiddly but works:
View attachment 402359

Buy several pairs, set each one to a common size, tighten the locknut down really hard, label the handles, no more fiddling.

 

[JohnW2]

Buy several pairs, set each one to a common size, tighten the locknut down really hard, label the handles, no more fiddling.

That's exactly what I've done. However, even when one tightens the locknut "really hard", the damned things eventually come loose!

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I've got some cheap ones of these but sometimes they cut instead of strip:

I normally use pliers/snips, to strip, but as mentioned, some really fine wires just snap when you try to strip them - the insulation, tougher than the core. What works, is applying some heat to the plastic, from the side of a soldering iron, or even a candle, then use snips.

I picked up a stripper, similar idea to the above, even the same colours, but working at right angles to the above. Part of a Lidl kit, with crimps and etc.. It works well for most flexes, without any adjustment, but there is an adjustable guide, to set the length of insulation removed.

 

[morqthana]

That's exactly what I've done. However, even when one tightens the locknut "really hard", the damned things eventually come loose!

Loctite?

 

[JohnW2]

Loctite?

Maybe. I recently snapped off one of the adjusting screws by trying to tighten the locknut 'really hard' (with a tool)

 

[Keitai]

Wire strippers.
This style is a bit fiddly but works:
View attachment 402359

I've got some cheap ones of these but sometimes they cut instead of strip:
View attachment 402360

I've got the bottom type

 

[ebee]

As an aside, I've been trying for ages to talk some sense into Calor. On top of my LPG tank there is a sensor (detecting how full the tank is) and a telemetry module, which sends the information to Calor so that they know when the tank needs topping up, and those two things are joined by about a foot of thin flexible PVC-sheathed cable.

Every month or three, that cable gets severed (with teeth marks ) and so I have to get Calor to come out and replace it (certainly more than once per year). They acknowledge that this is a very common problem, nearly always due to squirrels, and my garden is certainly well stocked with squirrels. Every time I speak to them I suggest that they really ought to do something about 'protection' of the cable, but, a few years down the road, they do not seem to be listening

Why do you talk to the squirrels John?

 

[robinbanks]

I could, or all sorts of other things like that - but why should I do their work for them

But you seem to have so much spare time to delve into the navel fluff of anything electrical on DIYnot..

And I bet you could coil a bit of shower hose on in less time than it takes to listen to calor's hold music in just a single one of these phone calls you have to make to get them to come out and replace your cable..

Sometimes when I'm out walking round town I'll pick up a bit of litter next to a bin and deposit it where the last oik clearly failed. It's not my job, though I don't get on the phone to the council to complain at how my paid taxes aren't being used effectively to get the guys whose job it is to attend promptly and do their job..

It's just something I can do, that I'm in the right place at the right time for, that has a benefit to someone not necessarily me (other than my liking my town to look tidy)

Posting your knowledge up on DIYnot isn't much different btw..

(Though I do take your point that no good deed goes unpunished, and maybe one day I'll put my back out...)

 

[JohnW2]

Why do you talk to the squirrels John?

 

[JohnW2]

But you seem to have so much spare time to delve into the navel fluff of anything electrical on DIYnot..

In reality, I have far less 'spare time' than you would think - although I admit that I'd have a lot more if I didn't participate in this forum My life and partial day job are such that I spend much of my time sitting in front of a computer, and so become more-or-less instantly aware of any posts to this forum - and my personality is such that I then can rarely resist responding in some way

And I bet you could coil a bit of shower hose on in less time than it takes to listen to calor's hold music in just a single one of these phone calls you have to make to get them to come out and replace your cable..

That's very probably true - and, as I wrote, there are umpteen things I could do to protect the cable. However, as I also wrote, one of the main reasons I haven't done anything myself is that (on the basis of past experiences), I suspect that, if I did, there might well then be all sorts of hassle resulting from the fact that I had 'interfered with their equipment'. They are understandably concerned about anything which might impact on 'gas safety', but don't seem to have the sense to understand that 'interference' with that cable would/could not have any 'safety implications'.