Hi All,
I’m looking for an honest advise/ recommendation on the damaged plug of a Coonora wood heater. We would like to use the heater for the winter, however, just noticed the damage in the plug (Looks like it was trapped under a heavy item). Can I just replace it by myself or should I require a sparky? I have confident to do it, but, it’s all about the certificate of safety.
Thanks in advance.
A sparky should do it for safety and insurance.
This. It’s worth the, probably, hundred or so dollars to get a sparkle to change it over, in the event the house burns down you can say that a licensed, and qualified electrician did the job.
The issue with this is that it will be on for long periods of time, presumably in a power point tucked away somewhere you won’t necessarily notice.
You’d probably be right, they’re pretty basic, but it really is worth it in terms of insurance, as barbarella said.
Thanks mate. But, if the sparky charges $150-200 I’m not sure whether it’s worth for the appliance
i think legalities depend on which state you in
if you know how to do it, theres no reason you wouldnt do it yourself regardless though
I’m in VIC, yes, I can do it. However, when it comes to any incident that matters to insurance , I’ll be in trouble even though the incident is not due to this appliance
I'm yet to see a single 'insurance will reject any claim' claim backed up with any proof from a report showing insurance actually rejected some claim because some unrelated piece of equipment had its electrical plug repaired by DIY
Most other countries put replacing the plug on an appliance clearly in the 'diy, this is just wasting an electricians time if the person knows what they are doing' category.
As I said, if you know how to do it, you're just as qualified as an electrician for this incredibly simple task.
The fact we let such things as diy mechanics replace their own brake pads, but have legislation that (in some states) makes rewiring 3 colour coded wires to a new appliance plug 'illegal' makes me think we have some messed up priorities or over regulated industry protections.
The lead cable contains two or three copper wires. Cut and match the colours.
Be careful using it if the plug has been crushed - you don't want to cause a spark or short circuit/fire. Be careful Ozbargainer gardener :)
if you are asking, you shouldn't be doing it
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Not electrician. But some things I would keep in mind:
Don't forget to FIRSTLY insert the flex through the lock nut and plug cover. It'll get ya every time.
Strip back the insulation/conductors to the EXACT lengths as specified in the instructions.
When you strip back the outer insulation of the flex, you must be careful NOT to cut or nick the insulation of the individual inner conductors.
When you strip back the individual inner conductors, you must be careful NOT to nick or cut ANY of the copper strands.
Carefully match up the individual conductor colours to the correct pins of the plug top.
Keep all connections tight.
Route the conductors through the strain reliefs and back down.
If you stripped everything to the correct lengths, you should ONLY have copper wire under each clamp terminal, and the outer flex insulation should begin again exactly at the bottom of the plug top.
Attach plug cover and screw up lock nut. But realise that you missed step 1, undo everything and start again.
And for the love of god, source the plug top from Australia so it is built to AS/NZS 3112.
As electricians we were trained to use a stripping knife, stanley knives were considered too sharp. There are a number of purpose made stripping tools that may assist the novice.
…you missed some items;
It is important that the bare cable is twisted firmly.
Also it is best practice to double the end over,creating a greater area for the cable clamp to compress.
There should be no excess copper in sight.
..Did you know that each terminal pin screw clamp has letter denoting if they are L,N or E (earth can also be the earth symbol), sometimes one has to look closely as it may not easyily readable.
When finished it is good practice to conduct an insulation resistance test
Op, make sure you twist the copper with your left hand. ;)
The doubling-over is good food for thought. Thanks.
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