Thermal insulation for power cord? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: motocoder
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 31, 2014, 02:53:48 am
content: My wonderful wife bought me a Haako FR-300 for Christmas. THis thing works great, but unfortunately the first time I used it, I bumped the unit while it was laying on the table, and it shifted over onto the power cord and burned about halfway through it.I've got a replacement cord coming from Haako, but while I have it off the iron, it would be great to put some sort of insulating sleeve or something on it to prevent this from happening in the future.Any suggestions on material to use for this and where to source it? The power cord seems to be about 6.5mm in diameter, so something 8mm or so would probably be perfect.Thanks

author: motocoder
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 31, 2014, 06:38:30 am
content: Quote from: 3roomlab on December 31, 2014, 03:13:07 amHi 3roomlab -The thought of fiberglass had crossed my mind. I was browsing saw some fiberglass sleeves on Amazon before posting my message, but they all listed a max temperature of 120C. Since the iron can be at 350C or more, that seemed insufficient. Although, I suppose if it buys me some time, that's better than nothing.Thanks for the link.

author: Falcon69
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 31, 2014, 09:47:44 am
content: Hmm, what about using some heat tubing that they use on 8mm spark plug wires for your car. This tubing withstands very extreme temperatures under the hood of your car. I would think it would protect the wire pretty good. I have seen spark plug wires wrapped in this stuff, while they were practically sitting on the exhaust manifold (don't ask). Your local auto shop should carry some.

author: dom0
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 31, 2014, 01:09:06 pm
content: You're looking for sihf-j cable. I use it on one of my soldering irons and it withstands a few seconds at 275 °C before anything happens. Maximum temperature for long periods is 180 or 200 °C I think.

author: motocoder
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 31, 2014, 04:39:04 pm
content: Quote from: Falcon69 on December 31, 2014, 09:47:44 amThat's a great idea, but holy crap those things are expensive for such a little thing.

author: motocoder
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 31, 2014, 04:41:55 pm
content: Quote from: dom0 on December 31, 2014, 01:09:06 pmThat sounds perfect. Any ideas on where to source it in small quantities?

author: dom0
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 31, 2014, 04:59:33 pm
content: I got mine from a local cable dealer for a few euros (I think it was about 2 €/m). After googling it I'm not sure that it's an internationally used name, most/all dealers having sihf-j are from Germany. But now you at least know what you're looking for ; heat resistant silicone-insulated cable. Has to be available in most countries, quite a lot of stuff (esp. various appliances in the catering industry) uses this type of cable. Usually it's red-brownish in color.Lapp has some like them under their own brand name:http://lapplimited.lappgroup.com/products/high-temperature-cable.html. Even a PTFE variant for 260 °C continuous temperature./e: Typo, it's silicone of course, not silicon.

author: motocoder
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 31, 2014, 05:59:08 pm
content: Quote from: dom0 on December 31, 2014, 04:59:33 pmYes, thanks. I might just toss a silicone tube, which are commonly available, over the end of the power cord I get from Haako.

author: SL4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 01, 2015, 10:55:29 pm
content: Insulation and Protection are a few of those magic words like fire-resistant, fire-retardant, and fire-proofLook carefully for the specifications and recommended installation of the individual item.Neither of these terms offers long-term protection, and / or may be damaged (like a seatbelt webbing) after being exposed to extreme events for more than a few seconds or minutes in specific exposure conditions.