Quick And Simple Way To Prevent Laptop Power Cords Fraying
I come across a lot of laptops with frayed power cords that are expensive to replace. Prevention is better than cure. Here's how to prevent the problem happening in the first place.
As a MacBook owner, I've grown accustom to the fact that it won't be long before the cable on the power cord starts to fray, and once that's happened, it's only a matter of time before I'm giving Apple another $80 for a charger.
Well, prevention is better than cure, so I've been taking steps to prevent the problem from happening, rather than dealing with it once it's started. And don't worry, this isn't specific to the MacBook - this will work on all brands of laptop power cords.
This also works for smartphone or laptop power cables. I know, because I've tested this on the weakest of the weak charger cables - the Apple Lightning cable.
I've been experimenting with a number of techniques over the past few months, and the best one I've come up with needs only two things: a pack of Sugru and a couple of small cable ties.
Not heard of Sugru? It's a mouldable adhesive made of polysiloxane (silicone caulk) and talc. It sets into a durable, waterproof silicone rubber in about 24 hours, and it's stable between -50°C (-58°F) to +180°C (356°F).
Here's what I do:
Step - 1:
Here's the laptop charger, the Sugru, the cable ties, and a pair of snips for cutting the cable ties.
Step - 2:
Next, I put a plastic tie at both ends of the cable (because I'm giving the Sugru treatment to both the connector end and the power brick end). It doesn't have to be super-tight, but you do need to be able to snip the tail off the cable tie as close to the lock as possible.
The purpose of the cable tie is to give the Sugru something to grip onto. It does work without this, but I've found that this gives a more durable fix.
Step - 3:
Here's the Sugru. I'm using black because that's what I had. It does make a bit of a mess, so if you want to be tidy I suggest using white.
Step - 4:
Now you just start molding it over the cable and the existing strain relief. If you're thinking of doing this on a new power cord, I actually suggest you wait a few months because you'll find that the cable usually takes on a particular bend or twist, and then you can mold the Sugru to follow these bends. This, believe it or not, makes the fix stronger.
And yes, I know my molding is messy. I never was any good at crafts.
Step - 5:
See how the Surgu molding at the connector end has a bend in it? I'm following what seems to be the way the cable wants to bend.
Source
↧