50 amp male plug

[Grandpa]

I noticed over the weekend that the male end of my 50amp cable has separated from the rubber wire cover. It's one of those molded plugs that should not be coming apart. There is a white fabric that is visible maybe an inch or so but no bare wires yet. I'm considering wrapping the plug and the wire with Gorilla tape to help prevent further separtion. Anyone else experienced this? Should I cut the plug off and replace it? Any feedback is welcome! Thank you!

[johnboytoo]

Hmmm,
never had that happen,
are you THAT strong that you pulled it apart ????


but a replacement is easy to find and easy to replace with just a bit of time... (and following along with EZ - this one is easier to unplug!!!)

I actually bought a female 50 amp plug to protect my umbilical cords male end since the powered retract reel drags the end across the grass/concrete/whatever
I just plug the female on the male and it comes in much cleaner easier.

[almcc]

Yes, I've experienced that on both 50 amp and 30 amp plugs. The replacement plugs are better in that they have screw down clamps that hold the wire firmly.

I've also had to replace plugs (on the 30 amp cables) due to the prongs being burned up.

Not sure if the cable is moulded to those plugs, you may ant to try to push the cable into the plug then clamp it.

[Elliott & Vicky]

I wish they made the female end with a 90 degree bend to take the stress off the connector and plug.

[0nTheRoad]

Next best thing...Camco 55572 18" 50 AMP Locking Male/50 AMP Locking 90 Degree Female PowerGrip Dogbone Electrical Adapter

[Shane Wood]

Elliot
As chuck has shown in his reply there are different types of plugs and cords that we can get to eliminate this problem. I do not know why redwood or any of the other brands would put the straight plug we have with these units. The stress put on them from the weight of the cord is a problem. My last trailer had the same type and the connection melted because of this. I replaced it with the 90% Type and never had another problem. I also had to replace the trailer receptive as well cause they were melted together. It's all dollars and cents to the manufactors

[homeguy]

I loop mine thru the bottom rung of the ladder to remove the stress.

[robkathybat]

For those of you that have replaced the molded plugs, I'd like to pass along some experience that we had at work related to welding plugs. They are very similar to our 50 plugs. Due to the nature of welding the current through the plug changes rapidly, causing a rapid heating/cooling cycle. Granted our plugs don't go through rapid current changes but over time the same thing can happen. What we discovered that the rapid heating/cooling would cause the screwed connections to become loose to the point that the plug would overheat and fail. Now I can imagine that our molded plugs can have the same thing happen. I don;t know how the wires are actually connected to the prongs, unless they are soldered. I have never autopsied a plug. So as a suggestion to those of us who have replaced our plugs I would periodically check the screws are tight inside. Remember 50 amps is 6000 watts of energy and needs to be respected.

[r time soon]

Good advice for those who have changed out their plug end(s).

Chris

[Grandpa]

Thanks to all for the feedback! I purchased the Camco replacement plug and made the change today. An easy fix!

[homeguy]

in addition to help with the heating cooling, you can use 'nolox' on your connection. We use it when connecting copper and aluminum together to help fight the heating/cooling swelling.