420 Watt Hedge Trimmer.

Should buy a cordless model

The mains electric one that I replaced the flex on was very safe. You need to hold the trimmer in two places at once for the blades to operate, that presses in two separate switches.  Just like the old light bulb testing stations in F.W. Woolworth years ago. That way the sales assistant could not get electrocuted accidentally if she had her fingers in the lamp holder and switched it on with the other hand.


Z.

I got it right? yay made my day Lol

Colin Haggett:

Should buy a cordless model 

I have a Makita 36 volt hedge trimmer, it takes two 18 volt batteries that can be easily swapped about.


Andy B.

I had a similar call out, an elderly lady said the power supply to the freezer in her garage had failed and all the food had defrosted. The 30 amp fuse in the garage board has mysteriously blown, however when quizzed she pulled the hedge cutter out from under a bench with multiple taped repairs in its flex and enquired if it could have been the cause of the problem.


Andy B.

That is an interesting outcome because the exact amount of energy to operate each device must have all been achieved together. I would expect both B16s to operate because the fault current was probably in the "instant" range, and this must be very similar to the current required to blow a 5A fuse too, in much the same time. Dead shorts are always likely to do something like this, due to the high current and the very short period needed to operate CPDs. It shows exactly why submains (garage feed) with low value CPDs do not discriminate and therefore are a nuisance! This would puzzle the average consumer for some time as to what the fault was! Another point is that the 5A fuse may have been old, and they do "age" somewhat due to transient overloads etc, so if he does it again the new fuse may hold up.

I have cut through a hedge trimmer cable ...... twice, easily done! ?, but with weeks in between ............. and many moons ago.

The question of what would first trip/blow in this case is academic for a house; as long as the installation is kosher to the Regulations but as to the question; tolerances of the protective devices should be considered, and the probabilities of coincidence.


Jaymack

I had an experience while a child (well teenager) where I cut through the flex on our hedge trimmer, dead short... Nothing blew. The flex was about 50m of 0.75 orange 2 core, but it was the old tinned copper red/black flex. 13A fuse in the plug (due to using the same cord with a 1400w lawnmower, the 5's tended to blow before the lawn was done, big old victorian garden). Plugged in via a 'powerbreaker' plug in RCD into a 30 amp ringmain protected by the old wylex plug in MCB's. TN-S supply with 60amp incoming fuse. 


having a sparking flex jammed in the hedgetrimmer scared me enough to replace the flex with 1.0mm and invest in a 7 amp fuse!