4 ms·

What are people doing to their Apple chargers to make them fray? I've had the same Apple charger for several years, packing and unpacking it daily in my backpac

by gaur 10y ago

What are people doing to their Apple chargers to make them fray? I've had the same Apple charger for several years, packing and unpacking it daily in my backpack, and it shows no sign of fraying.

makmanalp 10y ago
Do you ever sit on a couch with your laptop? I do this a lot, and I think this is when it gets destroyed. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a good way to avoid this other than just making the cable sturdier somehow.
- Jtsummers 10y ago
  An ex-girlfriend used her (non-mac) laptop on the couch a lot, and constantly ended up with frayed cables. What I found was that when she used a plugged-in device, she paid little attention to the angle the cable went out at. I guess it's from my time dealing with fiber, but I always make sure that if the cable has to turn a corner, I give it as gentle a curve as possible. This makes a huge difference in resisting fraying.
- gaur 10y ago
  How does your couch destroy your charger cord?
  - makmanalp 10y ago
    It's hard to be in sitting position and also keep the cable flat and going to the side. It's usually at least hanging downwards, and also perhaps sideways if you're sitting lengthwise on the couch.
jt2190 10y ago
Coiling the cord by hand causes the wire to twist, which in turn causes fraying. See this video for more details: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEd7ru24Vx0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEd7ru24Vx0
- scoot 10y ago
  > Coiling the cord by hand causes the wire to twist, which in turn causes fraying. Not if you know how to coil it properly - yet the sheath on the cable of my MBP PSU has split, despite not using the fold-up cable storage arms that would encourage bending the cable at an awkward angle.
  - gaur 10y ago
    I always use the arms, like this: https://www.wired.com/images_blogs/gadgetlab/2013/12/131213_Macbook_power_02-660x440.jpg https://www.wired.com/images_blogs/gadgetlab/2013/12/131213_... Works fine over about 1000 (?) repetitions so far.
- gaur 10y ago
  Sometimes I think that the usual workplace safety orientation videos should be replaced (augmented?) with videos like these, showing simple tips for how to keep the workplace from becoming a disaster: how to coil cables, how to do your dishes, how to walk down the hall without making everyone's desks vibrate, etc.
B1FF_PSUVM 10y ago
Bending cables at >90 degrees near the connector will do it. Yelling at the persons who do that, followed by applying unsightly amounts of tape to make it impossible to do, will delay the inevitable. (Third step, acceptance: order more cables from sources according to the tightness of your fist.)

by gaur 10y ago

What are people doing to their Apple chargers to make them fray? I've had the same Apple charger for several years, packing and unpacking it daily in my backpack, and it shows no sign of fraying.

makmanalp 10y ago

Do you ever sit on a couch with your laptop? I do this a lot, and I think this is when it gets destroyed. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a good way to avoid this other than just making the cable sturdier somehow.

Jtsummers 10y ago
An ex-girlfriend used her (non-mac) laptop on the couch a lot, and constantly ended up with frayed cables. What I found was that when she used a plugged-in device, she paid little attention to the angle the cable went out at. I guess it's from my time dealing with fiber, but I always make sure that if the cable has to turn a corner, I give it as gentle a curve as possible. This makes a huge difference in resisting fraying.
gaur 10y ago
How does your couch destroy your charger cord?
- makmanalp 10y ago
  It's hard to be in sitting position and also keep the cable flat and going to the side. It's usually at least hanging downwards, and also perhaps sideways if you're sitting lengthwise on the couch.

jt2190 10y ago

Coiling the cord by hand causes the wire to twist, which in turn causes fraying. See this video for more details: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEd7ru24Vx0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEd7ru24Vx0

scoot 10y ago
> Coiling the cord by hand causes the wire to twist, which in turn causes fraying. Not if you know how to coil it properly - yet the sheath on the cable of my MBP PSU has split, despite not using the fold-up cable storage arms that would encourage bending the cable at an awkward angle.
- gaur 10y ago
  I always use the arms, like this: https://www.wired.com/images_blogs/gadgetlab/2013/12/131213_Macbook_power_02-660x440.jpg https://www.wired.com/images_blogs/gadgetlab/2013/12/131213_... Works fine over about 1000 (?) repetitions so far.
gaur 10y ago
Sometimes I think that the usual workplace safety orientation videos should be replaced (augmented?) with videos like these, showing simple tips for how to keep the workplace from becoming a disaster: how to coil cables, how to do your dishes, how to walk down the hall without making everyone's desks vibrate, etc.

B1FF_PSUVM 10y ago

Bending cables at >90 degrees near the connector will do it. Yelling at the persons who do that, followed by applying unsightly amounts of tape to make it impossible to do, will delay the inevitable. (Third step, acceptance: order more cables from sources according to the tightness of your fist.)