Lane Machine Tip - Alex Smith

The shocking truth to power cords.

Contrary to popular belief the purpose of the power cord is not just for you to untangle before running your lane machine. It actually has more uses than collecting old pieces of electrical tape. We understand that this may be a shock to you but the power cord delivers electricity to the lane machine. And believe it or not that cord goes through more abuse than you can imagine. Think about it, it gets unrolled, plugged in, twisted, dragged, pulled, snagged on bumpers, unplugged, and rolled up. Now this is just running the lanes one time. Hopefully that will put it into perspective for you.   So this month we’re going to help you keep the power cord in good shape.

It’s good practice to occasionally remove the ends from the power cord to ensure that all the connections are good. If good connections are not made it could cause issues with lane machine operation, become a fire hazard, or compromise employee safety. The copper wire in the cord is stranded, meaning that one wire is made up of multiple wires. During the use of the cord these strands can weaken and break, especially at the plug ends. Poor connections can cause a “MESSAGE NO MESSAGE” error. This can occur when less than 96 Volts are applied to the lane machine. The following is instructions on how to guarantee good connections.

-Remove power cord from power source (make sure it’s not plugged in)
-Make a diagram of where each of the 3 wires go.
-Remove the strain relief and plug from the power cord.
-Cut about 3 inches off the cord.
-Remove about 1 inch of the grey jacket
-Strip about ¼ inch off each of the 3 wires
-Heat the exposed copper wires melting solder into the strands
-Install wires into plugs (using the diagram you made earlier)
-Make sure ALL wires and terminals in the plugs are tight.
-Reassemble plug
-Repeat procedure for opposite end of the cord.

There are many other things you can do to help keep the power cord in good shape and extend its life.
-Roll the cord in large loops and hang on wall hooks.
-Allow the cord to run through a rag in your hand when running the lanes.
-DO NOT wrap and store the cord around the machine.
-Make sure gutters and capping have no exposed screws.
-Avoid getting cord stuck on bumpers or scoring cameras.

If your power cord is beyond repair SBI offers an equivalent replacement to the OEM power cords, for a fraction of the OEM cost.

Part Number          Description                                                              Price
SB-154-8229          Power cord (sold by the foot)                              $1.50 (per foot)
SB-154-8229A        Power Cord Assembly (125’ w/ends)                 $249.00

Alex Smith and David Rue are available 24/7 to answer any of your lane maintenance questions and lane machine tech support.