Sagging power plugs in wall outlet, diy

@rfprice

I first cut the coupling down from 1-1/2" to 1-1/8". Reason for making it shorter is for plugging the plug in, but more importantly, unplugging the plug from the receptacle. Therein not pulling on the cord to help with unplugging it.. It gives the user 3/8" more of the plug body to grasp when unplugging it. There is still plenty of the cup to support the plug body. 3/8" may not sound like much but 3/8" makes a difference when trying to unplug the plug from an outlet like the Audioquest NRG duplex outlet. My Son gave me one a couple of years ago. It’s a pain in butt to pull a plug out of the duplex outlet. I’m not sure how how easy it would be to unplug a plug from the NRG if it was installed in tight place like behind an equipment stand.

As for using two uncut couplings... That wouldn’t work... I think the single cup support will support the plugs of two cords. When plugging in two Furutech plugs into a duplex outlet the bodies of the two plugs touch, rest, against one another.

The glue I used to fasting the cup to the duplex plate I used some GORILLA Super Glue I already had. I let it dry for 24 hours before applying pressure on the cup. Applying a lot of downward pressure it held with no problem. If I was to make another plug support unit I would buy a two part epoxy glue for plastic/PVC. Just an added note. I sanded, scuffed, the finish off the duplex plate real good where the Cup would be glued to the plate. That’s a must no matter what glue you use. For a better word you need to establish a "saw tooth" in the area of the plate the cup will be glued to. I also lightly scuffed up the side of the cup I cut off with the Miter Saw blade. FYI I used a piece of 120 grit sand paper on a flat surface. I then placed the cut edge of the cup on the sand paper, keeping the cup firmly flat against the sand paper while scuffing the edge of the cup. Point is you don’t want to round either side of the cup edges.

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@jea48 's idea is clever. I know Furutech makes an even more expensive cord support. I glued hockey pucks together in stacks, use 'em for this purpose. Cheap but effective and requires zero skills. 

@jea48 

This is clever. Does the coupling need to be trimmed down or could you just use one whole coupling for each outlet on the duplex? 

I’d just replace the duplex receptacle. They loosen with age. I use the hospital ones as well.

"Hospital grade" plugs are a large part about hard to unplug. they are hard to plug in and I don’t think they will sag.

The only difference between the Hubbell HBL 5362, 20A, Extra Heavy Duty outlet and a Hubbell 20 amp extra heavy duty hospital grade outlet is the hospital grade outlet has a beefed up equipment ground contact and the green dot on the face plate. Downside of most, maybe all, of the Hubbell hospital grade outlets manufactured today have nickel plated contacts and a galvanized steel supporting back strap. Neither are good for feeding audio equipment.

Jim

Those Sonore receptacle covers are a great idea, but the price is ridiculous.

@rfprice

FYI the Shunyata’s SR-Z1 outlet is basically a stock Hubbell HBL5362, (20 amp), duplex outlet. It has good contact holding pressure but it is no where near that of Furutech Receptacles outlets or the Audioquest NRG Edison Duplex Wall Outlet .

As for making a diy cable support device I made a duplex plate plug single cup support like the photo on the left in this Link. Sonore Power Cord Support .

Though I do not have any big heavy power cords I made the plug support just to see how hard it would be to make. Hard to believe they sell for $80.00. Once I decided how I would make it, based on looking at the photo in the above Link, from start to finish it took me about 30 minutes.

There are three components that are needed to build the plug support unit.

* A good strong white non breakable duplex plate (Like a Leviton or Pass & Seymour.)

* 1-1/2" PVC repair coupling. 1-1/2 in. PVC DWV Hub x Hub Repair Coupling Fitting

(One coupling will make two support cups. So you could build two outlet duplex plate units.)

* Glue to bond/fasten the cup to the plate.

I used a Miter Saw to make the three cuts needed to the PVC coupling. With The Miter Saw from layout to finish making the three cuts it took maybe 5 minutes. Some sanding with 120 grit sand paper on the two cup tails to round off the sharp cut edges maybe another 3 to 5 minutes. (Only sanded the tails on one cup).

I’ll try to download a a couple of photo of the unit I made later this evening.