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  1. #1
    Mike Phillips
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    Review: Autogeek ProLock Power Cord by Mike Phillips

    Review: Autogeek ProLock Power Cord by Mike Phillips



    Autogeek ProLock Power Cord





    What it is?
    Professional grade, correct gauge wire, extension cord.


    What it does?
    Fully passes the 110 volt current from the power source to the power tool without any drop in Amperage, Wattage or Voltage.

    When to use it?
    Anytime you cannot plug your power tool directly into an electrical outlet.

    Why to use it?
    To prevent damage to your power tool's electric motor and components.


    Special Instructions
    While you can FORCE the electric prongs of the male end of a power cord into the ProLock receptacle, it's better over the life of the tool to pull back on the locking color and take the tension off the locking mechanism first.


    From the manufacturer

    • Manufactured to 12/3 AWG (American Wire Gauge) specifications.

    • Each of the three conductors contain 65 strands of 30 AWG 100% copper wire.

    • Automatic locking feature: Simply insert U-Ground plug into our patented Pro Lock® connector, and push together to lock. Pull the collar back to unlock. It's that simple.

    • Our Pro Lock® connectors are manufactured with high impact polycarbonate on both housing & collar. They provide hard service use and will not shatter.

    • Pro Lock® Pull Resistance: 80 Lbs. horizontally or vertically.

    • Molded Lighted Amber Power Check plug and indicates there is power running through the cord.

    • Molded Pro Lock® green lighted CGM connector identifies the cord has ground continuity.

    • Our -58°F (-50°C) special cold weather PVC jacket guarantees working flexibility in temperatures well below freezing.

    • UL Listed and cUL for Canada.


    Continuous Ground Monitoring or CGM
    When plugged into a grounded electrical outlet, the receptacle end of the cord will emit a glowing green light. When you see this you know your cord is plugged into a properly functioning grounded electrical outlet.



    My comments...

    A while back, I met a gentlemen by the name of Michael Vern via Facebook. Michael was restoring the original paint on a 1970 Ford Ranger Truck for a good friend of the family. His friend's dad bought this truck new from the dealership and it's going to remain in the family. Michael found me by researching information on how-to restore original single stage paint where he found my original article on the topic, this one,

    The Secret to Removing Oxidation and Restoring a Show Car Finish to Antique Single Stage Paints


    Later he contacted me with a few questions on the technique I shared in the above article. As a part of writing this review, I contacted Michael and asked him if it was okay to share his behind-the-scenes story and if so, could I get a couple of pictures of the truck to which he used the Meguiar's #7 I share in the above article. Michael was more than happy to help out and sent me the before and after pictures you see below.


    Here's the truck before,





    Here's the truck after,





    Nice work buddy!






    Fast-forward

    About a year later and I get a call from Michael about a new product. Michael knew I detail cars and also teach car detailing classes and he wanted to share a quality extension cord from the company he started working for MilSpec Industries.

    Just by coincidence, I had submitted a budget request for new extension cords for the car and boat detailing classes I teach here at Autogeek. Our last set of cords were now about 5 years old and the female receptacles were so worn out that tools would no longer stay plugged-in. They were so worn out that If found myself instructing the students in all my classes on how to TAPE the cords together.


    Taping cords together

    I always have 3M green painter's tape on hand in my classes so I would simply request everyone to use a strip of tape to tape their cords together like this,




    While not a perfect solution, it's better than tying knots with the cord ends because it creates less of a trip hazard.






    Don't tie cords

    Before the ProLock Power Cords, I would specifically asked my students to tape their cord ends together because if I didn't bring this topic up, then what normally happens is the students TIE their cords together in one of the 2 different methods below.


    Here's one way people tie cords together to make sure they don't come unplugged.




    Here's the other common way people tie cords together to make sure they don't come unplugged.




    Both methods of tying cords together create a trip hazard so neither are workable solutions.



    When I have 15 to 25 people in a class, that's a LOT of extension cords on the floor for me to have to navigate around. If you look at the floor areas in these two pictures, you can see the old yellow extension cords on the ground. It can get a little messy to walk around...






    Here's a better shot of what a lot of cords look like on the floor at one of my boat detailing classes.

    When people tie their cords together, it makes a trip hazard for Mike Phillips, (that's me), and I don't want to trip and I certainly don't have time to fall and possibly break one of my legs during a class. Plus, when people tie the end of their cords together, it causes me to talk in third person.









    Here's the solution!

    The Autogeek ProLock Power Cord!




    While the locking mechanism is cool, let's talk about the built-in SAFETY feature first.


    Continuous Ground Monitoring or CGM

    When plugged into a grounded electrical outlet, the receptacle end of the cord will emit a glowing green light. When you see this you know your cord is plugged into a properly functioning grounded electrical outlet.


    In the above sentence, I made the word grounded to show up as red text. That's because that's the key to working safely. Anytime you're using power tools, for the safety of the tool and the safety of yourself, you should be using AC current that includes a ground wire. When your ProLock Power Cord is plugged into a true GROUNDED electrical outlet there's a GREEN EMERALD light that lights up BRIGHT in the center of the female receptacle. If your ProLock Power Cord is NOT plugged into a truly grounded electrical outlet, the light is dim, hard to see.

    To show this safety feature, I took a cheap extension cord and cut away the plastic that prevents the male end of a power cord from being plugged in the wrong way. I did this on purpose to show via the below pictures the difference in the brightness of the emerald green light when plugged into a grounded outlet versus a non-grounded outlet.


    Note the YELLOW box I place around the plug-in. In the first picture, the ProLock cord is plugged in correctly and is grounded. In the second picture, the ProLock cord is plugged in incorrectly and is not grounded.







    Here's close-ups showing the difference between the bright emerald green light versus the dim green light.





    So make sure the emerald green light is BRIGHT before plugging in any of your power tools. Even if you are plugged into an electrical outlet that has the ground slot, that doesn't mean the electrical outlet is actually wired to code. It could also be a sign of a wiring problem behind the wall.





    How the connector works

    To use the ProLock Power Cord, using your fingers, pull back on the spring-loaded connector.




    The sliding connector pulls back about 3/8" of an inch.




    Now insert the male end of the power cord for your tool. Yes - you can simply shove the prongs into the slots without pulling the sliding connector back first, but by sliding the connector back first you remove all the tension on the internal wear parts.




    After pressing the prongs into the slots, release the sliding connector.





    Here's the sliding connector pulled back....





    Here's the sliding connector released to the LOCKED POSITION




    The connection is strong and secure.




    The Autogeek ProLock Power Cord is 25 feet long, more than enough for detailing your car in your garage.










    Review

    I love these cords. I don't have time to be messing around with my cords coming unplugged. I also don't like to waste my time or painter's tape - taping the end of my power tool to the end of an extension cord. I'm also too smart to use cheap, small gauge extension cords as this leads to an under performing tool and eventually tool failure.

    The first time I used a ProLock extension cord I was impressed with the solid locking design and I took comfort knowing my tools are getting all the power they need and deserve to operate at max performance.

    If you value your tool investment, then get an Autogeek ProLock Power Cord and never look back. I guarantee you'll never regret this investment. I think so highly of them, Autogeek let me purchase 20 of them and they are the official power cord for all our detailing classes.




    On Autogeek.com


    Autogeek ProLock Power Cord





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  3. #2
    Mike Phillips
    Guest

    Re: Review: Autogeek ProLock Power Cord by Mike Phillips

    More....


    ProLock Power Cords are the Official Power Cords for all Mike Phillips Detailing Classes.





    Can use any of the hundreds of tools you get to use in these classes without POWER!




  4. #3
    Mike Phillips
    Guest

    Review: Autogeek ProLock Power Cord by Mike Phillips




    These cords are now available on the AG store.

    Autogeek ProLock Power Cord




  5. #4
    Super Member Dr Oldz's Avatar
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    Re: Review: Autogeek ProLock Power Cord by Mike Phillips

    That’s actually a fantastic idea!
    Jim

  6. #5
    Super Member MarkD51's Avatar
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    Re: Review: Autogeek ProLock Power Cord by Mike Phillips

    Very nicely made Power Cord! Would be good for all uses around the shop and garage. Price also seems very fair as well. Walk into a big box store, and look at the prices, and then what you get for your money spent.

    I'm running two custom 9 gauge 1 meter "cheapo" Niangua-Osage Audio power cords to my pair of 7BSST2 Bryston Monoblock Amplifiers. Cost? $600 for the pair. Wish I had bought 2 meter Cords instead, a little bit too short.

    Means wherever I place those Amps, I need outlets close by.

  7. #6
    Mike Phillips
    Guest

    Re: Review: Autogeek ProLock Power Cord by Mike Phillips

    Quote Originally Posted by Dr Oldz View Post

    That’s actually a fantastic idea!

    And the timing was perfect. If Michael Vern had not cold called me about the cords the company he went to work for was introducing to the market I would have been stuck with the iffy cords like this on Amazon for about the same price.

    The reviews for the similar cords on Amazon were fairly split, some were good and some said the cords on Amazon were junk.


    Just goes to show the power of the Internet as Michael found me via an article I wrote back in the year 2010 - and about a topic that doesn't affect 99% of the car owning population - how to work on single stage paint.


    How does the saying go,

    Small world




  8. #7
    Super Member MarkD51's Avatar
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    Re: Review: Autogeek ProLock Power Cord by Mike Phillips

    Can't even count how many times I'd be using an extension Cord, go to squeeze the trigger on some power tool in use, then nothing! LOL

    Turn around, and yep, it's unplugged.

    Left me to resorting to the tricks you previously mention, knots, tape.

  9. #8
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    Re: Review: Autogeek ProLock Power Cord by Mike Phillips

    Love the locking plug idea. The LED for the true ground is nice addition. How would you rate the flexibility of this cord? It is Flexzilla flexible or stiffer? Looks like it may still have memory to it from the one picture, but its probably also brand new.

  10. #9
    Super Member JWilliams.RadiantDetail's Avatar
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    Re: Review: Autogeek ProLock Power Cord by Mike Phillips

    Last time I used an extention cord when I was detailing my car. I probably spent almost as much time re-plugging the cord in than actually detailing. Weird how I was too lazy to be bothered to knot the cables together so it wouldn't happen. But I had to walk back and forth like 20 times to fix it lol. AG should IMHO, sell the 50 footer. I saw it on Google (100 footer too) 25's definitely awesome but for me 50 would be prime.

  11. #10
    Mike Phillips
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    Re: Review: Autogeek ProLock Power Cord by Mike Phillips

    Quote Originally Posted by j.williams at perpetualradiance View Post

    Last time I used an extention cord when I was detailing my car. I probably spent almost as much time re-plugging the cord in than actually detailing. Weird how I was too lazy to be bothered to knot the cables together so it wouldn't happen. But I had to walk back and forth like 20 times to fix it lol.
    I can't think of how much time has been wasted in my classes due to cheap cords coming unplugged.



    Quote Originally Posted by j.williams at perpetualradiance View Post

    AG should IMHO, sell the 50 footer.
    Just to note, we did bring in the FLEX 50' Power Cord as soon as it become available. It's the right gauge for running all your expensive and even cheap power tools. It does not have the locking feature of the ProLock cord. Here's my review for the FLEX cord,

    Review: FLEX 50 Foot - Heavy Duty Extension Cord - Don't use cheap cords with expensive power tools


    I take 2-3 of these with me for my roadshow car detailing classes as sometimes I need to run a power cord a long distance to get power to where the cars are being worked on.



    Quote Originally Posted by j.williams at perpetualradiance View Post

    I saw it on Google (100 footer too) 25's definitely awesome but for me 50 would be prime.
    I agree that a 50' footer is great for a detail shop or a mobile detailer, but they certainly don't work for my classes. Imagine twenty 50' power cords, (plus or minus 5 cords) all sprawled all over the floor around cars. Too much cord. Becomes a trim hazard and storing that many 50' cords is an issue and so is packing them in totes and shipping them.

    But yeah, for an individual, a 50' footer would be ideal.


    If the 25' cords sell well then the bean counters here at AG might bring them in.

    Half to wait and see....



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