js.b1 ) wibbled on Sunday 20 February 2011 20:10:

On Feb 20, 3:15 pm, "john reeves" wrote:
This is about those extension power leads ( usually orange coloured from
B & Q etc). Quite often sold for use with electric lawn mowers.

Lawn mowers are usually Class-2, round 2-core.
I have a feeling the insulated cores inside are not laid with a twist,
or if they are the twist is not sufficient to give the cable a "self-
coiling" nature. The sheath tends to be highly flexible which prevents
a "memory" of it being on a reel so it tends to "spaghetti heap".

A comment, if you can use 0.75mm 3-core, then Screwfix do H05RNF in
25m reels for about 50p/m which is very cheap if local to you. N =
Neoprene or PolyChloroPrene (PCP) which is the "next one up" from PVC.
R = rubber which will perish eventually. Homebase & B&Q offer a range
of cables, but about three times the price of Screwfix (and more often
H05RRF). Toolstation might do some (if not, someone email to suggest
they carry 1.0mm H05RNF which would cleanup).

I think Screwfix also do cheap 25m reels of orange 1.00mm, so do not
suffer a "thorn shredded" cable. Just make sure any appliance plug/
socket remains correctly positioned, eg, 2-core shielded socket on the
supply side.

I got a load of blue "arctic" cable from TLC and made my own leads up. The
blue is remarkebly well behaved - lies flat most of the time, almost as good
as rubber flex - and (as implied by its name) also behaves fairly well at
-3C.

It's taken a lot of abuse too and come out quite well.

--
Tim Watts