"DerbyDad03" wrote in message
...
On Mar 1, 3:56 pm, The Medway Handyman
wrote:
On 01/03/2011 01:59, DerbyDad03 wrote:





On Feb 28, 2:37 pm, wrote:
wrote in message

...
On Feb 25, 1:17 pm, Higgs wrote:

On Feb 20, 7:15 am, "john wrote:

This is about those extension power leads ( usually orange coloured
from
B&
Q etc). Quite often sold for use with electric lawn mowers.

These cables seem to have 'a mind of their own' every time you reel
them
up
and unreel them.

It's like a 'memory effect' they have, ( as if they are not flexible
enough ) and want to keep moving in a direction that they must have
been
stored in previously.

This probably sounds like a minor thing. But the total time wasted
and
frustration trying to unravel the thing mounts up time after time.

I've tried that trick sailors use in giving it a small twist every
time
you
reel it around your arm, but its just a bit too stiff to do that
successfully. Has anyone else found a good way to deal with this? It
has
crossed my mind that this cable is just too old and has lost what
flexibility it did have once.

I read through this interesting thread dealing with heavy-duty cords/
cables/ropes.

Is there a "right" was to store ordinary household extension cords?

TIA

HB- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I have two 25 foot outdoor extension cords that I keep on orange cord
reels.

I "installed" the cords as follows:

I put the plug end through one of the holes in the side of the reel,
and left about 6 feet hanging out. I then wrapped the rest of the cord
around the reel in the normal fashion. Once the cord is fully coiled
on the reel, I wrapped the 6 feet that was hanging loose around the
reel.

What this allows me to do is unwrap the 6 foot length that has the
plug, plug it it into an outlet and lay the reel on the ground. I can
now un-reel only as much of the receptacle end as I need.

The reason for the 6 feet is that all of my garage receptacles and and
the receptacle under my raised deck are 4 - 5 feet off of the ground.
If I started wrapping the plug end tight against the reel, I'd have to
unwrap the full cord in order to plug it in.

.................................................. .........................*........................ ........

BEWARE BEWARE BEWARE BEWARE.

If you are only using your lead for a short period over a short
distance and
with a small load and you leave it coiled, 'sort of OK'

However, if you are running a large load, Electric Fires etc, uncoil
THE LOT
and snake it out.

I had an 100 Metre extension lead made just as you described. Some
boatbuilders borrowed it to run an Electric Fire in their 'tea room'.
Overheated and buggarred up the complete reel. "Mike this has burnt
out.
Have you got another one?"

I am much too polite to print here what I said ;-)

Mike

--

...................................
Don't take life too seriously, you'll never get out alive
...................................

I know and I'm aware...it's rare that I'm running anything that's
going to burn the cord out. When I'm in doubt, I check the cord for
warmth on a regular basis...or I hose it down to keep it cool.g

Since you use the term 'cord' would I be right in thinking you are of
the American persuasion?

Overheating will be much worse with your 115 volt electrics.

--
Dave - The Medway Handymanwww.medwayhandyman.co.uk- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Yes, I'm American.

Yes, overheating would be worse with 115 American volts.

Yes, I have been using the method described earlier for somewhere
around 2 American decades.

Yes, I will continue to employ my method for the foreseeable American
future.

No, I probably won't let the group know if I ever burn out an American
extension cord because of the use of this method.

g


Hey, you may not be aware of this yet, but there's a place to the south of
you called South America.

It may be helpful, in the future, to refer to yourself as a North American,
just in case we get the wrong idea, or we have no idea either