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Extension cable loosing flexibility
DerbyDad03 wrote:
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. Why not do it the other way round? Poke the socket end through the reel's side holes, without an extra 6 feet. Then just wrap the whole rest of it round the reel, ending with the plug. To use, place the reel near the equipment you want to power, and un-reel as much as you need to reach the socket in the garage (or plug it straight in in the garage and start unreeling towards the equipment). That way it's just like the shop-bought reels which come with a socket or four built into the hub of the reel. |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
On Feb 28, 7:07*pm, Ronald Raygun
wrote: DerbyDad03 wrote: 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. Why not do it the other way round? *Poke the socket end through the reel's side holes, without an extra 6 feet. *Then just wrap the whole rest of it round the reel, ending with the plug. *To use, place the reel near the equipment you want to power, and un-reel as much as you need to reach the socket in the garage (or plug it straight in in the garage and start unreeling towards the equipment). That way it's just like the shop-bought reels which come with a socket or four built into the hub of the reel. "To use, place the reel near the equipment you want to power" Think about that. Let's say I want to use hand held power tool, which is more often than not what I use an extension cord for. With the cord reel "near" the tool, I'm limited to the length of the tool's cord which now has the cord reel hanging off the end of it. My way, the tool is plug into a freely movable extension cord which I can toss, pull, flip anywhere I want. Why would I want a cord reel, possibly with a bunch of extension cord still on it, hanging off the end of my tool cord? Seems pretty limiting to me. |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
On Feb 28, 2:37*pm, "'Mike'" wrote:
"DerbyDad03" wrote in message ... On Feb 25, 1:17 pm, Higgs Boson wrote: On Feb 20, 7:15 am, "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. 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 |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
"DerbyDad03" wrote in message ... On Feb 28, 2:37 pm, "'Mike'" wrote: "DerbyDad03" wrote in message ... On Feb 25, 1:17 pm, Higgs Boson wrote: On Feb 20, 7:15 am, "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. 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 .................................................. ................................ Well that's OK then ;-)) Mike -- .................................... Don't take life too seriously, you'll never get out alive .................................... |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Feb 28, 7:07 pm, Ronald Raygun wrote: DerbyDad03 wrote: 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. Why not do it the other way round? Poke the socket end through the reel's side holes, without an extra 6 feet. Then just wrap the whole rest of it round the reel, ending with the plug. To use, place the reel near the equipment you want to power, and un-reel as much as you need to reach the socket in the garage (or plug it straight in in the garage and start unreeling towards the equipment). That way it's just like the shop-bought reels which come with a socket or four built into the hub of the reel. "To use, place the reel near the equipment you want to power" Think about that. Let's say I want to use hand held power tool, which is more often than not what I use an extension cord for. With the cord reel "near" the tool, I'm limited to the length of the tool's cord which now has the cord reel hanging off the end of it. My way, the tool is plug into a freely movable extension cord which I can toss, pull, flip anywhere I want. Why would I want a cord reel, possibly with a bunch of extension cord still on it, hanging off the end of my tool cord? Seems pretty limiting to me. That's a fair point, the cords on tools are often far too short, and the last thing you want is to be holding the weight of the reel as well as the tool itself, especially if you're up a ladder. Do I take it that your reel is open and you unwrap from it and wrap onto it without rotating the actual reel? Because if the process involves rolling and unrolling (as opposed to wrapping and unwrapping), then the 6 foot pokey out bit will be flailing around as you do so, and it would be impossible to do as you described, i.e. to plug it in and then unreel the socket end. You would need instead to keep the plug end free to flail (so that it doesn't acquire as much twist as the unrolling operation will impart to it). Either that or you could fit a partition disc into the reel so that you roll up the plug and socket ends either side of it, and to have an arrangement to keep the (short) plug end clipped in place while the (long) socket end is being rolled up or unrolled. |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember Ronald Raygun saying something like: Why not do it the other way round? Poke the socket end through the reel's side holes, without an extra 6 feet. Then just wrap the whole rest of it round the reel, ending with the plug. To use, place the reel near the equipment you want to power, and un-reel as much as you need to reach the socket in the garage (or plug it straight in in the garage and start unreeling towards the equipment). Which is exactly the way I did it 20 years ago with two diy reels, using orange lead and welding wire reels. Over the years the brittleness of the plastic reels has shown up, but on balance they've lasted well enough, including a decade of hard professional use. |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
On Mar 1, 5:18*am, Ronald Raygun
wrote: DerbyDad03 wrote: On Feb 28, 7:07 pm, Ronald Raygun wrote: DerbyDad03 wrote: 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. Why not do it the other way round? *Poke the socket end through the reel's side holes, without an extra 6 feet. *Then just wrap the whole rest of it round the reel, ending with the plug. *To use, place the reel near the equipment you want to power, and un-reel as much as you need to reach the socket in the garage (or plug it straight in in the garage and start unreeling towards the equipment). That way it's just like the shop-bought reels which come with a socket or four built into the hub of the reel. "To use, place the reel near the equipment you want to power" Think about that. Let's say I want to use hand held power tool, which is more often than not what I use an extension cord for. With the cord reel "near" the tool, I'm limited to the length of the tool's cord which now has the cord reel hanging off the end of it. My way, the tool is plug into a freely movable extension cord which I can toss, pull, flip anywhere I want. Why would I want a cord reel, possibly with a bunch of extension cord still on it, hanging off the end of my tool cord? Seems pretty limiting to me. That's a fair point, the cords on tools are often far too short, and the last thing you want is to be holding the weight of the reel as well as the tool itself, especially if you're up a ladder. Do I take it that your reel is open and you unwrap from it and wrap onto it without rotating the actual reel? *Because if the process involves rolling and unrolling (as opposed to wrapping and unwrapping), then the 6 foot pokey out bit will be flailing around as you do so, and it would be impossible to do as you described, i.e. to plug it in and then unreel the socket end. *You would need instead to keep the plug end free to flail (so that it doesn't acquire as much twist as the unrolling operation will impart to it). *Either that or you could fit a partition disc into the reel so that you roll up the plug and socket ends either side of it, and to have an arrangement to keep the (short) plug end clipped in place while the (long) socket end is being rolled up or unrolled.- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - This is pretty much the reel(s) I use: http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...=SPM1536076901 It has a handle for "reeling" the cord in, but I never use it. I manually wrap/unwrap the cord. It's less about the loose end flailing around than it is the fact that I just find it easier to wrap than to reel. |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
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 Handyman www.medwayhandyman.co.uk |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
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. |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
On Sun, 20 Feb 2011 15:15:46 -0000, "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. Just stretch it out flat and roll it up like a wheel. |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
"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 ;) |
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