Extension Cords

[TheAndy]

I like to use heavy duty Velcro cable wraps.    http://www.riptie.com/Pages/cw.html

I also use different colors of electrical tape on the ends to designate cord lengths.

 

[Bikeboy80]

I still think garden hose reel is better, you could Daisey chain different lengths together and its very mobile.

Unfortunately it would take up too much room in the van [unsure]

I'll have to try the "daisy chain"  method tomorrow, see how it works.

I may also cut down on the number of cords. As my number of Festool's increase I seem to be using the cords less and less. [tongue] I currently carry three 25', one 50' w/ triple plug and one 100'. I can't remember the last time I used the 50' and could probably get rid of a 25'.

 

[Bikeboy80]

I like to use heavy duty Velcro cable wraps.    http://www.riptie.com/Pages/cw.html

I also use different colors of electrical tape on the ends to designate cord lengths.

Those look nice!

My dad tried using the Velcro straps that are sold at the box stores, were good at the beginning but very quickly wore out.

 

[johninthecamper]

all those wraps. and Velcro and such are nice( monster cable), no rental house uses those gizmos.any cable u can rent has a long shoe lace( synthetic or natural tie line or cloth strip),attached at both plugs. wrap both strings twice and tie your shoe.then do the other plug. k.i.s.s.

 

[Stone Message]

Do not wrap cords around your arm as it can cause the conductors inside to twist. Start with the end in your left hand (if you are right handed) and pass a length from your right hand to the left where it is held. Repeat, until all of the cord is neatly in your left hand. You need to have prepared a short piece of rope or thick string, about 2 feet long, by joining the ends together. Now take the neat roll of cord in one hand and pass the rope lope through. Pass one end of the rope through itself and it can then be hung up (on a nail, hook in your van, put over the extended arm of a traffic cop - and many other places).

In the attached photo you can see that I use this method with my plug-it cord when not in use. I have a special hook (no traffic cops were available at the time) set into the side of my DD drop box.

Cord reels that wind the cord in uniformly work okay but beware of methods that can damage the conductors.

Peter

 

[Deansocial]

I tried the over under technique but it still got ravelled up, i guess the cables already stuffed from doing it wrong for ages. Like many i just did what i saw done as an apprentice.

 

[semenza]

Yeah, over / under can be difficult if the cable  isn't pliable enough  to cooperate with "flipping" it both ways. The folds tend to want to spring open.

Seth

 

[pugilato]

I have seen them rolled into a 5-gal bucket, much like some people do with garden hoses in big pots.

 

[johninthecamper]

any cable that is curly q can be un done by over under, each time you to it,it will get better,maybe original shape if its not to far gone
and stretch the cable out long helps,allowing it to twist and roll as you wrap it

 

[Sparktrician]

I prefer to use the old sailor's trick of doing one loop while twisting the cable one turn the opposite way.  Sounds more complicated than it really is.  Another method is "flaking" the cord in a figure-8 manner.  The flaked cord will eliminate too much twisting of the conductors. 

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[johninthecamper]

figure 8. is the same as over under,you just have two connected loops, instead of one coil,I almost mentioned this at seths comment about the fat cable,figure 8  is actually easier to learn,the bigger the cable the more likely you will end up doing a 8.the two coils can be folded,you must unfold it first to unwrap it

 

[Rick Christopherson]

Wrapping a cord around your arm causing problems is actually an old wive's tale from the person not properly twisting the cord in the process. With every wrap around your elbow, you need to rotate the free-end of the cord accordingly.

If you know how to coil a rigid air hose without that hose laying in a mess, then you know how to properly wrap a power cord. The problem is, is that most people don't know this because the power cord is flexible enough to not force you to do it.

With every wrap around your elbow, you twist the free-end of the cord 1 revolution. The result is no different than putting the cord on a rotary reel. Yes, I used to be in the business, and yes, I would laugh at the guys wrapping figure-8's. It was messy, and it meant that they didn't understand the process of wrapping a cord.

If you do it right, you should be able to coil a cord or hose flat on the ground (no elbow or guide), and it will follow a tight circle without any loops wanting to stand off the ground. If any loop stands off the ground, it means you have not twisted it from its normal lay.

This guy shows it fairly well with a small extension cord.

 

[sw1211]

Cordpro works well

 

[johninthecamper]

you have to use figure8 for a hot single conductor cable,otherwise you create a electro magnet,with enough amps,time relative to temperature, a melt threw will happen.this does not apply to a multi conductor cable,which this topic is about

 

[Rick Christopherson]

you have to use figure8 for a hot single conductor cable,otherwise you create a electro magnet,with enough amps,time relative to temperature, a melt threw will happen.this does not apply to a multi conductor cable,which this topic is about

This is another common myth. A coil can only increase impedance. It cannot make the circuit have less impedance. Furthermore, the effect of a few loose turns of wire is next to nothing.

It started out as a site joke, similar to telling the new guy to go get the "board stretcher" out of the truck. Unfortunately, the joke wasn't always revealed in the end, and so it propagated over time.

 

[tiralie]

It started out as a site joke, similar to telling the new guy to go get the "board stretcher" out of the truck. Unfortunately, the joke wasn't always revealed in the end, and so it propagated over time.

When I worked underground the new guy was often asked to go find the "sky hook"
Tim