'Flex' (flexible electric cable)

[Chris Hogg]

Years ago, 'flex' was just that - flexible. Today it seems, every bit of domestic equipment comes with a bundle of semi-rigid cable, tied up in a sort of figure-8 arrangement, that remains persistently kinked years after being unwound. It lies there on the floor, a sort of Loch Ness Monster of loops, desperate to catch your foot and trip you up as you pass by. Old, real 'flex' lay safely flat on the floor. I'm surprised Elfin hasn't had something to say about it. Is there an easy way of permanently de-kinking modern flex, or even better, restoring some old-fashioned flexibility to it?

[meow2222]

String filled flex is the solution. I forget the formal name but its still sold.

NT

[Tim Watts]

On Monday 07 January 2013 22:55 [e-mail] wrote in uk.d-i-y:

My Blue Bosch drill and Fein Multimaster both have "perfect" lay flat flex. Rubber rather than PVC.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Change it for rubber stuff. More expensive than PVC, of course.

[harry]

In days of yore it was rubber and it was not a problem. There are now at least three grades of plastic flex. I think the reason it remains wrinkly is that on many appliances it is vastly oversized and never gets warm/soft enough to lay flat.

[PeterC]

It is a damned nuisance. I planed through such a nonflex when I flicked it out of the way and the flicking stuff flicked back. My hair trimmer has a stiff, permanently kinky lead and it gets hooked over various things. The worst was a 10W soldering iron, as the lead steered the iron. I replaced the lead with silicone lead and that was ideal.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

A decent iron will have silicone flex anyway as it will resist damage from a hot iron, unlike PVC.

[PeterC]

Yes, a decent one will, but this was a Litesold from about 35 years ago.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Antex used to list the option of PVC or silicone on at least some of their models.

[PeterC]

Mr. Plessey wouldn't spend the money on those. I had to argue to get the flex at all.

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

I have a 15W Antex that's approaching 30 years on its PVC flex - it's still kinked in the same kinks it was folded in when it was boxed or carded new. Pain in the arse, it is. Another Antex just a year or two older has a silicone lead, as did my other iron of the time, and it was lovely to use, hardly ever having to take extra care where the lead went or did with itself, because it behaved properly. That one's been needing a new element for ages, and the flex aggravation of the working one makes me think I'll swap them around.

Kind of like a re-flex action.