RE: Tangle Free Extension Cords

[Lew Hodgett]

An online tip from WoodSmith

Enjoy

Lew

---------------------------

[Robert Allison]

around with me for decades. BUT,...I always start braiding in the middle and work toward the ends. That way, if I only need to use 20 feet of cord, that is all I pull out of the braid. I also mark the middle of my cords so that it is easy to remember where to start braiding. Once you do it for awhile, the cords will "remember" how to go back together and they almost braid themselves.

Robert Allison New Braunfels, TX

[Luigi Zanasi]

appreciate this, Lew) on a sailing trip around Vancouver Island. The owner insisted we coiled all ropes and lines the same way he did when he was mountain climbing, which I think is called a butterfly coil

. At first I thought: "OK, it's his boat, so we do it his way." But then I realized that it was much better than that standard sailor way of flaking a line . The butterfly coil works really well on extensions also, they don't tangle. And for people in Canadian banana belt and other climates, there is less of chance of breaking the extension plastic cover when you uncoil in the cold.

Luigi

[Lew Hodgett]

Cool. Better than the method I now use which I learned (you will appreciate this, Lew) on a sailing trip around Vancouver Island.

----------------------------- The larger the cord, the better it works.

I can think of a few reasons why it might not be the best on boat a boat, but might be worth a try.

Lew

[Leon]

FWIW, out door extension cords are often used to cacacity. Even during normal use they will generate heat and if used in a tangled mess, on a cord reel, or if they are braded they will generate even more heat if not allowed to vent/cool in an open/paid out orientation. It is advised that extension cords not be used unless fully opened or spread out.

[-MIKE-]

video world, since we work with very long cable that often contain dozens of very small gauge conductors which can make the cable verry prone to kinking.

I've like them but they all take up way too much space on the wall. I prefer a simple "over/under" loop. Unfortunately, it's near impossible for me to do an adequate description of the technique with text. Maybe I'll post a video.

[-MIKE-]

This guy does a decent job of explaining. Actually he explains waaaaaaay too much for waaaaaaay too long. :-) Fast forward to 1 minute and play....

[RicodJour]

Hey Bob. Haven't seen you in a while, where've you been?

I've mucked about with various methods, but I never tried one where you start in the middle. I like that better than the regular looping method as that pretty much requires you to undo all of the cord every time. Your method addresses the problem of when you only need to use a portion of the cord, which for me at least, is a fair bit of the time, particularly on long cords. But doesn't that leave the remainder of the looped cord in the middle of the run? If there's excess I like to have excess cord left by the receptacle so there's less likelihood of it getting in the way. Is there a way of doing that with your method? It seems the only way to do that with your looping method is to pull out double what you need and leave half of it by the receptacle.

R

[SonomaProducts.com]

was a plumbers laborer). Every job truck on every job site I saw for years had cords hanging on the racks just like this. I find it is great for heavy rubber cords, which we used. Not so much for the stiff plastic thin cords typically used around the shop.

[Max]

When I went to work for the fire department in '53, one of the first things I was taught was how to coil the "booster hose" aka "ready line" aka "red line" a relatively stiff 1" ID hose line. "Over/under" works like a charm. I've used the method ever since for electric cords and air hose.

Max

[tiredofspam]

The over under and braiding have all been shown on an episode of fine home builder tips about 6 -7 mos ago.

I use the over under for my air hoses. Allows me to pull it out easily.

[Robert Allison]

Rico, I have been working industrial stuff for the last three years,

60-70 hours a week. Haven't had much time to post, nor the energy. Semi=retired now, so plenty of time, though still not much energy.

As far as the cords go, yes you have to leave the extra in the middle, but if it is in the way, I just undo more or all of it.

As to the previous poster, I have never had any problem with heat or loss of power due to the braiding left braided. I use 12 ga. or larger cords almost exclusively, though, so that may help. More expensive, but I haven't burned up any equipment in the last 25 years or so, so maybe it has been worth it.

[Morgans]

I hate that method, with a passion.

If any of my workers were to loop my cords like that, If they did it again after I told them not to, I would fire their arse.

All that method does, is create lots of random loops for any and all other tools in the van to get tangled up with when either the cord or tool is removed from said van.

The more expensive cords are more flexible, and coil neatly, once they are coiled like a rope. If they are rolled the same way every time, they get trained, and are easy to make a neat roll. I start from the female end, and coil it fairly large, with a small twist in each loop to make it lie flat in the coil. The other key is to always unroll the whole cord when putting it to use, so there are no loops to get tangled. Just walk as you unroll it, back and forth, if need be, but uncoil the whole thing before putting it down. A handy tip is to get some of those Velcro straps and put them on the cord right at the end, so they are always with the cord to fasten the coil before hanging it up.

[Larry Jaques]

I contractor-cuddle my 12 and 16ga cords now, but am tired of it. I'm thinking about getting one of the round style cordminders.

These are cheap and look it. Reviews?

These are really cheap and break the first time they're dropped with wire on them.

This may be the type I want, but are they durable? Ten bucks at Wally World.

Priced right, free shipping with almost any other order from Amazon at the time, and I have a long list there... Durablility reviews, anyone?

Cordpro XLs are too expensive and look kinda flimsy. Reviews?

This one looks great and durable, but it only holds half my 12ga cord. Price isn't too bad.

-- Threee days before Tucson, Howard Dean explained that the tea party movement is "the last gasp of the generation that has trouble with diversity." Rising to the challenge of lowering his reputation and the tone of public discourse, Dean smeared tea partiers as racists: They oppose Obama's agenda, Obama is African-American, ergo...

Let us hope that Dean is the last gasp of the generation of liberals whose default position in any argument is to indict opponents as racists. This McCarthyism of the left

-- devoid of intellectual content, unsupported by data -- is a mental tic, not an idea but a tactic for avoiding engagement with ideas. It expresses limitless contempt for the American people, who have reciprocated by reducing liberalism to its current characteristics of electoral weakness and bad sociology. --George Will 14 JAN 2011 Article titled "Tragedies often spark plenty of analysis"

[CW]

I have had a Bayco KW 130 for near twenty years. Works just fine. It is made out of a semi flexible plastic that is very durable.

[Larry Jaques]

Thanks, CW. I'll check the local Wally to see if that one's a Bayco. Geroy's, the seller on Amazon, wants $9.16 apiece to ship $4.45 items.

-- Threee days before Tucson, Howard Dean explained that the tea party movement is "the last gasp of the generation that has trouble with diversity." Rising to the challenge of lowering his reputation and the tone of public discourse, Dean smeared tea partiers as racists: They oppose Obama's agenda, Obama is African-American, ergo...

Let us hope that Dean is the last gasp of the generation of liberals whose default position in any argument is to indict opponents as racists. This McCarthyism of the left

-- devoid of intellectual content, unsupported by data -- is a mental tic, not an idea but a tactic for avoiding engagement with ideas. It expresses limitless contempt for the American people, who have reciprocated by reducing liberalism to its current characteristics of electoral weakness and bad sociology. --George Will 14 JAN 2011 Article titled "Tragedies often spark plenty of analysis"

[Max]

"Larry Jaques" wrote

Yabbut, does either one of them know how to coil a cord?

Max

[Leon]

I have one of these. They are OK for that cord you NEVER use. They look OK but tend to be a PIA to use.

don't know.

These are GREAT! You hold the black center piece with one hand and wind with the other. I have a couple and are are extremely easy to use. Very durable, infact I modified one to hold a 100' air hose. I adde two MDF rings to the outside to increase it's capacity. This one is stupid simple and works great. IIRC HD carries tghem also.

Probably not as easy to use as the above one.

Probably works a lot like the orange one above that is said is OK for the cord you never use. The trouble with them is that you have to have to set them down or hold them agains your body so that you can crank them. The simple on that I raved about above does not have to be held agains a stationary object to get it to reel in or out your cord.

[Leon]

I will second and third that, I even modified one of mine to hold more.

[RicodJour]

Yeah, right, Bob, semi-retired. You're down to what? - 40 hours a week now? ;) I didn't know you were a woodworker. I always thought of you as the big-time industrial dude that was constantly shaking his head at the advice being given on alt.building.construction. I think of Bob Morrison frequently. When he died I felt a great loss. Great guy, great sense of humor and his advice was always spot on and practical. I think his loss was when ABC stopped being a busy group and became a Usenet backwater. A double loss.

I've never had a problem with the cords creating a problem due to heat or power drop. I always use a GFI with a fused plug strip and that trips if I'm overextending things. I also make it a point to not buy cheap cords, particularly since I live in a climate where it has a habit of getting cold in the winter and the cheap cords get stiff. The way that copper prices have risen I wonder if there's anyone going around scooping up any old extension cord, regardless of condition, at yard sales. Come to think of it, maybe my extension cords are my retirement fund. ;)

R