Kinking electric cables

[Stewpot]

I am increasingly  frustrated  by the kinks and knots in my electric cable. I have a 25m cable stored on a reel which I unwind fully on campsite hook ups. Despite my best efforts to straighten it,  it always seems to have a mind of its own and forms kinks and loops making it a pain to get reeled in. Any suggestions for solutions would be thankfully received.

[Stewpot]

Apologies for auto correct. Title should read Kinking cables

(Title edited - Keithl. PS You have 30 minutes to edit after posting).

[Keithl]

My suggestion - ditch the reel and wind by hand using the 'Over and under' technique.

I have been doing this for over 15 years and my 25 m cable does not have a single kink or twist!

Try this video 

Keith.

[malc d]

We used to have problems BEFORE we had a reel - but not since.
I just lay it in reasonably straight lines on the grass first, and then wind it on to the reel - never had a problem.

🙂

[Keithl]

5 minutes ago, malc d said:

We used to have problems BEFORE we had a reel - but not since.
I just lay it in reasonably straight lines on the grass first, and then wind it on to the reel - never had a problem.

🙂

Malc,

Do you turn the reel to wind the cable on or hold the reel still and loop the cable over the reel?

The first way should be ok but the second way will almost certainly result in kinking.

Keith.

[peterjl]

I agree with Keith. When using a reel regularly it embeds a twist in the wire. I curl my wire by hand adding adding a slight opposite  twist, exactly as you do when curling a double braided rope. I just then drop it into a bag. 

[malc d]

3 hours ago, Keithl said:

Malc,

Do you turn the reel to wind the cable on or hold the reel still and loop the cable over the reel?

The first way should be ok but the second way will almost certainly result in kinking.

Keith.

Hi Keith

I turn the wheel, and occasionally lubricate the reel to make that easier with a squirt of WD40.

Looking back many years I recall we did used to wind it on by hand - and it did get kinked / knotted !

🙂

[Tracker]

I have had many outdoor extension leads at home over the years and some never kink whilst others kink whatever I tried to do.

That led me to think that maybe it has more to do with the way the cable is made than it does to do with the means of storage?

We carried an EHU lead but never in 50 years of 'vanning ever found the need to use it so I have no experience of the orange snakes.

In theory using a drum and winding it off and winding it back on as a direct reversal should not cause kinks. so if it ain't the drum and it ain't the user what else could it be?

Try a diffrent cable perhaps?

[rooster63]

I have one of the standard orange EHU cables and I find it is worse when the cable is cold, kinks like mad. In warm weather it seems to kink far less. I use one of those cable tidies a (flat rectangle with prongs in each corner) as it takes up less room than a reel, especially if the cable is warm, it wraps around really tightly as it is very flexible. I have found it helps to lay out the cable avoiding any tight coils.

[laimeduck]

Any sailors or climbers out there will know that when you coil a rope you give each length a twist (to the left) before you loop it. Otherwise the rope has a "memory" and tries to untwist itself resulting in tangles. A twisted rope is a dangerous rope and it's prone to getting knotted.The same applies to electric cables. It's very straightforward, but does take a little bit of patience and practice. The trick is to make the loop the same size every time you coil it, then the "memory" in the cable is set. I have a 30 metre and 20 metre cable and can coil them neatly in a minute or so. I hold an old towel in my right hand and each time while pulling the cable into a loop it gets wiped dry.

Easier to do than to explain

Jeremy