libby Posted April 7, 2008 Share Posted April 7, 2008 I've been amazed at the number of people who never uncoil their rolls of elctric power cable when on sites. I don't ever recall anyone laying them out straight, or in long loops. I know the power drawn is not high but its not good practice to use them coiled. I assume they are unaware of the hidden dangers!! My experience some years ago was ending up with a solid block of yellow plastic, fortunately no fire. LB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Den Posted April 7, 2008 Share Posted April 7, 2008 I have to agree, although i new the dangers of coiled mains leads. my works van hooked upto the mains and with the electric heater on, and one pollishing machine,,all went dead. one blown fuse and a very hot cable. I now uncoil all the cable both van and mh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted April 7, 2008 Share Posted April 7, 2008 However, some of the cable drums give a rating for the cable if it is left coiled. Obviously less that the max but, if the cable is rated at 16A, as it should be, 5/6A seems well below the coiled limits I have seen. Say around 1100 Watts. Unless you're using electric heating, or a very light gauge cable, you really shouldn't have problems with excessive heating if the cable is left partially on the drum. However, I bet Clive knows a formula for calculating this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 Sensible basic advice that (as libby observes) is often ignored. I don't wind my hook-up cables on to drums as I find it easier to store them in the motorhome when they are just 'hand looped'. On the infrequent occasions that I use an EHU I find that my 10m cable (kept in the gas-locker) is normally long enough, so my bulkier 25m cable can be stored in a less convenient place (on top of the wheel arch beneath the fixed rear bed). Linking the cables together would provide a 35m reach, but I've never yet needed to do this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelvynT Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 All extention cables should be run out when in use, the center of the cable is unventilated and could suffer damage. The conductor or sheath may crack as it is cooked, even if this is not at first visible. Cables damaged like this will fail at some point in the future. Artic or Silicone and Butyl sheaths and insulations perform better than PVC or TRS, which incidentally suffer from sun damage as well. If your cable feels hard when you coil it back up, it's had it, buy a new one. Then ends will be OK for reuse, if you know how to terminate cables into them. :-D I expect that failures would follow the age old law of happening at time of maximum inconvenience. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trooper Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 I was on a site over 30 years ago when a reeled cable almost caught fire in a short time. since then, as with derek I always loose coil the cable and hold it with a reuseable cable clip, much easier. I feel its mainly how tight and how much cable is wound on a reel and the load, that is relivent as to how hot it gets, therefore no reel, no heat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 We coil ours on a 'spider' that you place the connection plug in the centre prior to rewinding the cable on, it is therefore impossible to use with the cable coiled. Seems a pain sometimes but after seeing a melt down (on a normal extension lead used on a washing machine!!!) I believe it is good to be forced to unroll it. Bas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cattwg Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 Hi Libby, I'm with Derek Uzzell on this one - hand coil after use and two lengths stored separately. I always pull the cable through a cloth when re-coiling. Regards Cattwg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 Like Cattwg says I pull it through a tatty old towel that I carry for wiping off wet and muddy bits and pieces. And never leave the cable coiled up when in use, why take chances, flake it out straightish. To make and electric fire, coil up wire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spospe Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 It is a matter of common observation that continental motorcaravanners carry very long mains conncetion leads coiled on drums and never, ever fully unwind them. The reason that our continental cousins get away with this behaviour is that their sites normally only supply low levels of current, i.e. somewhere between 4-6 amps. At these low levels, little heating of the cable would take place and therefore there is no need to uncoil the cable. If you are a Caravan Club user hell bent on using your full 16 amps, then yes, you must fully uncoil the cable, but for light use (say 4-5 amps) it is not necessary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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