Cable reel etiquette

[42208]

Following the long running thread on discounted cable reels (yes I bought 2), I would just like to confirm the etiquette when using them. I can coil 3m of my cable one way on the reel and the remaining 22m the other way, thereby only reeling out the minimum length required to reach the hook up point. For 8 months of the year I draw minimum current and nothing to trouble the ehu cable wound onto the reel, however, I know this subject sends some members dialling 999 and therefore wondered if it is only polite to unwind the whole cable just to prevent members having palpitations as they walk past my van. Do I do what I know is OK or is it only polite to try and please those that obsessively worry about these things? This of course only applies to the UK as we know on the continent they use a thinner ehu cable, leave it fully wound and don't have our sorts of problems.

 

[Jaws]

Following the long running thread on discounted cable reels (yes I bought 2), I would just like to confirm the etiquette when using them. I can coil 3m of my cable one way on the reel and the remaining 22m the other way, thereby only reeling out the minimum length required to reach the hook up point. For 8 months of the year I draw minimum current and nothing to trouble the ehu cable wound onto the reel, however, I know this subject sends some members dialling 999 and therefore wondered if it is only polite to unwind the whole cable just to prevent members having palpitations as they walk past my van. Do I do what I know is OK or is it only polite to try and please those that obsessively worry about these things? This of course only applies to the UK as we know on the continent they use a thinner ehu cable, leave it fully wound and don't have our sorts of problems.

Not sure about polite, but I and many other will shy away from a pitch next to someone with a coiled HU cable..

Woman thought it was a load of old tosh until she used a coiled lead with a strimmer ( perhaps draws 1.5 amps ) .. The extension lead cassette was in the hallway just inside the door ... Lets just say we got away with a new mate and extension lead ( and a house that stank of burning plastic ! )

It really does not take a lot of current in an induction situation to get things nice and warm !

 

[BreweryDave]

Fill yer boots........

 

[Richard n Ann]

It's not induction it's just the small voltage drop caused by the small resistance over the long cable that means the cable consumes a wattage, and no means to disperse the heat ??

 

[42208]

Fill yer boots........

View attachment 312201

Not sure it means anything without putting it in context? Did he set fire to it? Was he on unlimited amp hook up and drawing a huge current? Was the cable in good nick? Seen the picture used many times and a good warning of what can go wrong, guessing there was something else happening here not just a simple motorhome on ehu.

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[42208]

Not sure about polite, but I and many other will shy away from a pitch next to someone with a coiled HU cable..

Woman thought it was a load of old tosh until she used a coiled lead with a strimmer ( perhaps draws 1.5 amps ) .. The extension lead cassette was in the hallway just inside the door ... Lets just say we got away with a new mate and extension lead ( and a house that stank of burning plastic ! )

It really does not take a lot of current in an induction situation to get things nice and warm !

Interesting, however, don't know how you manage to find a pitch when on the continent

 

[Jaws]

Interesting, however, don't know how you manage to find a pitch when on the continent

Simple... you travel 14 years, visit 23 countries and learn the ropes LOL !

 

[LesW]

I always unroll my hookup cable fully..

However, at home I use a 50m cable on a reel with a thermal overload switch, I regularly use an electric chain saw, a Strimmer and other appliances without unrolling the cable fully.

The overload switches have never 'popped' and the cable doesn't even get warm.

 

[ambulancekidd]

I like having a cable reel but, that's just cos I like things to be tidy.
The way I use mine is that I have about 7 or 8 feet loose on the van end & the rest on the reel, I always unwind all of the cable before plugging into the supply, but the first length allows me to tuck the reel itself under the van or away from puddles.

 

[Clive and Kerri]

Given my luck, 2 ex wives/ lost houses, horrible kids, bad investments, I alway unroll mine fully. Why take the chance to save a minute, mind you at my age every minute is growing in importance

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[Clive and Kerri]

This was caused by the screw coming lose on the circuit breaker in the van. Another monthly check added to the list.

 

[42208]

Simple... you travel 14 years, visit 23 countries and learn the ropes LOL !

I suspect many of us are just as well travelled if not more so, however, doesn't explain how you get on in Holland, Belgium, France, Spain or Italy where almost no one unreels.

 

[Jaws]

I suspect many of us are just as well travelled if not more so, however, doesn't explain how you get on in Holland, Belgium, France, Spain or Italy where almost no one unreels.

Ahhh,.. I see what you mean... We do not usually use camp sites ( do occasionally but rarely )and in Spain in Beni we are surrounded by brits all of who we know and none of whom use reels.. mainly 'cos the HU are usually about 10 miles from te pitch LOL! !

 

[pjay]

I suspect many of us are just as well travelled if not more so, however, doesn't explain how you get on in Holland, Belgium, France, Spain or Italy where almost no one unreels.

I've asked that question many times too and never had a satisfactory answer.

Perhaps they have special non combustible electricity on the continent.

Pete

 

[hilldweller]

This of course only applies to the UK as we know on the continent they use a thinner ehu cable, leave it fully wound and don't have our sorts of problems.

Oh yes they do. One day in Italy a German knocked on the door "ist your strom OK ?" "yes".

So I did some testing with him, swapping leads etc. And in the end I found an extension under the van part melted and a thermal trip, tripped.

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[42208]

Oh yes they do. One day in Italy a German knocked on the door "ist your strom OK ?" "yes".

So I did some testing with him, swapping leads etc. And in the end I found an extension under the van part melted and a thermal trip, tripped.

Did you manage to identify the problem, was it because the cable was wound on the reel or was the plug faulty or the outer sheath old and damaged? Either way seems like the thermal tripped and provided the protection you would expect if a fault developed which is reassuring if we do accidently overload our wound up cables. Wonder if he ever checked his cable and whether the outer sheath was damaged before he switched it on?

 

[hilldweller]

Did you manage to identify the problem,

Simple, he was using too much power for a coiled up cable in Italian heat.

I'm not sure all extension cables have thermal trips.

You do seem determined to go against sound advice.

 

[nicholsong]

Another solution.

We wildcamp/Aires and have B2B charger, so do not carry a cable - simples.

 

[42208]

Simple, he was using too much power for a coiled up cable in Italian heat.

I'm not sure all extension cables have thermal trips.

You do seem determined to go against sound advice.

No not really, just think its become a bit of a folk lore like not using mobile phones in petrol stations or on airoplanes, I do however, agree absolute need to use right equipment and to keep cables and plugs in tip top condition and my question was really about whether it is polite to unwind it regardless of my own views. I can already see it is very important to a lot of people and therefore quite happy to unwind it, rather everyone was happy.

 

[42208]

Another solution.

We wildcamp/Aires and have B2B charger, so do not carry a cable - simples.

As you say simples, tend to do a mix and a lot of Aires have ehu and what a sight they are!

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[Gellyneck]

Don't know if this is correct or not and would welcome clarity.
Could it be that the "standard" continental hook-up is significantly less than UK (say 5A vs 16A) that means continental motorhomers "get away" with leaving their cables on a drum?

 

[wiljoy]

It's your choice really. Possibly have a fire if lave coiled or offend some namby pamby waste of space.

 

[BreweryDave]

Put it this way.
I’ve seen fully uncoiled cables laid out in the snow, it seems strange that snow never falls about an inch either side of a hook up cable.......

Just sayin.......

 

[hilldweller]

Don't know if this is correct or not and would welcome clarity.
Could it be that the "standard" continental hook-up is significantly less than UK (say 5A vs 16A) that means continental motorhomers "get away" with leaving their cables on a drum?

A very valid point - the lower the current the lower the heating of the cable. The heating is proportional to the amps squared. So 5A might give a loss of 25 but 16A would give a loss of 256 using the same cable. One hell of a difference.

 

[Camping Gaza]

Put it this way.
I’ve seen fully uncoiled cables laid out in the snow, it seems strange that snow never falls about an inch either side of a hook up cable.......

Just sayin.......

especially if its yellow

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[Jaws]

its become a bit of a folk lore

Folk lore ?
Not the amount of incidents I have seen and whose aftermath I have had to sort out

 

[Scotch mist]

It takes 20 seconds to unwind so why risk it , I have melted more than one reel working on building sites & drawing to much power

 

[autorouter]

Anyone want to see some numbers?

2.5mm2 cable has a resistance of 18 milliohms per metre. Each metre will generate power because of the amps flowing through it. The power is calculated by Power = amps x amps x resistance. Then double it because there's both the outgoing and returning current.

For each metre, the power per metre for various currents is
1 amp 0.036 watts
2 amps 0.144 watts
4 amps 0.576 watts
8 amps 2.304 watts
16 amps 9.216 watts

So 10 metres of cable will generate 92 watts at 16 amps, but only 1.4 watts at 2 amps.
Sorry, this site doesn't show tables very clearly

 

[Barclaybasher]

Can't believe it - a thread sugesting that it's worth risking using a coiled cable rather than being arsed to just unwinding it......

How much time does it take?....

Too busy being a motorhomer on holiday ?...



Do you feel lucky punk?....

 

[tonyidle]

A very valid point - the lower the current the lower the heating of the cable. The heating is proportional to the amps squared. So 5A might give a loss of 25 but 16A would give a loss of 256 using the same cable. One hell of a difference.

A 16A supply doesn't supply 16A unless you are using it. So the same van with the same usage that's OK on a 5A supply will be OK on a 16A supply and will still draw less than 5A.

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