Don't do it wind up your EHU frome facebook (1 Viewer)

[Wildbill]

this is from Facebook but a timely reminder

Just a reminder if you use an extension lead no matter how short a distance you need it, always uncoil all of the lead, otherwise it can overheat and catch fire, An extension reel is an extension lead that rolls up, usually into the socket end, which in some cases has more than one socket on it (often 2 or 4). The cable in these extension reels can be any length from 2m to 25m. If the reel contains a particularly long cable then the danger is increased. Current flowing in a cable generates heat, this causes the temperature of the conductors to rise until the heat lost balances the heat generated. If the temperature gets too high the insulation on the cable softens and eventually melts. This can cause a serious hazard when using extension reels because the cable is tightly packed together. Excess cable in a loose jumble on the ground is far less likely to overheat than excess cable wound tightly on a reel

 

[Odd job]

I did this about 50 years ago, the extension was in my dad's garage running a heater and I was close working on my dad's car. When it went, it had several bangs very fast before it blew the fuse. It scared 7 bells out of me and I've never done it since.

 

[MisterB]

some people from an ethnic group might be looking at that as being worth a few quid weighed in ,,,,

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[Ingwe]

some people from an ethnic group might be looking at that as being worth a few quid weighed in ,,,,

Eh?

 

[MisterB]

scrap copper ......

 

[M-J]

I always unroll ours fully, seems silly to risk it for the sake of minutes!

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[Off da Grid]

I’ve seen it time and time again on campgrounds and building sites.
One of my bug bears along with cable spaghetti chucked under the vehicle.
Drives the misses crazy.
That’s why I bought a 10m cable if I don’t need the 25m one.
Some of the major building contractors have banned extension reels on their sites for this very reason.
The cable reals that have sockets on them usually say max 5 amps or about 1200 watts when coiled.

 

[Paddywack]

If you are using a good quality 2.5mm CSA cable unless you are running a welding rig then there is not a problem.

People buying cheap 1mm cables and run a 2kw heater which is drawing 9 amps and dissipating 20w of heat per m, no that's not a good idea.

But please stop lecturing those of us that know that the trip hazard of a unwound cable is more dangerous than running our TV and a couple of LED lights through a 2.5mm wound cable. As its simply scaremongering and encourages other well meaning folk to lecture us on site which is getting a little tiresome.

 

[Wildbill]

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[Wildbill]

If you are using a good quality 2.5mm CSA cable unless you are running a welding rig then there is not a problem.

People buying cheap 1mm cables and run a 2kw heater which is drawing 9 amps and dissipating 20w of heat per m, no that's not a good idea.

But please stop lecturing those of us that know that the trip hazard of a unwound cable is more dangerous than running our TV and a couple of LED lights through a 2.5mm wound cable. As its simply scaremongering and encourages other well meaning folk to lecture us on site which is getting a little tiresome.

Not every one is as knowing as you their is a lot of new members who my not be as knowing as you
bill

 

[Allanm]

If your using any equipment, you should at least have some knowledge about how it works and more importantly how to use it safely.
Most, if not all cable reels will have a label on them stating the maximum wattage it is safe to use at when coiled and uncoiled.
So, I’ll carry on using my cable reels and EHU cables coiled up when I know I won’t overload them