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Extension cable loosing flexibility
This is about those extension power leads ( usually orange coloured from B &
Q etc). Quite often sold for use with electric lawn mowers. These cables seem to have 'a mind of their own' every time you reel them up and unreel them. It's like a 'memory effect' they have, ( as if they are not flexible enough ) and want to keep moving in a direction that they must have been stored in previously. This probably sounds like a minor thing. But the total time wasted and frustration trying to unravel the thing mounts up time after time. I've tried that trick sailors use in giving it a small twist every time you reel it around your arm, but its just a bit too stiff to do that successfully. Has anyone else found a good way to deal with this? It has crossed my mind that this cable is just too old and has lost what flexibility it did have once. |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
john reeves wrote:
This is about those extension power leads ( usually orange coloured from B & Q etc). Quite often sold for use with electric lawn mowers. These cables seem to have 'a mind of their own' every time you reel them up and unreel them. It's like a 'memory effect' they have, ( as if they are not flexible enough ) and want to keep moving in a direction that they must have been stored in previously. This probably sounds like a minor thing. But the total time wasted and frustration trying to unravel the thing mounts up time after time. I've tried that trick sailors use in giving it a small twist every time you reel it around your arm, but its just a bit too stiff to do that successfully. Has anyone else found a good way to deal with this? It has crossed my mind that this cable is just too old and has lost what flexibility it did have once. never twist them around your arm/elbow. treat them like a climber treats rope, held in one hand and bring about 4 or 5 feet back at a time with the length of it able to twist as it wants. |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
"john reeves" wrote in message ... This is about those extension power leads ( usually orange coloured from B & Q etc). Quite often sold for use with electric lawn mowers. These cables seem to have 'a mind of their own' every time you reel them up and unreel them. It's like a 'memory effect' they have, ( as if they are not flexible enough ) and want to keep moving in a direction that they must have been stored in previously. This probably sounds like a minor thing. But the total time wasted and frustration trying to unravel the thing mounts up time after time. I've tried that trick sailors use in giving it a small twist every time you reel it around your arm, but its just a bit too stiff to do that successfully. Has anyone else found a good way to deal with this? It has crossed my mind that this cable is just too old and has lost what flexibility it did have once. PVC cable is a lot more well behaved in summer temperatures, God's way of reminding you that your lawn can look after itself this time of year. -- Graham. %Profound_observation% |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
john reeves wrote:
This is about those extension power leads ( usually orange coloured from B & Q etc). Quite often sold for use with electric lawn mowers. These cables seem to have 'a mind of their own' every time you reel them up and unreel them. It's like a 'memory effect' they have, ( as if they are not flexible enough ) and want to keep moving in a direction that they must have been stored in previously. This probably sounds like a minor thing. But the total time wasted and frustration trying to unravel the thing mounts up time after time. .... It's why stuff like that shouldn't be tailed in the first place... :) -- |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
On Sun, 20 Feb 2011 15:29:36 -0000, Graham. wrote:
"john reeves" wrote in message ... This is about those extension power leads ( usually orange coloured from B & Q etc). Quite often sold for use with electric lawn mowers. These cables seem to have 'a mind of their own' every time you reel them up and unreel them. It's like a 'memory effect' they have, ( as if they are not flexible enough ) and want to keep moving in a direction that they must have been stored in previously. This probably sounds like a minor thing. But the total time wasted and frustration trying to unravel the thing mounts up time after time. I've tried that trick sailors use in giving it a small twist every time you reel it around your arm, but its just a bit too stiff to do that successfully. Has anyone else found a good way to deal with this? It has crossed my mind that this cable is just too old and has lost what flexibility it did have once. PVC cable is a lot more well behaved in summer temperatures, God's way of reminding you that your lawn can look after itself this time of year. Yup, if you want flexible in all weathers then HO5 or HO7 rubber is the way to go. You can get "arctic grade" pvc, but it's not really well enough insulated or tough enough to use in a garage. -- Using Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/mail/ |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
"john reeves" wrote in message ... This is about those extension power leads ( usually orange coloured from B & Q etc). Quite often sold for use with electric lawn mowers. These cables seem to have 'a mind of their own' every time you reel them up and unreel them. It's like a 'memory effect' they have, ( as if they are not flexible enough ) and want to keep moving in a direction that they must have been stored in previously. Its probably just the cold weather stiffening it up but overloading flexible leads can also result in stiffening. Mike |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
On Feb 20, 3:15*pm, "john reeves" wrote:
This is about those extension power leads ( usually orange coloured from B & Q etc). Quite often sold for use with electric lawn mowers. These cables seem to have 'a mind of their own' every time you reel them up and unreel them. It's like a 'memory effect' they have, ( as if they are not flexible enough ) and want to keep moving in a direction that they must have been stored in previously. This probably sounds like a minor thing. But the total time wasted and frustration trying to unravel the thing mounts up time after time. I've tried that trick sailors use in giving it a small twist every time you reel it around your arm, but its just a bit too stiff to do that successfully. Has anyone else found a good way to deal with this? *It has crossed my mind that this cable is just too old and has lost what flexibility it did have once. It used to be common to find pvc flex stuffed with string, but its never seen now, don't know why. If you can find such flex off an old appliance (1960s, 70s) you should find it a fair improvement. NT |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
"john reeves" wrote in
: This is about those extension power leads ( usually orange coloured from B & Q etc). Quite often sold for use with electric lawn mowers. These cables seem to have 'a mind of their own' every time you reel them up and unreel them. It's like a 'memory effect' they have, ( as if they are not flexible enough ) and want to keep moving in a direction that they must have been stored in previously. This probably sounds like a minor thing. But the total time wasted and frustration trying to unravel the thing mounts up time after time. I've tried that trick sailors use in giving it a small twist every time you reel it around your arm, but its just a bit too stiff to do that successfully. Has anyone else found a good way to deal with this? It has crossed my mind that this cable is just too old and has lost what flexibility it did have once. The fact that you are crossposting makes it insincere Baz |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
In article , bluestar0955
@mail.invalid says... I've tried that trick sailors use in giving it a small twist every time you reel it around your arm, but its just a bit too stiff to do that successfully. Just explain to the wife that it's only practical to use them on really hot days. Seriously, it's the cold that does it. You can get "arctic" grade cable, which has a softer PVC jacket, but it's less resistant to damage etc. -- Skipweasel - never knowingly understood. |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
john reeves brought next idea :
This is about those extension power leads ( usually orange coloured from B & Q etc). Quite often sold for use with electric lawn mowers. These cables seem to have 'a mind of their own' every time you reel them up and unreel them. It's like a 'memory effect' they have, ( as if they are not flexible enough ) and want to keep moving in a direction that they must have been stored in previously. This probably sounds like a minor thing. But the total time wasted and frustration trying to unravel the thing mounts up time after time. I've tried that trick sailors use in giving it a small twist every time you reel it around your arm, but its just a bit too stiff to do that successfully. Has anyone else found a good way to deal with this? It has crossed my mind that this cable is just too old and has lost what flexibility it did have once. Which is the wrong way to treat it. NEVER wind in around your elbow, it is far too tight a coil and will damage the flex. What I do is hold the plug end in my right hand then gradually add loops to my right hand, the loops just about long enough to reach the floor. For every loop I add, I add a twist to it, so it settles in properly. Finally I just hang it up on a hook. Feeding it out, start where I need the socket and work back the plug finally plugging it in. -- Regards, Harry (M1BYT) (L) http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
On Feb 20, 11:33*am, Harry Bloomfield
wrote: john *reeves brought next idea : This is about those extension power leads ( usually orange coloured from B & Q etc). Quite often sold for use with electric lawn mowers. These cables seem to have 'a mind of their own' every time you reel them up and unreel them. It's like a 'memory effect' they have, ( as if they are not flexible enough ) and want to keep moving in a direction that they must have been stored in previously. This probably sounds like a minor thing. But the total time wasted and frustration trying to unravel the thing mounts up time after time. I've tried that trick sailors use in giving it a small twist every time you reel it around your arm, but its just a bit too stiff to do that successfully. Has anyone else found a good way to deal with this? *It has crossed my mind that this cable is just too old and has lost what flexibility it did have once. Which is the wrong way to treat it. NEVER wind in around your elbow, it is far too tight a coil and will damage the flex. What I do is hold the plug end in my right hand then gradually add loops to my right hand, the loops just about long enough to reach the floor. For every loop I add, I add a twist to it, so it settles in properly. Finally I just hang it up on a hook. Feeding it out, start where I need the socket and work back the plug finally plugging it in. -- Regards, * * * * Harry (M1BYT) (L)http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk Far too tight a coil ? ROFL... Have you ever seen how small a spool of wire that type of cable comes off of at a hardware store ? The whole trick to managing cables like this is to ALWAYS store it the same way... I have seen some people store heavy duty extension cords by keeping them in a 5 gallon bucket with a hole for one cord end drilled in the side of the bucket near the bottom... ~~ Evan |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
"john reeves" wrote in message ... This is about those extension power leads ( usually orange coloured from B & Q etc). Quite often sold for use with electric lawn mowers. These cables seem to have 'a mind of their own' every time you reel them up and unreel them. It's like a 'memory effect' they have, ( as if they are not flexible enough ) and want to keep moving in a direction that they must have been stored in previously. This probably sounds like a minor thing. But the total time wasted and frustration trying to unravel the thing mounts up time after time. I've tried that trick sailors use in giving it a small twist every time you reel it around your arm, but its just a bit too stiff to do that successfully. Has anyone else found a good way to deal with this? It has crossed my mind that this cable is just too old and has lost what flexibility it did have once. You need the double twisting method on any cable longer than a couple of metres or so. This is how the noise boys do it. They wrap a lot of cables, some of them 100's of metres of multicore which is a damn sight stiffer than B&W mains cable. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqbYy...eature=related |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
On 20/02/2011 15:15, john reeves wrote:
This is about those extension power leads ( usually orange coloured from B& Q etc). Quite often sold for use with electric lawn mowers. These cables seem to have 'a mind of their own' every time you reel them up and unreel them. It's like a 'memory effect' they have, ( as if they are not flexible enough ) and want to keep moving in a direction that they must have been stored in previously. This probably sounds like a minor thing. But the total time wasted and frustration trying to unravel the thing mounts up time after time. I've tried that trick sailors use in giving it a small twist every time you reel it around your arm, but its just a bit too stiff to do that successfully. No sailor would wind a rope or cable around his arm! Coil it loose & twist each time. -- Dave - The Medway Handyman www.medwayhandyman.co.uk |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
On 20/02/2011 16:02, Skipweasel wrote:
In , bluestar0955 @mail.invalid says... I've tried that trick sailors use in giving it a small twist every time you reel it around your arm, but its just a bit too stiff to do that successfully. Just explain to the wife that it's only practical to use them on really hot days. Seriously, it's the cold that does it. You can get "arctic" grade cable, which has a softer PVC jacket, but it's less resistant to damage etc. Is that the blue stuff? I've got a couple of leads fitted with blue cable & it does seem more flexible. -- Dave - The Medway Handyman www.medwayhandyman.co.uk |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
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Extension cable loosing flexibility
john reeves wrote:
This is about those extension power leads ( usually orange coloured from B & Q etc). Quite often sold for use with electric lawn mowers. These cables seem to have 'a mind of their own' every time you reel them up and unreel them. It's like a 'memory effect' they have, ( as if they are not flexible enough ) and want to keep moving in a direction that they must have been stored in previously. This probably sounds like a minor thing. But the total time wasted and frustration trying to unravel the thing mounts up time after time. I've tried that trick sailors use in giving it a small twist every time you reel it around your arm, but its just a bit too stiff to do that successfully. Has anyone else found a good way to deal with this? It has crossed my mind that this cable is just too old and has lost what flexibility it did have once. I use one of those cheap orange cord reels which has a handle that slides in a track in the center of the reel. Add a little silicone spray to lube the track, and they make winding and unwinding the cord fast and very easy. Never any tangles. Like this: http://www.acehardware.com/product/i...ductId=1291467 |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
Evan submitted this idea :
Far too tight a coil ? ROFL... Have you ever seen how small a spool of wire that type of cable comes off of at a hardware store ? I'm well aware of that, but it not be constantly wound onto it and off it stressing the cable. -- Regards, Harry (M1BYT) (L) http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
On Feb 20, 3:15*pm, "john reeves" wrote:
This is about those extension power leads ( usually orange coloured from B & Q etc). Quite often sold for use with electric lawn mowers. Lawn mowers are usually Class-2, round 2-core. I have a feeling the insulated cores inside are not laid with a twist, or if they are the twist is not sufficient to give the cable a "self- coiling" nature. The sheath tends to be highly flexible which prevents a "memory" of it being on a reel so it tends to "spaghetti heap". A comment, if you can use 0.75mm 3-core, then Screwfix do H05RNF in 25m reels for about 50p/m which is very cheap if local to you. N = Neoprene or PolyChloroPrene (PCP) which is the "next one up" from PVC. R = rubber which will perish eventually. Homebase & B&Q offer a range of cables, but about three times the price of Screwfix (and more often H05RRF). Toolstation might do some (if not, someone email to suggest they carry 1.0mm H05RNF which would cleanup). I think Screwfix also do cheap 25m reels of orange 1.00mm, so do not suffer a "thorn shredded" cable. Just make sure any appliance plug/ socket remains correctly positioned, eg, 2-core shielded socket on the supply side. |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
In article 4be67c01-1e03-4d20-a9e2-1df7a06ad585
@k7g2000yqj.googlegroups.com, says... Just make sure any appliance plug/ socket remains correctly positioned, eg, 2-core shielded socket on the supply side. Not like the firm I once worked for who decided they needed a Portakabin. Instead of connecting it via the perfectly acceptable fuseboard, they made an extension lead with two plugs on it and "jump- started" the thing. Gave me the willies. -- Skipweasel - never knowingly understood. |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
Skipweasel wrote:
In article 4be67c01-1e03-4d20-a9e2-1df7a06ad585 @k7g2000yqj.googlegroups.com, says... Just make sure any appliance plug/ socket remains correctly positioned, eg, 2-core shielded socket on the supply side. Not like the firm I once worked for who decided they needed a Portakabin. Instead of connecting it via the perfectly acceptable fuseboard, they made an extension lead with two plugs on it and "jump- started" the thing. Gave me the willies. that was common a good few years ago, the lead to my garage was like that when I moved in, I guessed it might have been suggested in a magazine or something. |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
"john reeves" wrote in message ... This is about those extension power leads ( usually orange coloured from B & Q etc). Quite often sold for use with electric lawn mowers. These cables seem to have 'a mind of their own' every time you reel them up and unreel them. It's like a 'memory effect' they have, ( as if they are not flexible enough ) and want to keep moving in a direction that they must have been stored in previously. This probably sounds like a minor thing. But the total time wasted and frustration trying to unravel the thing mounts up time after time. I've tried that trick sailors use in giving it a small twist every time you reel it around your arm, but its just a bit too stiff to do that successfully. Has anyone else found a good way to deal with this? It has crossed my mind that this cable is just too old and has lost what flexibility it did have once. Boy, do I need to get out in the yard and make some youtube videos. I have dealt with long lengths of many types of things, wire rope, hose, wiring, and other things. up to 9,000 feet long. When anything is wound on a spiral, like on a level wind fishing reel, or a reel of rope you buy at a supplier, a thimble of thread, the line is fed straight on. If you put the reel on a shaft and pull it off straight, it comes off just like that. Straight. But if you stand the reel on end and pull the end of the line up and unreel it like that, it comes off in a spiral. Just like a spinning reel. That is an important detail for storing hoses, cables, etc. A lot of storage devices are reels. Like a hose reel. Like a level wind fishing reel. It just reels it up, and then unreels it, doing so without getting the spiral. But when one wraps a 100' length of extension cord on their arm, they are making a spiral, and a rather tight one at that. But when unrolling it, one does not put it on a shaft and pull it straight off, but pills it off sideways. It is going to come off as a spiral, and if you pass the wrong end through the center, you come off with a series of magical overhand knots. PLUS, this fairly tight spiral is then stored to heat and cool with the weather, or just be under strain so that it flexes inside to relieve tension. So, when you go to unwind it and use it, the spirals are set into it depending on the nature of the materials. There is a way of storing hose/wire extension cords that works great. It is taking one loop in your hand, and letting it hang about three feet down. Now reach for the next long loop with your palm up, and when you bring it to the hand holding the other loops, rotate your palm inward. This makes a one in/one out lay in the roll. You can pull it off with no spiral. This works great for cable and wire rope where you want it to come off easily with no spiral. I use it to store a lot of things, mainly my 100' 220v. welding machine cord, and my 5/8" air lines. Another way of storage that will keep it from coiling is to figure 8 it. Laying it on the ground, just form a large figure 8. Tie in three places, the outsides, and in the center. Another way is slipknotting that will give you fast management of long cords. This is easy once you've done it a few dozen times. All materials that are coiled have different properties of stiffness, material it is made of, how it reacts to heat and cold, diameter, how tight it can be wrapped without causing problems, etc. This leads to different storage means. One way does not work on everything. One of the most common mistakes is to wrap it in too small of coils. HTH, and I'll do some youtubes on this, as it has been asked for a lot. Steve Heart surgery pending? Read up and prepare. Download the book $10 http://cabgbypasssurgery.com |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
"Harry Bloomfield" wrote in message . uk... Evan submitted this idea : Far too tight a coil ? ROFL... Have you ever seen how small a spool of wire that type of cable comes off of at a hardware store ? I'm well aware of that, but it not be constantly wound onto it and off it stressing the cable. -- Regards, Harry (M1BYT) (L) http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk Hey, it's his coil, and he can shorten the life of it, cause kinks, cause breaks, or cause cracks if he wants to and is averse to listening to any suggestions. I wish I had the money yearly that people throw away from buying GOOD stuff, then storing it improperly. Or even just people who hang up garden hose with water in the bights with subfreezing weather coming. I'd be a zillionaire. Steve Heart surgery pending? Read up and prepare. Download the book $10 http://cabgbypasssurgery.com |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
"john reeves" wrote in message ... This is about those extension power leads ( usually orange coloured from B & Q etc). Quite often sold for use with electric lawn mowers. These cables seem to have 'a mind of their own' every time you reel them up and unreel them. It's like a 'memory effect' they have, ( as if they are not flexible enough ) and want to keep moving in a direction that they must have been stored in previously. This probably sounds like a minor thing. But the total time wasted and frustration trying to unravel the thing mounts up time after time. I've tried that trick sailors use in giving it a small twist every time you reel it around your arm, but its just a bit too stiff to do that successfully. Has anyone else found a good way to deal with this? It has crossed my mind that this cable is just too old and has lost what flexibility it did have once. You mention unreeling the cable - this should be OK. If you just coil it up then the method you desdcribe in your last paragraph is the way to go. Oh I notice you say you reel it round your arm - NO not that way. Just form coils by letting the cable lie in yourn hand and give it at wist each time you form a new loop. The cable usually "tells" you which way to twist . Bill |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
You need the double twisting method on any cable longer than a couple of metres or so. This is how the noise boys do it. They wrap a lot of cables, some of them 100's of metres of multicore which is a damn sight stiffer than B&W mains cable. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqbYy...eature=related You will notice about half way through, this method corrects a spiral that was in the line, letting it go on to the spool in his hand correctly. Steve |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
The Medway Handyman wrote:
On 20/02/2011 15:15, john reeves wrote: I've tried that trick sailors use in giving it a small twist every time you reel it around your arm, but its just a bit too stiff to do that successfully. No sailor would wind a rope or cable around his arm! Agreed. Coil it loose & twist each time. No. Do not twist. Twisting is what leads to kinking and tangling. The correct way to coil a cable, rope, or hose, is to imagine that it were a flat ribbon with the two sides a different colour. Suppose the ribbon is lying flat on the ground with no twists in it so that the blue side is on top and the red side underneath. (For a right handed person:) hold the end of the cable in your left hand blue side up. Grasp the cable with your right hand, holding it blue side up, then bring your right hand towards your left hand and just place the cable onto what is already there, so that it stays blue side up during the whole move. The action of your right hand does not involve any twisting. You just lift a bit of cable straight up and plonk it down again, as if you were lifting a chess piece from one square and putting it down on another. If the cable is stiff, a side effect of this will be that each coil will end up with a self-cancelling double twist in it, and will most likely hang in a figure of eight pattern. But that's the idea. |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
"The Medway Handyman" wrote No sailor would wind a rope or cable around his arm! Coil it loose & twist each time. -- Dave - The Medway Handyman www.medwayhandyman.co.uk Mostly, I would agree with you. I spent about six years at sea. On boats, you usually use long pieces of rope, and if you try to wrap it around your arm, your arm isn't big enough. Laying it on deck, and forming a loop about three feet in diameter lets you pull the rope to you, which lets the line uncoil naturally. It also gives you a much more manageable sized coil to heft over your shoulder. Long lines like that are then usually tied off with three short ropes. Steve Heart surgery pending? Read up and prepare. Download the book $10 http://cabgbypasssurgery.com |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
js.b1 ) wibbled on Sunday 20 February 2011 20:10:
On Feb 20, 3:15 pm, "john reeves" wrote: This is about those extension power leads ( usually orange coloured from B & Q etc). Quite often sold for use with electric lawn mowers. Lawn mowers are usually Class-2, round 2-core. I have a feeling the insulated cores inside are not laid with a twist, or if they are the twist is not sufficient to give the cable a "self- coiling" nature. The sheath tends to be highly flexible which prevents a "memory" of it being on a reel so it tends to "spaghetti heap". A comment, if you can use 0.75mm 3-core, then Screwfix do H05RNF in 25m reels for about 50p/m which is very cheap if local to you. N = Neoprene or PolyChloroPrene (PCP) which is the "next one up" from PVC. R = rubber which will perish eventually. Homebase & B&Q offer a range of cables, but about three times the price of Screwfix (and more often H05RRF). Toolstation might do some (if not, someone email to suggest they carry 1.0mm H05RNF which would cleanup). I think Screwfix also do cheap 25m reels of orange 1.00mm, so do not suffer a "thorn shredded" cable. Just make sure any appliance plug/ socket remains correctly positioned, eg, 2-core shielded socket on the supply side. I got a load of blue "arctic" cable from TLC and made my own leads up. The blue is remarkebly well behaved - lies flat most of the time, almost as good as rubber flex - and (as implied by its name) also behaves fairly well at -3C. It's taken a lot of abuse too and come out quite well. -- Tim Watts |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
"john reeves" wrote in message ... This is about those extension power leads ( usually orange coloured from B & Q etc). Quite often sold for use with electric lawn mowers. These cables seem to have 'a mind of their own' every time you reel them up and unreel them. It's like a 'memory effect' they have, ( as if they are not flexible enough ) and want to keep moving in a direction that they must have been stored in previously. This probably sounds like a minor thing. But the total time wasted and frustration trying to unravel the thing mounts up time after time. I've tried that trick sailors use in giving it a small twist every time you reel it around your arm, but its just a bit too stiff to do that successfully. Get it warm, ie in the house and then http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3j1Wdc-ymbI Mike -- .................................... Don't take life too seriously, you'll never get out alive .................................... Has anyone else found a good way to deal with this? It has crossed my mind that this cable is just too old and has lost what flexibility it did have once. |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
On Sun, 20 Feb 2011 17:10:19 +0000, The Medway Handyman wrote:
Is that the blue stuff? I've got a couple of leads fitted with blue cable & it does seem more flexible. Just bought a Masterplug "heavy duty" 10m single socket extension from B&Q. It is a nice soft flexable cable, though I haven't left it outside yet. Hum, it's just on freezing I'll leave it in one of the proches tonight... I don't think it is "arctic" cable all it has stamped on it is: "3C1.25mm^2 BS6500 MASTERPLUG" What does that BS number mean? -- Cheers Dave. |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
On Sun, 20 Feb 2011 16:57:18 -0000, Gareth Magennis wrote:
You need the double twisting method on any cable longer than a couple of metres or so. Agreed. This is how the noise boys do it. They wrap a lot of cables, some of them 100's of metres of multicore which is a damn sight stiffer than B&W mains cable. I doubt that you mean that literally for hand coiling, it would be too damn heavy! 50m of heavy star quad is too much and my hand isn't big enough even with each loop taking 5' of cable... Multicore over about 20m is figure of eighted on the ground or more likely wound onto a drum. But certainly coiling 30m + of mic cable is not a problem, nor is the uncoiling *provided* that the twist you put in for each turn of the coil in in opposite directions. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqbYy...eature=related That is first of my saved selection of "how to coil a cable" YouTube vids: Though he says "no knots", if you take one of the free ends through the center you may well end up with a series of knots but don't panic! They are all tied in the same direction, just take an end thread it back through the all the knots and pull they will magically disappear. There are two ways of doing the "under" bit of the reverse twist loop, this is the second but looks really cack handed to me (I use the first method). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLwwB29uQRg This is novel, not tried it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaEv9wm6gy0 -- Cheers A noise boy. |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
In article o.uk,
says... What does that BS number mean? http://www.bs6500.co.uk/ -- Skipweasel - never knowingly understood. |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
On Sun, 20 Feb 2011 18:51:52 -0000, Harry Bloomfield
wrote: Evan submitted this idea : Far too tight a coil ? ROFL... Have you ever seen how small a spool of wire that type of cable comes off of at a hardware store ? I'm well aware of that, but it not be constantly wound onto it and off it stressing the cable. & it's the only done once that's the issue, every time you wind akoop you put a 1/2 turn of twist into the cable, you could of course just wind it without twisting it as a figure of 8, -- Using Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/mail/ |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
"john reeves" wrote in message ... This is about those extension power leads ( usually orange coloured from B & Q etc). Quite often sold for use with electric lawn mowers. These cables seem to have 'a mind of their own' every time you reel them up and unreel them. It's like a 'memory effect' they have, ( as if they are not flexible enough ) and want to keep moving in a direction that they must have been stored in previously. This probably sounds like a minor thing. But the total time wasted and frustration trying to unravel the thing mounts up time after time. I've tried that trick sailors use in giving it a small twist every time you reel it around your arm, but its just a bit too stiff to do that successfully. Has anyone else found a good way to deal with this? It has crossed my mind that this cable is just too old and has lost what flexibility it did have once. We use a device similar to this: http://www.metals4u.co.uk/detail.asp...36&prd_id=4342 although ours has two swivel handles, one that is in the centre of one side and the other at the end of the other side. You simply push the plug into three holes on the flat section, hold the centre handle and start winding with the other. No twists, no tangles and the cable has lasted for years. -- Tinkerer |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
On Sun, 20 Feb 2011 23:01:45 -0000, Skipweasel wrote:
What does that BS number mean? http://www.bs6500.co.uk/ No involved with Eland cables are we? B-) Doesn't say a lot in terms that can be reall pinned down. Anyway my B&Q "Masterplug" extension cable, after being out in the porch over night at 0C, is stiff but still coilable without it fighting back a great deal. -- Cheers Dave. |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
On Feb 20, 10:15*am, "john reeves" wrote:
This is about those extension power leads ( usually orange coloured from B & Q etc). Quite often sold for use with electric lawn mowers. These cables seem to have 'a mind of their own' every time you reel them up and unreel them. It's like a 'memory effect' they have, ( as if they are not flexible enough ) and want to keep moving in a direction that they must have been stored in previously. This probably sounds like a minor thing. But the total time wasted and frustration trying to unravel the thing mounts up time after time. I've tried that trick sailors use in giving it a small twist every time you reel it around your arm, but its just a bit too stiff to do that successfully. Has anyone else found a good way to deal with this? *It has crossed my mind that this cable is just too old and has lost what flexibility it did have once. I try not to wind then at all. greg |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
In article ,
john reeves wrote: This is about those extension power leads ( usually orange coloured from B & Q etc). Quite often sold for use with electric lawn mowers. These cables seem to have 'a mind of their own' every time you reel them up and unreel them. It's like a 'memory effect' they have, ( as if they are not flexible enough ) and want to keep moving in a direction that they must have been stored in previously. Even the most expensive and flexible of cables take a 'set' - due to being supplied on a drum of some sort or the other. So you still need to develop a technique for tidy wrapping up. The trick is to coil it in the direction it wants to go. And in a coil size it's happy with. -- *Sleep with a photographer and watch things develop Dave Plowman London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
"Dave Liquorice" wrote in message ll.co.uk... On Sun, 20 Feb 2011 16:57:18 -0000, Gareth Magennis wrote: You need the double twisting method on any cable longer than a couple of metres or so. Agreed. This is how the noise boys do it. They wrap a lot of cables, some of them 100's of metres of multicore which is a damn sight stiffer than B&W mains cable. I doubt that you mean that literally for hand coiling, it would be too damn heavy! 50m of heavy star quad is too much and my hand isn't big enough even with each loop taking 5' of cable... Multicore over about 20m is figure of eighted on the ground or more likely wound onto a drum. Not coiling the multi by hand, but doing the same over/under twisty thing whilst coiling it into its flightcase. Once this is done you can grab the end and just run off with it down to FOH and the cable comes out perfectly straight with not a twist or snag in sight. Gareth. |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
On 20/02/2011 21:54, Ronald Raygun wrote:
No. Do not twist. Twisting is what leads to kinking and tangling. The correct way to coil a cable, rope, or hose, is to imagine that it were a flat ribbon with the two sides a different colour. Suppose the ribbon is lying flat on the ground with no twists in it so that the blue side is on top and the red side underneath. (For a right handed person:) hold the end of the cable in your left hand blue side up. Grasp the cable with your right hand, holding it blue side up, then bring your right hand towards your left hand and just place the cable onto what is already there, so that it stays blue side up during the whole move. The action of your right hand does not involve any twisting. You just lift a bit of cable straight up and plonk it down again, as if you were lifting a chess piece from one square and putting it down on another. If the cable is stiff, a side effect of this will be that each coil will end up with a self-cancelling double twist in it, and will most likely hang in a figure of eight pattern. But that's the idea. Ronald, as a sailor you should know the difference between a cable and a hawser. And of course the hand you use should be the opposite one depending which way the rope is laid. When you are coiling twisted rope it's imperative to coil it in such a way that the twist is not destroyed. This is of course not an issue with plaited ropes, mains leads or garden hoses. Andy |
Extension cable loosing flexibility
On Feb 20, 4:48*pm, "Steve B" wrote:
"Harry Bloomfield" wrote in message . uk... Evan submitted this idea : Far too tight a coil ? *ROFL... *Have you ever seen how small a spool of wire that type of cable comes off of at a hardware store ? I'm well aware of that, but it not be constantly wound onto it and off it stressing the cable. -- Regards, * * * *Harry (M1BYT) (L) http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk Hey, it's his coil, and he can shorten the life of it, cause kinks, cause breaks, or cause cracks if he wants to and is averse to listening to any suggestions. *I wish I had the money yearly that people throw away from buying GOOD stuff, then storing it improperly. *Or even just people who hang up garden hose with water in the bights with subfreezing weather coming. I'd be a zillionaire. Steve Heart surgery pending? Read up and prepare. Download the book $10http://cabgbypasssurgery.com "I wish I had the money yearly that people throw away from buying GOOD stuff, then storing it improperly." Well over 10 years ago, my son got hired by a friend of friend (some rich *******) to help him clean out his garage. As I drove up to bring my son home I noticed a heavy duty outdoor extension cord - on a cord reel - lying in the pile of junk. It looked brand new. I asked by son about it and he said the guy said it was "cut". I told my son to toss it in the van. About 8 feet from one end the insulation and 1 conductor was cut. I bought a plug and a socket and ended up with 2 heavy duty extension cords, one 8 foot, one about 40, for under $5. I still use both of them all the time. Rich don't mean smart. |
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