Coiled cables

[Apacheman]

There is evidence on this post of the dangers of leaving the cable coiled (pictures). I’m pretty sure in those examples it didn’t happen the first time they used it. They may have used it like that for years without problem but that one time?? Why risk it?

 

[TwistNShout]

Key word in The Wino answer= probably!

You are correct that the probability is low for certain groups, but probability does not generally account for unexpected changes. That comes under Risk Assessments, a subject close to my heart but much misunderstood and maligned in the mainstream population. There you have Risk, and Impact to add to the probability. In this case, Risk may be low, Impact is very high as it could conceivably lead to loss of life, making it Red Risk. The mitigation would be to uncoil the cable which reduces the risk to negligible but likely still leaves it as an Amber Risk because you have unprotected cable. .

I spent many years working on safety related and safety critical systems, so I've spent many hours filling in forms with risk, probability, impact and mitigation cost and that mind set seems to be engrained now. Having also seen reeled electrical cables overheat and in some cases catch fire in industrial settings, I'm well aware that it can happen. The risk with a MH may be lower, due to lower current draw, but given the low "cost" of mitigating the risk I always fully unreel my hook up cable - same as I do extension leads at home.

 

[Barriesimpson]

Pah! That's nothing compared with the 144 here on 'How to Use the Toilet'

(I'm not getting at you Barriesimpson as it was a fair question but I was amused at the huge number of replies).

https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/using-the-toilet.304144/

That was/is all part of the fun Spriddler, I never imagined that at 65 years old I would need to learn to use the toilet.....

 

[whisky walker]

Always unwind ours, found out the hard way not with MOHO but Henry the Hoover. Only used it for about 10 mins with about 3m cable pulled out and then the smell of burning hit me and up it went. Hoover was only a month old and had no other defects. A good test to those who don't unwind is put your toaster on for 4 slices of bread for about 7 mins then unwind the cable and feel the temp. You would be supprised how warm it is.

 

[Spriddler]

That was/is all part of the fun Spriddler, I never imagined that at 65 years old I would need to learn to use the toilet.....

Count your blessings before you're 79 like me and have difficulty just remembering where it is.

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[Barriesimpson]

Count your blessings before you're 79 like me and have difficulty just remembering where it is.

Sorry, what was the question again?

 

[Widge]

If people still insist on using coiled cable reels, at least pay for a high quality one that has a thermal cutout.

Although probably a few people will disagree saying dont get one, they are a pain in the backside as the keep popping out, and the last one I had i hade to tape the dam thing in!

 

[L' Hobo]

I, personally, do not unroll all my cable, just the length needed BUT, I have rolled my cable on ALL my reels over 50yrs, so that the reel stays near the bollard and just the cable comes near my camper and have never had any problems.

Saying that, I have never had a camper over 3.5 tons so, presumably, never needed any massive power drawn.
I also expect, IF there is problems, either the bollard, or my, trips to trip.

Can I ask those with more electrical knowledge than I ( that's not hard) why they don't?

 

[L' Hobo]

Count your blessings before you're 79 like me and have difficulty just remembering where it is.

At 79 like me, that's the one place I can remember, I visit it enough!

 

[Spriddler]

At 79 like me, that's the one place I can remember, I visit it enough!

I see that Stannah have added a Turbo model to their range of stair lifts so that when you get to the top you can still remember why you went up there.

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[The Wino]

I see that Stannah have added a Turbo model to their range of stair lifts so that when you get to the top you can still remember why you went up there.

I think they ought to have music whenever I see the mother in law on hers. I think thunderbirds.

 

[L' Hobo]

I see that Stannah have added a Turbo model to their range of stair lifts so that when you get to the top you can still remember why you went up there.

I think they are missing a trick, they should make one with a commode seat and privacy screen.
Just in case!

 

[Boldly]

Always unwind ours, found out the hard way not with MOHO but Henry the Hoover. Only used it for about 10 mins with about 3m cable pulled out and then the smell of burning hit me and up it went. Hoover was only a month old and had no other defects. A good test to those who don't unwind is put your toaster on for 4 slices of bread for about 7 mins then unwind the cable and feel the temp. You would be supprised how warm it is.

That Henry must have been faulty. They are designed to be used with only the required amount of cable pulled out.

 

[Gromett]

Electric Cable Reel Alert

Safety alert from the Health and Safety Authority.

www.hsa.ie

 

[whisky walker]

W

That Henry must have been faulty. They are designed to be used with only the required amount of cable pulled out.

When I got in touch with the maker they quoted that when used the cable should be fully pulled out and then they said there is a yellow warning label at the end stating this. I also rememberd a useful note from my engineering apprenticeship many many years back.
Compressing electrical conductors increases their resistance; coiling a cable compresses the conductor on one side.
Increased resistance means more heat is created.
More heat also means more resistance.
More resistance means more heat.
and so on.
Unwinding/uncoiling does 2 things, it stops the compression of the conductors, and it gives the cable open air, to maximise the amount of heat it can radiate.
Now you can get away with not unwinding the cable fully if you are only going to be using the hoover for 1–2 minutes, or if it is an extension reel where you are using a device with a power draw no more than 60% of the cable rating, as they will still be able to radiate enough heat to stop thermal runaway.

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[Barriesimpson]

We just arrived at a camping site with electricity, and guess what, I unravelled all 25 metres of the cable because I can, and I don't need unnecessary risks. Tomorrow I will wind it all up again on my arm, using a cloth to wipe it clean, it will probably take me 2 minutes and 32 seconds and nobody will have died because of it, not even me.

 

[The Wino]

W

When I got in touch with the maker they quoted that when used the cable should be fully pulled out and then they said there is a yellow warning label at the end stating this. I also rememberd a useful note from my engineering apprenticeship many many years back.
Compressing electrical conductors increases their resistance; coiling a cable compresses the conductor on one side.
Increased resistance means more heat is created.
More heat also means more resistance.
More resistance means more heat.
and so on.
Unwinding/uncoiling does 2 things, it stops the compression of the conductors, and it gives the cable open air, to maximise the amount of heat it can radiate.
Now you can get away with not unwinding the cable fully if you are only going to be using the hoover for 1–2 minutes, or if it is an extension reel where you are using a device with a power draw no more than 60% of the cable rating, as they will still be able to radiate enough heat to stop thermal runaway.

I was interested what level of compression would be required to make a significant increase in resistance ( I suspected a huge force would be required). The results actually say compression of a wire increase the cross sectional area and reduces resistance! I suppose you could say one side is conpressed the other stretched so it still makes a difference but I would like to meter the effect I suspect it's half bu***r all!

 

[whisky walker]

I was interested what level of compression would be required to make a significant increase in resistance ( I suspected a huge force would be required). The results actually say compression of a wire increase the cross sectional area and reduces resistance! I suppose you could say one side is conpressed the other stretched so it still makes a difference but I would like to meter the effect I suspect it's half bu***r all!

I wouldn't go into actually measuring the cross sectional area but I do know how hot it got after using it for only about 15 mins. I checked the the IR of the cable and found low readings so replaced the cable and ever since I've used it pulled out and never had a problem