EHU Cable Reel

[DDJC]

I have four EHU cables. A 30m, a 25m, a 10m and a 5m. I generally only take the 30m, and the 10m on tour. Last week, I needed both on a Swiss site where the electricity was miles away.

All of my cables are 2.5mm. I don't trust the 1.5mm cables that everyone on the continent seems to use. The problem then is winding them up on a reel. I just bought a new reel that was advertised as fifty metres. Yeah right, fifty metres of bellwire, perhaps. It could only take my ten metre cable.

So my questions, has anyone ever come across a reel that can take thirty metres of 2.5mm cable? Or how else do you coil and stow it?

Thanks very much!

 

[HKF]

I have four EHU cables. A 30m, a 25m, a 10m and a 5m. I generally only take the 30m, and the 10m on tour. Last week, I needed both on a Swiss site where the electricity was miles away.

All of my cables are 2.5mm. I don't trust the 1.5mm cables that everyone on the continent seems to use. The problem then is winding them up on a reel. I just bought a new reel that was advertised as fifty metres. Yeah right, fifty metres of bellwire, perhaps. It could only take my ten metre cable.

So my questions, has anyone ever come across a reel that can take thirty metres of 2.5mm cable? Or how else do you coil and stow it?

Thanks very much!

Would a hose reel do, rather than a cable reel?

 

[tonyidle]

Simply coil it over your hand like a rope. Accommodate the loops it remembers from being on the original reel when doing so.

 

[PlacidoD]

Coil it hand over hand and then into a heavy duty carrier bag!

 

[Cobnarowl]

I find those who use a reel tend to only straighten out the length required,the rest is left coiled .As anyone who did A Level Physics will kmow this can be dangerous,Fleming's Left Hand Rule etc!!!!!

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[Richard n Ann]

I find those who use a reel tend to only straighten out the length required,the rest is left coiled .As anyone who did A Level Physics will kmow this can be dangerous,Fleming's Left Hand Rule etc!!!!!

Nothing to do with the magnetic field as it cancels out being live and neutral together.

The heat comes from the voltage drop along the cable Power = VxI so with a 1 volt drop and 10 amps being used, the wattage the cable is using is 10w.

The thinner the cable the bigger the voltage drop and the more power the cable uses.

 

[fred_jb]

I use rectangular plastic frames to wind my cables on. Very easy and effective plus they take up much less space than reels.

Like this:
Invero H-Frame Cable Carriers Tidy System Holder Ideal for Christmas Lights, Extensions Leads, Garden Tool Cables and More
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07MZ4T416?tag=mhf04-21

 

[JockandRita]

Or how else do you coil and stow it?

Like this.



Cheers,

Jock.

 

[cyberyacht]

I just coil my 16M 2.5mm one and hang it on a hook in the garage. Having coiled ropes all my life, using a reel never came into my mind. The 25M one hardly ever sees light of day.

 

[fred_jb]

I should add that I have two of these frames for my 15m and a 10m cables, both 2.5mm, and you would struggle to get much more than a 15m 2.5mm cable on one of these. I have a waterproof joining housing and have only had to use this once to get a total of 25m, I normally find the 10m cable suffices and just occasionally need the 15m one.

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[Brains]

I use a plastic loop, cost about £2 from B&Q.

The other option is to use large Velcro cable ties designed to hold up saplings.
Available at any garden centre in any colour you like as long as it's green.

As we all know, you should never use an EHU cable whilst it still on a reel.
Which on the mainland is a very common sight, but almost unheard of in the UK


I have 2 x 25m cables, and in Germany I've had to use both to get to the bollard, including putting in my own 4 way splitter to allow others to get power.
It's always noticeable that UK vans arrive fully tooled up with proper 2.5mm electric cables in orange and proper splitters, whereas many of our mainland compatriots turn up with a reel of 1.5mm black cable and domestic 2 pin plugs.

 

[DDJC]

Thanks everyone. I have tried most of these ideas!

The coiled cable hanging from a hook in the garage, failed because the hook screws pulled out under the weight of the cable.

The plastic carriers, and cable ties don't hold it.

The little H shaped carriers are only big enough for my 5m cable.

It is too heavy to hold while you coil it. And, I have to think of solutions that continue to work as I get older!!

Have to say that HKF's suggestion is a good one. I will look for a hose reel, the diameter of a standard garden hose is thicker than a 2.5mm cable so a 25 hose reel would probably work, if sturdy enough (metal).

Thanks all.

 

[Phill D]

I also carry a 10m and a 25m both 2.5mm.
I use a reel for the 25m cable but that is the max length it will take, as std sold cables are 25m.
Ps: to avoid the comments, I always fully unwind my cables, and plug the van in before the power source.

 

[Phill D]

This takes 25m of 2.5 but that’s the limit.

 

[RM_Marine]

Like this.

View attachment 944805

Cheers,

Jock.

Was just about to say I coil mine like climbing rope ans then saw this post

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[Dolmen]

I find those who use a reel tend to only straighten out the length required,the rest is left coiled .As anyone who did A Level Physics will kmow this can be dangerous,Fleming's Left Hand Rule etc!!!!!

That’s why I like a reel, only need to unwind the amount you need

 

[Richard n Ann]

That’s why I like a reel, only need to unwind the amount you need

Nothing wrong with that as long as you don't let it overheat

 

[Simon G]

Nothing to do with the magnetic field as it cancels out being live and neutral together.

The heat comes from the voltage drop along the cable Power = VxI so with a 1 volt drop and 10 amps being used, the wattage the cable is using is 10w.

The thinner the cable the bigger the voltage drop and the more power the cable uses.

Nothing wrong with that as long as you don't let it overheat

As a professional pedant, it is 'something' to do with magnetic field. Inductance, as well as resistance, contributes to heating of a AC coil. And how do you know if it's going to overheat?

 

[Brains]

That’s why I like a reel, only need to unwind the amount you need

I find if you put the reel under the van, next to the wheel to keep it nice and dry, ideally on top of the spare gas or petrol container it keeps it off the grass as so does not get wet with the dew in the morning.

 

[Richard n Ann]

And how do you know if it's going to overheat?

Well, I'd perhaps be pulling a good few amps and it would start to get warm on the reel first, then start to overheat, I think overheating can be defined as when the insulation starts to get soft and melt (starts to turn into a liquid state) therefore letting the copper conductors come into close prox... Oh enough

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[Dolmen]

I find if you put the reel under the van, next to the wheel to keep it nice and dry, ideally on top of the spare gas or petrol container it keeps it off the grass as so does not get wet with the dew in the morning.

That is exactly what I do with it, unfortunately do not carry a spare can of petrol, so never had a need to try that one. I am not an heavy user so unlikely to get anywhere near its 25amp unwound safety limit or its 10 amp wound (guess, nothing to back that up). I do unwind it if I see the curtains twitch on next doors van because I don't like to be rude to the owner who is likely to come round and tell me the number of times a friend of his friends uncle has seen vans go up in flames because they didn't unwind their cable.

 

[Nirvanauk]

I knew it wouldnt be long before all the photos started appearing of burnt out reels.

 

[Brains]

That is exactly what I do with it, unfortunately do not carry a spare can of petrol, so never had a need to try that one. I am not an heavy user so unlikely to get anywhere near its 25amp unwound safety limit or its 10 amp wound (guess, nothing to back that up). I do unwind it if I see the curtains twitch on next doors van because I don't like to be rude to the owner who is likely to come round and tell me the number of times a friend of his friends uncle has seen vans go up in flames because they didn't unwind their cable.

Like this one ?
I'm sure the father and son were someones friends of friends Uncle.
(Took me all of 10 seconds to find one news report, but give me five minutes and I'll give you links to a dozen more if you want)

 

[Jon Stewart]

Thanks everyone. I have tried most of these ideas!

The coiled cable hanging from a hook in the garage, failed because the hook screws pulled out under the weight of the cable.

The plastic carriers, and cable ties don't hold it.

The little H shaped carriers are only big enough for my 5m cable.

It is too heavy to hold while you coil it. And, I have to think of solutions that continue to work as I get older!!

Have to say that HKF's suggestion is a good one. I will look for a hose reel, the diameter of a standard garden hose is thicker than a 2.5mm cable so a 25 hose reel would probably work, if sturdy enough (metal).

Thanks all.

Just be aware that a lot of the hose reels you might get are really very weak.

I've broken a number of cheap ones over the years.

 

[Phill D]

I resisted the temptation to mention to the guy on the pitch opposite us on the weekend about his ehu cable when chatting.
He had his live ehu cable hard wound on the real rested against his van and was also parked with the cable trapped between his rear tyre and levelling ramp grips.

With the full weight of the van on the cable I just don’t know how the leccy got through to run his heating.

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[John Barrett]

I can vouch for the overheating syndrome, having once picked up my late father's coiled extension lead and dropping it very quickly after it burned my hands!

 

[The Old Man]

Being a solo traveller spoils me.

I loose coil but coiling is a minor skill.

I find it hard to describe but there are two parts to coiling but starts with training the lead, A nice warm, sunny day, lay the EHU lead out in the sun fully extended and straight. Leave it out in the sun to get soft and mallable.

Most laid ropes have a 'Right Hand Lay' and should therefore be coiled clockwise. Coil it into nice even coils, and the trick to coiling a rope is to twist each loop until the line lays flat. Keep going until there is a nice length left to wrap around the rope.

Now an EHU is not a rope so I do not believe in the 'Lay' issue but there is something to consider, lets call it twist. Imagine a conker hanging on its string, you could start winding the conker round and round, 'twisted', the string seems to get shorter and rumples up. Winding up you EHU and you want to avoid this twisting occurring.

So with your warm and mallable EHU, take one end and make a loop. Make this with the cable hanging loose, DO NOT winsd around a crooked elbow, hold the looping cable in one hand and the other to make the next loop. Just doing this introduces a twist often shown by the cable trying to form a 'figure of eight.'

Pause and remove the twist by turning the cable.

Continue making loops and removing the twist as required, do not be lazy, remove each figure of eight.


When finished;

If time and conditions allow lay the loosly coiled EHU in the sun and let it soften in the nice coils.

Treat it gently, let it keep the good shape.

Being a solo traveller the good part is that my nicely coiled EHU lays nice and tidily in the passenger footwell.

 

[Richard n Ann]

Like this one ?
I'm sure the father and son were someones friends of friends Uncle.
(Took me all of 10 seconds to find one news report, but give me five minutes and I'll give you links to a dozen more if you want)

The coiled lead wasn't the problem. The problem was THEY let it overheat.

There are lots of dangerous things in this world if we, as adults stop being responsible for our own safety, chip pans, high performance motorcycles, death cap mushrooms, motorway Aires to name a few but there are thousands.

Be careful out there folks

 

[fred_jb]

Mine just gets wound willy-nilly around its plastic frame - life is too short to pamper your cables in the way described above! At least using a frame means that I don't have the cable coiled in use as it is simpler to just take it all off the frame each time.

 

[M-J]

This takes 25m of 2.5 but that’s the limit.
View attachment 944877

I have this, fits 25m but on a bad day my 25m cable can be a pig for twisting after it’s been on the reel.