Saw this on a camping website......

[peterc10]

It may come as a shock to some, but our friends over the Channel usually store their cables on wind out reels and rarely bother to unreel them anymore than needed to get to the EHU when in use. But that is because they do not use electricity to heat things up and most have gas only heating.

IMHO if you just use electricity for battery charging, fridge, TV and lights there is no need to uncoil. If you are using it for heating and/or cooking then you probably should uncoil.

 

[Rapido925M]

When the outside broadcast trucks come to the Studio where I used to work (and where I still spend time during broadcasts) and plug into all the equipment inside the TV theatre, they don't stretch out all the hundreds of metres of cables they use. Any excess is left coiled up neatly.

JJ

Do they use domestic quality cable or something a bit bigger?

Doubling the diameter of copper conductor increases its cross-sectional area 4x.
That reduces its resistance per metre to 1/4.
That reduces the voltage drop per metre to 1/4
That reduces the power loss per metre to 1/4 IF the current is the same.

Probably these guys are operating at higher currents BUT it's no good saying "all the equipment" unless there are some quantifiable items to compare things with.

IF a cable was to fail, the whole studio might grind to a halt. So I imagine that supplies are doubled, or trebled, up to allow a degree of redundancy. This then means that, in normal usage, each cable is carrying 1/2, or 1/3, of its nominal capacity. So once again, the heat dissipated is reduced.

I totally agree with you that the danger is insignificant and I've never personally come across a burnt out reel but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Two years ago I walked into my MH bathroom and could smell electrical burning and heard arcing. I went outside and discovered that the inlet block, where the blue EHU lead enters the van, was indeed arcing and melting the white plastic box. I disconnected and spent 2 days without power until I could source a new box. What would have happened if I hadn't discovered that? What if we'd been asleep? How many other incidents are you aware of where the same problem has arisen?

Better safe than sorry!

Gordon

 

[Silver-Fox]

Just leave those of us choose not to alone.

Thats ok
Can you make sure you park at least 6m away from me to prevent possible “fire jump”

??

 

[42208]

Apparently it’s a visual reminder as to why you should completely unwind your hook-up cable, I can’t see either end so can’t confirm or otherwise....View attachment 359400

This is desperately misleading, the incident as nothing to do with motorhome life and normal ehu usage. It is about someone who used an extension lead to power an electric kiln with the ground pin missing from the plug. Check your leads spec it often tells you max amps wound and unwound, common sense thereafter.

 

[Sundowners]

I am embarrassed to confess that I once destroyed a cable reel------ in my defense I was under huge pressure in a factory and although I knew about the outcome I totally overlooked it at the time---- it's the sort of thing that happens when you don't allow the time to think about what you are doing!!!!!!
No drama just a melted cable!!!!

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[Rapido925M]

I am embarrassed to confess that I once destroyed a cable reel-------- it's the sort of thing that happens when you don't allow the time to think about what you are doing!!!!!!

Pressure of time shouldn't be a problem for most MH users

Gordon

 

[Viennese]

I promise I will leave you well alone

Goodbye

Very wise!

 

[peterc10]

This is desperately misleading, the incident as nothing to do with motorhome life and normal ehu usage. It is about someone who used an extension lead to power an electric kiln with the ground pin missing from the plug. Check your leads spec it often tells you max amps wound and unwound, common sense thereafter.

AND the cat had already chewed the cable and they had repaired it with electrical tape. AND the base of the plug had worn away and they could see the interior wires. And finally all this happened in 2011 in Austin Texas.

And yet I bet lots of others will post saying look what happened to this reel when being used with a motorhome. Oh the joy of the internet. 10 minutes and we can all be experts ...................................

 

[Brains]

I have done this.

I did not fully unwind a cable that was powering lights.
Over the course of a couple of hours it heated up enough to melt the casing and it shorted out.
I unwound the rest of the cable and had to chop out a 20' foot section of damaged cable.

I do not use a reel in the vehicle. It's loose wound and drape the excess coiled over the bike rack.
(I have been known to do my neighbours a 'favour' and unwind their entire reel, I don't want their overheating cable blowing the fuse to the EHU pillar)

 

[ABZSteve]

Very wise!

Why?

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[Jaws]

Maureen learned the hard way
Strimming in the front garden, told her to run the extension lead out, but no.. woman knows best
Right up to the point the porch filled with acrid smoke !
And that was just a 700 w strimmer

several years ago at Waldergraves one November a crowd of fun steps was doing what we do best
van pulled on a pitch ( not one of us ) and left his HU more or less fully rolled
I wandered over and tried to explain.. chap was having none of it.

About 1am all sorts of commotion!
Yep, it was actually on fire under his van

 

[DuxDeluxe]

Maureen learned the hard way
Strimming in the front garden, told her to run the extension lead out, but no.. woman knows best
Right up to the point the porch filled with acrid smoke !
And that was just a 700 w strimmer

several years ago at Waldergraves one November a crowd of fun steps was doing what we do best
van pulled on a pitch ( not one of us ) and left his HU more or less fully rolled
I wandered over and tried to explain.. chap was having none of it.

About 1am all sorts of commotion!
Yep, it was actually on fire under his van

I think I remember that...... and that "wrong way" bike

 

[Rapido925M]

If you ever need to repair a cable, don't be like my neighbour!

He was using his electric cement-mixer and kept getting mild shocks every time he touched the frame. I investigated his extension lead and found a block of insulating tape.

I opened it up and found the live wire joined to the neutral; the neutral joined to the live; no earth wire!

"I knows a bit o' science and you always join red to black and black to red" says he (a good 'ole Narfolk boy).

"And I saved money by using two-core cable 'cause the current can flow back through the black wire if you joins them in the plug."

If you don't understand what was happening, please don't do your own electrical repairs

Gordon

Fortunately he was wearing thick rubber wellies otherwise his shocks would have been more shocking.