While we've got all of our indoor extension cords neatly stored away, storing the 50ft length of medium gauge outdoor extension cord isn't going to work with our DIY solution. Fine Homebuilding's Tucker Windover (what a great name) has come to our rescue with some step-by-step instructions of how to keep a medium-gauge electrical cord in good condition and to avoid coiling with some fancy wrapping techniques that not only preserve your cords and hoses, but also look darn nice...
Some important notes Tucker points out about storing cords, cables and hoses:
- "...coiling cords too tightly introduces twists and kinks and should be avoided."
- "For heavy-gauge electrical cords that are too bulky to drape and bundle, I weave a daisy chain, which then can be folded into a manageable size for transportation and storage."
- "...hang cords on 2x blocks of wood fixed to the wall."
- Use Velcro: "Color-coding cords and tools for different job sites, equipment owners, or cord gauges is a smart way to stay organized."
Watch Tucker demonstrate all three techniques he uses to wrap various lengths of cords and hoses here and get started at organizing that mess in your utility room or garage.
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Comments (6)
ummmmmmm, looping daisy chains? what about when you want to use that cable? You have to undo it all.... that's not fun. Just loop a figure-eight on the floor with the cable over and over and then fold it in half so you have one giant (and usually very heavy) circle.
and the reverse coil also applies to any cabling that's not electrical, or cable that's carrying a signal (i.e. audio and video cables).
@sparkle I'm assuming that you are talking about the yellow cable. My dad was a carpenter for years and always ties his cables like that and all it takes is one tug and the whole thing will unravel fairly easily. In fact, I've found that by tying them up like that it drags out easier and doesn't knot up as opposed to coiling them.
The only proper technique is the over under. This allows the cable to follow it's natural coil. This is the technique used by all electrics on film sets.
I'm glad to see other people are commenting on natural loop. I worked in a Theater scene shop for years and our boss would make people spend hours re-looping the extension cords so they were perfect. Also we had velcro loops at the plug end that would bind everything once it was wrapped. PERFECT!
Yes, follow the natural coil to the cable. Forcing it into a bundle the size of your arm and or other methods of wrapping can actually shortern the life of your cable.
Depending on the size of the cable you are wrapping, a GREAT fastener to hold the roll together is one of those girls' ponytail holders that are an elastic figure 8 with a large ball on either end. Just wrap the ponytail holder around the roll, put one ball over the other, and presto, neatly kept cables. And because they come in many colors, you can color code your cables for length, etc.
the 4 pictures that show the coiling of the 50 ft cord is all wrong. All pro's know that the stresses created by this method create a dangerous cord and ruin it quickly. The insulation is stretched and damaged a little more each time it gets wrapped like this. The only way to store a cord is to wind it in simple coil form about 18" dia size. Sorry, but thats the way it should be done. Also You must protect the connectors at each end by plugging them together.
Russ Choate