Hook Up Cable

Hi everyone,when your on a pitch that has the hook up within a few meters,and you have a 25 m cable on a reel,do you un coil the full 25m or just use what length you need and leave the rest nice and tidy on the reel.cheers...Algy

Never leave it coiled up as it can heat up when you apply a load on it and catch fire there was a discussion on here with a news article about a caravan that caught fire and i think people died. We just roll ours out neat at the back of the van.

As Mike said never ever leave it coiled up, we just run ours up and down the side of the motorhome and pop it underneath so no one can trip over it.

Agreed - tightly coiled on a drum where air cannot circulate is bad.

Loose coiling it should be fine in all normal circumstances, as air can get around it, so heat build-up will not be a problem.

One of the clubs recommends running it backwards and forwards with no overlaps, but that's (IMO) just way over the top, unless you have a welder or plasma cutter or similar high-current load involved.

algy wrote:Hi everyone,when your on a pitch that has the hook up within a few meters,and you have a 25 m cable on a reel,do you un coil the full 25m or just use what length you need and leave the rest nice and tidy on the reel.cheers...Algy

Hi there,

The key words are "on a reel".

Personally, I hate the things. Even a relatively low amperage load may cause a section of the cable on a reel to overheat.

With ten or twelve coils wrapped on to a reel there will be quite a few lengths of cable in the centre that is covered by other sections of cable below, above and to either side of them. There is no way in which any heat generated by the current passing through the cable can dissipate.

Because of this the cable should be taken off the reel and either coiled very loosely (I use 1m coils out of habit) or "flaked" up and down on the grass.

Best regards,

I reckon the best solution is to buy yourself an extra plug and socket.

Cut your 25 foot/meter cable into 1 X 15 and 1 X 10 - fit on your plug and socket.

You now have 1 X 10, 1 X 15 and 1 X 25 - a cable for all conditions.

It works for me.

Tonyt wrote:I reckon the best solution is to buy yourself an extra plug and socket.

Cut your 25 foot/meter cable into 1 X 15 and 1 X 10 - fit on your plug and socket.

You now have 1 X 10, 1 X 15 and 1 X 25 - a cable for all conditions.

It works for me.

Now we will have the comments about a trailing plug and socket lying on wet grass!!

Paulmold wrote:

Tonyt wrote:I reckon the best solution is to buy yourself an extra plug and socket.

Cut your 25 foot/meter cable into 1 X 15 and 1 X 10 - fit on your plug and socket.

You now have 1 X 10, 1 X 15 and 1 X 25 - a cable for all conditions.

It works for me.

Now we will have the comments about a trailing plug and socket lying on wet grass!!

and here is the thread from 2011 regarding the danger of coiled cable, the link in the first post shows what can happen..

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

I cut the cable into two.
For a longer run the 2 cables are joined by the ususal IP44 connectors which sit in a clear plastic box with a lid on it and an electricity warning sign.
But we have been to several sites which do not allow cables to be joined.

Pete

-mojo- wrote:Agreed - tightly coiled on a drum where air cannot circulate is bad.

Loose coiling it should be fine in all normal circumstances, as air can get around it, so heat build-up will not be a problem.

One of the clubs recommends running it backwards and forwards with no overlaps, but that's (IMO) just way over the top, unless you have a welder or plasma cutter or similar high-current load involved.

In normal use cables will get ever so slightly warm depending on the current flowing. If at maximum current then it may just be noticable to the touch. Usually 'heat build up' due to current flow is not the issue as the increase in temperature is so small and even allowing for no circulating air it won't be a problem.

The overheating problems are caused by induction. Coils of wire become induction heaters when current starts to flow through them (as in Induction Hobs in a kitchen). So a tight coil will quickly cause problems whereas when spread out it is not a problem, even with no airflow. The larger the diameter of the coil the less of a problem it is. Hence big lazy loops tucked under the van out of the way is the perfect solution.

Thank you everyone for the as usual excellent advice,now I know its a no no to leave the cable on the reel....cheers..Algy

pjkxpjkx wrote:
But we have been to several sites which do not allow cables to be joined.

Pete

Where Pete?

Frank

matchlessman wrote:
The overheating problems are caused by induction.

Sorry, but I think you will find that this is a myth (and an apparently widely held one!). A wire coil will not heat ~itself~ through inductive heating. The effect of heat build-up of wire coiled on a drum is entirely resistive, and is probably one reason why there is a minimum wire gauge specified for EHU cables - the thicker the gauge the less the resistive heating effect, though thicker does also mean a lower voltage drop.

Hi

-mojo- wrote:

matchlessman wrote:
The overheating problems are caused by induction.

Sorry, but I think you will find that this is a myth (and an apparently widely held one!)

Of course I hate to be controversial (is the Pope Catholic? ) but I’m with Mojo on this one. Why? well:

We can ignore the earth wire because under normal conditions there will be little or no current flowing in it. As for the main cable it’s not a single coil of wire, it’s two closely coupled coils, namely the live wire and the neutral wire.

The magnetic field (and hence the inductive effect) generated by the current in the “live” coil is largely cancelled out by the current flowing back through the neutral coil. While not designed as such the effect is very similar to a “bifilar wound coil” which means that the mains lead is largely non inductive.

The coil will heat up but the rate of heating will be dependent on the current flow (i.e. resistive). Yes leaving the cable coiled is dangerous but it’s dangerous because the heat can not get away from the centre of the coil, leading to overheating, rather than any inductive effect.

Brod.

Many years ago it was part of our electrical theory in college and produce results. 
  To produce any high heat would require the maximum 13 amps through the cable for many hours.
How many caravan sites could supply that for all users! and how many users do that as the use is intermittent.
My cable is always neatly coiled up on a 'H' type retainer.
Incidentally, when you buy a cable roll from a supplier you will find it marked, 5 amps coiled, uncoiled 13 amps!.
I have NEVER experienced over heating.

My flat mate at uni ran a fan heater through an extension cable which was coiled up under his desk. At the end of the term, when he came to pack up he found a melted, blackened coil. So yes, coils of cable are definitely bad! Leave it flaked out, if you will be pulling a load through the cable