100 ft. 10/3 extension cord reel

[wjjeep]

For those that own 100 ft. 10/3 extension cords, how do you store them? Temporarily, I have one crammed in a 5 gallon bucket.

I've been looking for a reel to easily retrieve and put it away but haven't been able to find anything for this size of cord. Is there a product that would help me that I've missed?

I'm considering some type of a garden hose cart.

Meant to post this in general tool discussion but maybe this is the correct section.

 

[u2slow]

I go with large (6 foot?) loops and some kind of strap or rope to hold the coil together. Hang it on a sturdy garden hose bracket.

A reel for me would just make it bulkier and harder move around. Small loops tend to be harder on the lay and stranding.

 

[Kezorm]

 

[jack stand]

10-3 is pretty heavy, but I'd suggest that on a warm sunny day lay out the cord in a straight line, from each end slightly pull on it assisting it to get the "lay" to where it doesn't want to twist in either direction. Do the same to the other end, it shouldn't need much if any. Then wrap and twist with full arm length loops. If your loop isn't hanging right or wants to make a figure 8 your not twisting enough.
This is how I handle all of my cords that got unwrapped and wrapped back up 6 days a week. It's not difficult once you understand what the cord wants to do, cold is a bad influence especially with more of a vinyl cover than rubber. Get in the habit of starting always from either the power side or the work side so that you can walk off the coils in the opposite direction that you coiled it.
Winders and reels tend to put little curly memory into cords and lots of them. The bigger (longer) your loop is, the less loops you'll need a the flatter it will lay out. Particularly handy if you're constantly dragging the last 30' around obstacles while attached to your saw!
Yes, I'm just a little **** about my cords but this works very well and saves time in a "production" framing environment.

 

[nadogail]

Good presentation; I will continue to use my Cord Wheels.

 

[Kezorm]

My 100' 10AWG cord (not tangled). Hang it on the wall, throw it on the shelf, back of a truck, in a 5 gallon bucket, etc., still not tangled. Only way to go.

 

[ycgoat]

Deleted

 

[Barnabas]

In the sound and lighting business, we typically do not wind extension cords on reels. As others have said, we wind by hand in suitable sized loops.

For your 100' 10/3 cable, I would loop about three to five feet in diameter. You might end up starting the wind in your hand then laying the coil on the ground to finish the wind. The diameter of the wind could depend on the hook from which you hang it, or the size of the crate in which it is stored.

For winding a cable that long it is usually best to user the "over and under" method where you wind one loop one direction, then turn and wind the second loop the opposite direction. You want to find which direction the cable wants to wind, and then wind it that way, not forcing it to wind differently. If done correctly, the cable will then unwind in a straight line rather then a long coil. Search for Over and Under winding, there are plenty of videos out there.

If you wind the cable on a reel, or worse yet, wind it on your arm between your hand and elbow, you might be forcing the cable to twist and coil in a direction that is not natural for the cable, and thus make the cable *****, so it will not lay flat when unwound. Laying flat is important to me, so folks do not trip over cables.

After winding the cables, tie the bundle with a rope or a velcro strap. You might need to tie that large cable bundle in two places. A simple square knot or a shoe-tying not should work. If this is the only cable on the hook, you might not need to tie it.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

10-3 is pretty heavy, but I'd suggest that on a warm sunny day lay out the cord in a straight line, from each end slightly pull on it assisting it to get the "lay" to where it doesn't want to twist in either direction. Do the same to the other end, it shouldn't need much if any. Then wrap and twist with full arm length loops. If your loop isn't hanging right or wants to make a figure 8 your not twisting enough.
This is how I handle all of my cords that got unwrapped and wrapped back up 6 days a week. It's not difficult once you understand what the cord wants to do, cold is a bad influence especially with more of a vinyl cover than rubber. Get in the habit of starting always from either the power side or the work side so that you can walk off the coils in the opposite direction that you coiled it.
Winders and reels tend to put little curly memory into cords and lots of them. The bigger (longer) your loop is, the less loops you'll need a the flatter it will lay out. Particularly handy if you're constantly dragging the last 30' around obstacles while attached to your saw!
Yes, I'm just a little **** about my cords but this works very well and saves time in a "production" framing environment.

I was taught this by an electrician I worked for out of high school. He asked me why I hated his extension cords when he saw me arm wrapping one up and explained how both that and reels destroy the cords over time.

I lay it out as above holding the end in my right hand and the cord in my left and spread my arms as far as I can, rolling my left hand forward and bringing it to my right to grab the now completed loop. Then repeat as many times as necessary. The last 3-4' get wrapped around the middle of the loops cinching them, and the two ends get plugged into each other securing them.

 

[PoorUB]

For a heavy, long cord you can just lay the loops on the ground untill you get it rolled up. Then Use a tie wrap of some sort. One place I worked we had some 100 ft #8-4 SJO cords we had to wrap up. I could coil them on the ground, but you sure are not going to hold the cord in one hand and coil it with the other!

 

[The Cobbler]

I have 75' of 10/4 generator extension and a 25' of 8/4 stove extension from my renovation days to keep people with a stove . both get rolled up on the ground and taped in a few places to keep it together

 

[HoosierMark]

I have a 100 foot of heavy wire spool we used for temporary power building my house. I used a wooden cable spool. It works great and is easy to grip and move. It is about 18 inches to 2 feet tall and about 18 inches across at the top and bottom.

 

[maxpower_hd]

We have a 100' cord at work we use for charging batteries in front of the shop. We just made a bracket and clamped it to a beam about six feet and the air. We just loop it over the bracket in six foot loops and it works great. We do the same with the heavier welder extension cord.

 

[jack stand]

My 100' 10AWG cord (not tangled). Hang it on the wall, throw it on the shelf, back of a truck, in a 5 gallon bucket, etc., still not tangled. Only way to go.

You know that's another way that's proven. It's just that I'm too dumb to "undo" it. I can "tie" it up fine, but never remember where to start talking it apart.
I know, practice makes perfect.

 

[drwheels]

I use an old water hose reel on wheels.

 

[Trapps]

I use a butterfly method.

First 1:30 seconds here shows how:

 

[zcar751]

I like a milk crate. They store easy and are smaller than a bucket.