Lets see your extension cord storage

[78C-10]

Hello everyone, I wanted ideas on how to store extension cords. Most of mine are coiled and in a pile. I was thinking of peg board, but would the larger cord's weight be too much for peg board? Lets see your cord storage, or at least tell me about it. Thank you all

 

[BMack37]

You could buy a steel peg board, there have been some pretty good sales if you check the deals section. Mine are in a pile also. Maybe I'll take a broken hockey stick and cut it up to make hanging posts for them...or I'll just leave them in a pile like I always have haha.

 

[logical]

ATV wheels found on Craigslist cheap.

 

[78C-10]

That's a cool set up you have there logical, thank you for the tip.

 

[metaldad]

no pic (yet)
gently rolled loops, 2' or so, no knots or bends.
hung on pegboard hooks, with 1/4'' o ring stock as the binder/hanger

 

[BonzoHansen]

I have a few of these.

 

[bleomycin]

I have a roboreel and love it (no pics of my install, I can take some but not too much point really). It's a huge ripoff for what it is, but i still love it after fighting with ****** reels for many years.

I also have a few of these which work well, 20ft.

Amazon has them.

 

[FigureItOut]

I've got a reel on the ceiling that works well, for the rest I have this. My wife works at a beauty supply shop and brought me this display rack they were tossing.
It has four sides, rotates and rolls around. I have extension cords on one side, clamps on another, cables, straps, rigging etc on another, and a fourth as of now unused side.

 

[lightning02]

I have a few of these.

Where can these be bought?

 

[rubicon01]

Looks like the ones I bought at lowes.

 

[unslow1]

Mine are hanging on HF V-hang all hooks. $2 each good for extra air hose also.


http://www.harborfreight.com/v-shape-hang-all-68995.html

 

[Ray-CA]

I did this with most of mine....http://www.todayshomeowner.com/video/how-to-make-an-extension-cord-carrier-from-a-bucket/

Ray

 

[Wamsutta]

You can use empty MIG spools, but it takes some time to roll the cord on there. At least you won't have to worry about tangles.

 

[ZRX61]

Both of the ones that get used often are coiled up & dropped over the tank on my MIG.

 

[Tenex]

At work we fasten bolts to the industrial shelving to hang the extension cords.

 

[JettaGetUpandGo]

I have a roboreel and love it (no pics of my install, I can take some but not too much point really). It's a huge ripoff for what it is, but i still love it after fighting with ****** reels for many years.

Oh holy ****. And we all thought Snap-On was expensive.

My cords hang on the lag bolt type hooks with the fancy rubber coating.

I've been looking for a retractable reel with a 50' 12/3 cord, but preferably cheaper than the personal value of my left nut.

 

[Brad54]

I woke up one day and realized I've got a LOT of extension cords.
One 100-footer (I think) and it gets rolled up on an inexpensive Home Depot cord real. I used it for years at my swap meet for the PA equipment. Never failed, the cord always came off it very nicely.
I think I've got a 50 footer the same way. I rarely use them now, but maybe once a year they make an appearance for something.

The rest of mine are 25 feet, with a couple 8-footers for running electric drills (8-10 feet seems to be perfect for running a drill).

I just loop them into coils. Do NOT twist them over your elbow/wrist, because it twists the cord.
I've heard of looping them in coils referred to as "stage loops." I guess maybe stage production companies loop them like that? Anyway, it doesn't twist the coils, so it stretches out nice and easy.

Then I hang them on the pegboard, using large curved hooks.
I have a curved hook next to every other outlet in my shop, and hang a cord next to it so it's right there when I need it.
The others I have hanging on the wall in a straight vertical line. One hook with a cord on it, next hook about 8 inches above the first with cord on it, overlapping the cord below it, and so on. I have four or five hanging on the wall that way, taking up the least amount of space. When I need one, I just grab the top one, which uncovers the next.

-Brad

 

[vonhef]

Where can these be bought?

You can find them in the water hose section of a hardware store.

 

[bobcatdan]

99% of the time, I use the 65' extension cord reel mounted to the ceiling of the shop. Always plugged in and ready to go. When I'm done, a quick tug and it retacts. For loose cords, I wrap them by hand and have them stacked in the bottom bulk section of my craftsman combo.

 

[JettaGetUpandGo]

I just loop them into coils. Do NOT twist them over your elbow/wrist, because it twists the cord.
I've heard of looping them in coils referred to as "stage loops." I guess maybe stage production companies loop them like that? Anyway, it doesn't twist the coils, so it stretches out nice and easy.

This is the "correct" way to do it. I did sound and lighting for my high school many years ago and this was the first thing drilled into our heads. If the cord is already twisted badly this method does not work very well. If used from day one with the cord, it will last forever.

 

[jeffmoss26]

This is the "correct" way to do it. I did sound and lighting for my high school many years ago and this was the first thing drilled into our heads. If the cord is already twisted badly this method does not work very well. If used from day one with the cord, it will last forever.

Yep-the over and under method. I did lighting, sound, and video throughout college and coiled every cable this way.

 

[the_nelson]

This is the "correct" way to do it. I did sound and lighting for my high school many years ago and this was the first thing drilled into our heads. If the cord is already twisted badly this method does not work very well. If used from day one with the cord, it will last forever.

When they get twisted badly, you take the cable out on a nice warm day and lay it flat on some concrete or asphalt.

Let it bake in the hot sun for an hour or so and then wrap it up.

We call it putting the memory back in the cable.

power cable is not that susceptible to damage from wrapping it over your shoulder... doesn't mean we do it though. However, every other cable you will find on a stage is and those 22AWG to 18AWG cables take a beating from twisting up the conductors.

 

[Gummi Bear]

I just store my cords in nice big loops, and spend the time to undo any kinks, knots, twists or assholes and plug each end into the other.

They go into the big velcro hang alls, that have a carabiner, which gets clipped to the wire shelf in the shed, or tossed in the truck or gangbox, where er I am working.


I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately - Thoreau

 

[londonsteve]

on a good day they are coiled correctly and hung on wooden pegs. on a normal day they are thrown in a cupboard and then its like fighting a octopus to try and shut the door.

 

[78C-10]

Thank you everyone for your tips and tricks. Next summer I will have to lay my cords in the sun. Unfortunately I do the over/under looping with my wrist and elbow.

 

[Coach James]

on a good day they are coiled correctly and hung on wooden pegs. on a normal day they are thrown in a cupboard and then its like fighting a octopus to try and shut the door.

A few years ago, when I had to start replacing worn out cords, I decided to just buy 25 foot ones. Sometimes I have to connect a couple or more, but 25 foot lengths are a lot easier to deal with than 75 and 100 foot cords.

Mine get coiled and stacked on a shelf in the garage. At the gym, we coil and hang them on lags in a closet.

Coach

 

[moparfreak]

Here's what I use for storing my extension cords and also garden hoses. After looking at a number of retail or home-made options, I settled on simple EMT bent to a 90, and fastened into one of the solid lam headers across the middle of the shop. Very solid, easy to access yet out of the way, looks alright also: