Electric hook up

I have a devil of a job rewinding my yellow electric hook up back onto its reel.
It gets increasingly tangled every time -am I missing a trick or have I got a poor type of cable.
Don't remember this being a problem with the caravan -I think that was a red cable?

Am I the only one feeling/looking dopey out side my MH spending 1/2 hour 'fighting to get the cable back onto to it's reel'?

My guess is that it is twisting when being coiled up. The only way I know how to cure this is to lay it out on the lawn on a hot sunny day, until it is softer and more pliant, then wind it in again! this should help it find its own shape again - works for me!

"Don't use a reel", is the simple answer.

I just coil mine and put it in its bag. Much easier, and there's no need to fully unwind it when in use. The coils are dropped on the ground and spread out a bit.

Simple! 

I agree with Gromit - I got rid of my reel a few years ago now, and just coil it by hand.

I get your point Peter, about it being a bit more difficult, but IMO the result is worth it. It does take a bit of finger/hand strength, but it's as much about technique as strength. If you see how boating types coil a rope, it can be done quite elegantly (though I confess I have never mastered that technique). For me, the key is to lay it out in a straight line so that it can untwist as you coil it.

The most common mistake (which you see frequently on campsites) is to wind it round and round your arm between wrist and elbow - that's always likely to end with a tangled mess, eventually.

Another way I've found to make it easier is to have two cables - one the full 25m long, and the other 10m. I find that the shorter cable is fine on 95% of "proper" sites, and it's much easier to coil 10m of cable neatly than 25m!

And yes, "arctic" spec is expensive, but worth it - but beware fake arctic cable! I bought a couple of 50m reels of it cheap off Ebay, and it was nasty Chinese rubbish which felt even less flexible than standard spec! The seller had to pay for me to send it back...

This is what you are aiming for.

Whether you use either of the techniques shown, or rely on strong fingers to give the cable a twist on alternate coils, is up to the individual.

As mentioned already, sooner or later it will be necessary to lay out the full length of cable and rewind it from scratch - preferably on a warm day. However careful you are, it will eventually get slightly twisted and untidy.

We had the same problem, causing much domestic strife as I suggested OH used the wrong technique when putting the cable on the reel. He ditched the reel and now does as a Gromit suggests and all is well.

I also wind it nd bag it,   Reels went yers ago, particularly with 2.5mm cable

How can he spend nearly 7 minutes explaining simple technique that should take 30 seconds - and be so irritatingly puerile about it. And make the whole process totally confusing and incomprehensible!!! 

What a plonker. Lord preserve us from idiot Yanks!!

I'm surprised there wasn't a commercial break in the middle, so he could remind us of everything he just said a minute earlier!! 

Careful - that counts as volunteering here!! 

It's one of those annoying processes that seem quite tricky . . . until the penny drops, and you wonder why it seemed so difficult beforehand.

Your tip about bringing the cable into the house for a warm is very worthwhile. It releases most of the tensions that have been put into it by previously incorrect winding, and allows you to start more or less from scratch..

Every now and again I bring mine into the house and throw it out of one of the Velux windows in our attic bedroom, keeping hold of one end..
After hanging by it's own weight in the sun for a few hours it's tangle free..
Al.

Gromit wrote:Careful - that counts as volunteering here!! 

It's one of those annoying processes that seem quite tricky . . . until the penny drops, and you wonder why it seemed so difficult beforehand.

Your tip about bringing the cable into the house for a warm is very worthwhile. It releases most of the tensions that have been put into it by previously incorrect winding, and allows you to start more or less from scratch..

I think you'll be creating more tensions if you bring a cable into your warm house before t'other half checks it for cleanliness etc. 

There's a tip in a recent MMM magazine where a chap suggests feeding the cable into an open box. It's then supposedly easier to remove it without kinks.

Having had to unwind 1 km lengths of firbre-optic cable from a  drum prior to feeding in the duct, I find 25 metres a bit of a cinch.  

We use a reel and done properly have never had a problem! 

Oops I found myself replying to this thread and I didn’t meant to!

I’m off to watch paint dry! I am completing a botanical watercolour of irises!  - much more interesting, well to me anyway!

Pete

Maasai Warrior wrote:I’m off to watch paint dry! I am completing a botanical watercolour of irises!  - much more interesting, well to me anyway!

Pete

Iris's what Pete? 


Getting me coat. 

Ha ha Dave 

- Not for your eyes! Wink! wink!

I always fully unwind my cable from the reel like one of these:-

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Streetwize-LWACC3-Cable-Tidy-25/dp/B008OTE8DY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1544023217&sr=8-1&keywords=caravan+cable+reel.


When winding up undo from the bollard and slot cable into little retaining lug. Keeping the cable a little taut reel it in and walk towards the van. Undo plug from van and reel in remainder. Put the lot in a bag. No need to wipe cable to get rid of a bit of wet or grass blades or mud  - just reel it in.

I have been doing the same procedure for over 35 years and never ever had a problem with a tangled or twisted cable. It amazes me that people get all messy - both the cable and themselves - doing a very simple 2 minute procedure.