How to wrap your EVSE/other cables! (You're doing it wrong!)

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drees said:
Now the question is: If you have an extension cord that has obviously been abused by wrapping over the elbow - is there a good way to help straighten it out? SImply untwisting it doesn't work. I'm guessing the previous owner (wasn't me, honest!) always wrapped the cord over their elbow in one direction...
I would love to know this, too. I have a 100 foot long cord on a reel and my son did something to the first 5-10 feet that caused it to be very twisted. I tried to untwist it manually without much success. The twisting is repeated at every 2 or 3 inches so it's pretty severe and it seems to form a memory on the twisted shape now.
 
Tried it out this morning with my 50ft. L6-20 extension. Took a couple of false starts, but I soon got the hang of it. It works so much better...but I was shocked at just how twisted the cord was already, and I've probably only coiled it up 10 times or so...and never over my elbow, but I guess it didn't really matter much. Hopefully if I stop twisting it, it will relax again over time.
 
I have a better one for really long stuff. Contractors use this.

Use this technique for basic power cords, hoses, or rope. It's called braiding (technically it's more like crocheting but braiding is easier to say and spell :D). The end result looks like a scary knot but it has a number of benefits: you can toss it around without it becoming undone, it does not create permanent twists in the cord, when you get good it is faster than coiling and the over-under method, and it comes apart very easily when you are ready for it without any knotting.

All that being said, I do not recommend this technique for data cables or anything delicate (fiber, coax, etc.) because it does create more stress than under-over. It's overkill for anything under 15 feet. If you try it, don' be discouraged if your first braids come out loose or messed up, and don't forget to "lock" it at the end. It takes practice to get it right like this guy below.

Disclaimer: not mine!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaEv9wm6gy0[/youtube]
 
Ingineer said:
We get EVSE's in all the time that have had their cord wrapped incorrectly and their cables are trashed! You should ALWAYS do the over/under wrap method!

You will benefit from way less tangles, and the cable will still look/act new after many uses. Usually you can just throw the properly wrapped cable out and it will be straight with zero knots!

Here's a video showing how: (Disclaimer: Not mine!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MziOBf60Kn0

Practice this, it seems hard at first, but quickly becomes second nature. Please share this method! (And it would make a great sticky for this section too!)

-Phil
Neat!

But I wish dude didn't take 10 minutes to illustrate something that should only take 15 seconds (2:25 - 2:40, for the terminally impatient)!

Edited to include URL to jump directly to video's 2:25 point! :)
 
GeekEV said:
What about that pretzel (French braid?) style wrapping I see hanging on the back of so many commercial trucks? What's that called, how does it compare, and how do you do it? :D
It's the same "figure 8" method that NYC garment district workers use to wind yard goods (ribbon, elastics, webbing, cording, etc.) without twisting them. Also, the method creates a bundle that allows unwinding without twisting. The advantage of this method over the one in the vid posted by Ingineer is that this method also works for stuff with flat-ish cross section.

I tried to find a vid to illustrate this but couldn't. Maybe I'll make one...
 
padamson1 said:
I believe that's a variation of the Ballantine coil, as in the logo to Ballantine beer. Here's a pic: http://www.flickr.com/photos/57475570@N00/50301659/.

I am pretty sure this has the same uncoiling issues as a regular sailor's coil in that it needs to be untwisted as you uncoil it or you get little curls and the wire doesn't lay flat.
Yeah, that has the same twisting issue as with the looping-around-elbow-and-hand method. The one advantage that I can see with Ballantine loops is that the loops are arrayed into a cloverleaf pattern so they're less likely to "fall into" each other and create tangles.
 
Over-under is the proper way to wrap cables. If you worked on a TV crew working with the (older) many-conductor cables, you learned to do over-under or were reassigned/fired. Those cables were expensive, full of small gauge wires, and hard to repair.
 
Randy3 said:
That is great! Now I know why my 50 foot extensions are messed up. Wonder if this is why my garden hose is also kinked (or just cheap hose)?
Unfortunately, I've noticed extension cords taking on that "coiled telephone cord" appearance event though they are being wound on spinning reels to wind up the cords. The black handle inside the reel slides around.

Only the cable that is wound up last gets "coiled". I believe the wires inside are moving within the jacket, sliding towards the part of the cord that gets wound up last, and is wound under the least tension. I consistently wind cords with the plug first (and cable under tension) and the receptical last (cable under no tension).

I don't know what winding under constant tension does. That would mean I need to walk, following the cord, as I wind it, rather than pull the cord towards me while winding.

I would still recommend over/under coiling of cords when not winding onto a spinning reel.
 
Unfortunately Panasonic coils their cables in a spiral using a machine prior to packaging. So when you use it the first time it results in coiling unless you carefully unwrap it. This is one reason why I posted this howto.

You can correct this for the most part: Leave the cable in the sun on a warm day for a while, then while still outdoors, solidly attach the EVSE brick to something high up with at least 25 feet of clear space. (Hook, etc) Then begin untwisting the cord using the labeling on the cable as a guide. Be sure to apply moderate tension to the cable once you are untwisted. Allow to bake as long as possible, then once it cools, wrap using the procedure at the beginning of this thread.

-Phil
 
I actually had a test on the proper way to roll cables when I was in college. I used to try to explain how to do it, but people generally don't care...

MTSU, Department Of Recording Industry grad

Philip
 
A great bit of cable management wisdom! I've been wrapping my cables and hoses like this since the late '80's when I was shown the correct way by a local television crew.
 
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