Reminds me of road trips along CA to TX where there's billboards for this beef jerky company, saying, 'really good beef jerky! Next exit!' Not the best, not great even, just really good lol idk why it was so funny but after 10 hours of driving through desert, it was a good chuckle lol
Man, I had no idea how to mud until i watched your videos. Now I've done my basement, garage, neighbours basement, friends full house, etc... Can't thank you enough for the instruction and giving me the confidence to do it
Yup, any variation of wrapping an electrical cable that isn't on a drum, or isn't over under, is just over under done wrong. This is a hill I will die on lol
Well I've been doing it the first way for about 40 years. I don't put it in my armpit though. I coil it near the elbow. Nice and neat. Never had a problem.
exactly. doesn't matter how you wrap it. wrapping it around your arm makes a more compact bundle which easily just goes over a cord holder, or even can be placed easy in a cabinet, box, etc
sailboat owner here. you are close on the coiling technique. but, pro tip: do not give the quarter turn, just hold your recieving hand out like a hook and bring the other hand up and just lay the line into it, let it form a figure 8. the figure 8 prevents tangling. if you quarter turn, the line will twist up and form knots as you try to pull it out to use it. with the natural figure 8, you can just drop the coil on the ground and pull the end you want free and it should uncoil cleanly.
Yes, the method you describe works perfectly with ropes (as I learned sailing with my navy-veteran father). Electrical cables don’t coil like that though. They need to be wrapped around something.
Doesn’t matter. Roll them into a coil, wrap them back and forth, nice and neat. Lay the chord on the ground. Now pick it up. It’s in knots again. The knot fairies come and tangle it all all up.
You have to loop slower so you can twist the cord as you go, or you get figure 8 action going. Of course there's also a way to use a figure 8 so when you go to use your cord, you can just walk it out with no knots etc.. Basically the way electricians, linemen and communications cablers lay long runs out so they pull smoothly.
Look up the butterfly coil. Thats what I use. You start by folding the rope in half, then gather the free ends in one hand, and wrap it in a figure eight around your hands (its hard to explain but its easy to do - videos online will show you) or over your shoulders if you have an extra long rope or cord, then finish it kinda like this video does. The beauty is, when you gather both free ends at the same time while coiling, and hold them as you unravel the cord, its impossible for the cord the knot itself. Seriously, try it out. I promise it works perfectly. Rock climbers use it for their ropes and they seem pretty knowledgeable about ropes and stuff, considering they use rope to keep from dying all the time.
I learned from studio audio technicians an alternating 180 degree twist works every time but that said I'm going to try this method and compare the difference thanks
The over under method is best for wrapping. The method shown is working because it keeps it from being twisted on the wrap, but you have to have enough on the free end. It gets harder on long cords like 100fters. I can do over under for a long cord and not have to "whip" the whole length like you see him doing. The hanging loop isn't a terrible idea tho.
@@TallGuyChrisLonger is a problem. I do the shown method on 50ft and under. Anything longer is opposing 180 loops. Once learned it's not difficult and it produces a nice hanging loop as well. The real beauty though is when you go to use the cord with opposing 180 loops it just uncoils without any snags.
@@hdsnow7049yeah a short cord I don't worry too much other than smooth loops. The one shown is long enough I would try to over under it as there is still enough potential for twists , and you can see the cord isn't sitting great. Still so much better than around the arm though 😂
@@TallGuyChris Your over under description also describes what I tried to say with the 180 twist. Most people I try and explain this to seem to think it's too complicated. I guess they like untangling their extension cords.
@@imbroken2631 yessir. I teach it as over under as when you wrap your hand you loop it under (the 180). I think it depends slightly too on how you hold it. We're on the same page 💯 People are impressed when I can throw a 100 ft cord and it ends up straight lol.
Try doing what sound/Av guys do. It’s called the over under method. A little more challenging but will make your cords last 10x longer. By putting turns it in you’re actually twisting the copper and eventually it will degrade. Over under prevents that and prevents ton of knots.
What are you doing where having cords that last for 500 years is necessary? I think that after 5 or 6 decades of service that you can probably afford to buy a new cord. I'm in my mid-40s and my Dad has extension cables that he bought before I was born that are still perfectly reliable. The copper doesn't twist because he broke the cords in to be coiled at the same size as the copper inside. The reason for the over under for audio cables has nothing to do with that. It's because you don't have issues with induction when roughly half of the cord is running opposite the other. Which the over under does. It does nothing for cords that couldn't be achieved by twisting the coil as you go other than managing the generated magnetic field and any related induced current.
The over/under method saves the cable from knots and damage. TV production crews have been doing it for years and if you do it right you will not have kinks or knots. I have 30 year old audio cable that's still in use because it's been coiled correctly.
As a person who has rolled up MILES of camera cable, there is NO WAY we rolled it up by hand. We used either electric or manual spoolers. I cant imagine rolling up a 1,000 foot camera cable by hand! Even audio cable was spooled either electric or manual spoiler. I have even seen pros use a garden hose winder as well.
That's not why you'd want to use that method. Over under reduces issues of induced current and magnetic field generation. It happens to be decent for the longevity of the cables,but properly coiling them does as well. My Dad has cables that have been coiled for decades and are just as good as new because he always coils them with the conductor, rather than against the conductor. If you use an over under coil, then you don't have to completely uncoil the cord in order to test it or to run current through it. It's also a bit easier if you've got a somewhat longer run of cord to work with than twisting the coil to account for the twist in the cord as you coil it. But, in terms of longevity, 30 years is just a bit over half as old as the ones that my Dad has been coiling. So, that that impressive.
@@rty1955 I'm not surprised. The only real issue with that is that you can have issues running power through all those windings and it can be an issue to check the cables without uncoiling them. But, with that much to work with, I'm sure that's a minor consideration. And, if you're using a spooler, then there probably aren't many unexpected faults.
Yeah braiding your chords puts the least amount of memory in them. You can also undo them a little at a time. So you don't have cord all over under your feet
@@Sasquatch2188-gv6pf exactly and your cords stay together for years longer, when I've seen circled up ones come apart in less than a year along with tangles up with everything it's in contact with.
Well said! This is a good way to do it. I am picky about over-undering my cables. So the quarter turns in the same direction doesn't ride with me. However! I have found it extremely difficult to teach that concept. And those big loose coils and several other features address my complaints. And you seem a great teacher. Great video Thanks!
Just plug the ends together and double roll it. It's automatically twisting 1/2 one way and 1/2 the other way, so NO twists and it helps keep debris from getting in the plugs. Especially important on air hoses!
@@williamtsmith9668Agreed! It is on my mind now to try a few different things. Like starting in the center with a loop maybe. Saw a hose wrapping method that might work too. New ideas are good!
BEEN WRAPPING MINE FOR YEARS UPON YEARS AROUND THE SHOULDER AND ELBOW LIKE YOU showed not to do first. Never have had a problem. They are unwrapped and wrapped back day after day after day. Custom homes 24/7
Former Tradesman here: doesn’t matter how u wrap, every company has their journeyman teaching u different. We do it the first way with elbows & hands cause it’s faster. When your cleaning up at least half a dozen on a daily basis and your Union buddies are telling u to hurry the f#%@k up because they ain’t getting paid OT, you do it quickly.
My Dad was a union carpenter for years, and the way that he taught me to do it is more or less the first way. However, and this is rather important, You have to coil the cord the same way each time. If you do that, then the wires inside of the cord will orient themselves to the desired coil. It makes the process both a lot faster and results in less damage from the process of coiling and uncoiling the cords. He's got ones from the '70s that are still completely safe to use, because the wires haven't been damaged by incompetent coiling like we see in the video. Just looking at those little ripples in the cord is painful.
Using a spool is the best way. Not the fastest, but the important thing is not to have any tight radius as that damages the conductor and reduces the capacity of the cord. Not a big deal for most use cases, but if you're using high amp powertools or anything thay requires high current, it won't run as well and could even melt the cord or damage the tool eventually. I'll wrap my 14awg cords like in the video, but my 12awg or better (like my 6awg for the welder), i keep on a large spool.
Every job I do I get someone wrapping the cord around the elbow and I don't like it at all so I teach them the right way as you are doing great job bro
Just give them a really muddy or dusty when they're all sweaty 300 feet of cord, and let them wrap it up with their body! 😅😂. Then show them the proper way. It breaks them of that habit every time. 😅😂😅
The size of the coil isn't as important as that quarter twist on every loop. That's what stops it from tangling and lets it uncoil to lay flat without twisting up when you pull it.
Extension cords are pretty durable but you want to keep larger bend radius. Smaller tighter bends will break stranded cables. Now depending on the sensitivity of the cable this can be very dramatic. Ask any Guitarist they will tell you. Then obviously very sensitive cables like high frequency or fiber optic if you bend too much they start to lose performance to the point of failure. I don’t like to tie my cords in knots for this reason. But like I said it’s more preference because chances are no contractor has broke a cable from winding it too tight
nah, those turns you put into the cord is why the cord never comes out flat. best it turn one way one first loop then opposite way the next loop and alternate.
Please look up a video on how to coil a cord. I believe it’s an industry term, referring to a method of organizing, cord or line in an over under manner. When coiling a line, the over is twisted, one way, and the under is twisted the opposite way such that when two coils of the line are pulled out of the bundle The twists cancel each other, leaving you with no twist in the line. If you were to say, coil and audio wire as described in the video, you would almost certainly be reamed out by the engineers. Furthermore, your hoses would be all twisted up. If you learn proper coiling, when you pull the line out, there should be no twists in the line.
@@MyUnquenchableThirst That's not even remotely true. If the coil isn't coming out flat, it's because you've done something very, very bad and you should be ashamed of yourself. The way I was taught to do it, is that you coil the cord the same way each time and as the wires inside orient themselves to that coil, it gets easier to lay the entire thing flat. It does take a bit of break in time, but without the twists, it won't lay flat. And trust me, I've got ADHD and I would not be coiling the cords the way that I do, if it weren't necessary.
I wrap it medium tight around my arm. I've never had any problems and if it wears out the cord I'll go buy another one, 10 years and counting on new cords. My method is fast and leaves me with a very neat bundle. My bundle fits in a tool bag, on a shelf, etc.
Good deal. Come out to my site and at the end of a long cold wet day, or even snowy, or even hot and dusty and sweaty, and I'll have you roll up my crews 600' of cords and 400' of cold muddy wet or dusty sweaty air hoses around your body. Let's see how you do. I'll wish you luck! Gloves and rain gear might help you a little bit, but I'll roll them up 10 times faster than you. Without gloves and gear. That's called production construction. And we do clean work. Very clean work. Wallpaper subs and finish carpenters have ME frame up their houses. So does the General Superintendents. Yeah. I'm bragging. And rightfully so. Peace. 👻🤠
Been wrapping cords like that for twenty years! I show everyone I can this method! Always start with the female end, then it's just plug in and go after that!
I have two 100ft 10/3 cords in a 5 gallon bucket. I drilled a hole at the bottom edge of the side large enough for the male end of the first cord to pass through plus 3ft. Then cord is coiled into the bucket. I have a heavy duty 3 way plugged into that and then the second cord. When I plug in. I only deploy the amount of cord needed to do thr job. The 3 way is good for plugging in battery chargers or lights. It is not any faster to roll up except I only have to roll up what I pulled out. Nicely contained in a bucket. Easy to move, easy to store.
@@bastianmuller5547 Been using cords like this for over 25 years. The current 2 are 15 years old. They wont burn or get hot. The only reason I have replaced them is damage to the insulation which has happened when they are unrolled.
@shawnr771 ok got ya, yea I've been an electrician for 21 years and most the years I been wrapping exact like he shows in video, never thought of the bucket deal. Will see if I can try it
I've been doin it this way for years, so much quicker and easier on the cords. Some don't like that all the weight is put on one point of the cord but you can remedy that by hanging on a wider hook or surface to distribute the weight. Love the videos! keep them coming man! Cheers from Chicago
At the beginning of the video, I can see that the cord is corkscrewing. The 3 already twisted conductors are untwisting or twisting more internally, causing the cord to corkscrew. I believe that it's a flaw in the design of the cord. I haven't looked into it in depth, but there are at least some manufacturers who'll say their cable products won't corkscrew, so they must know what's causing it.
If you see that corkscrew in your cords then you need to buy better cords. Don't buy the cheap orange crap. Yes, good cords cost money and produce satisfied end users.
@@aredditor4272 Interesting. I have actually noticed that on my German Fein branded construction tools the cords are lay flat and straight. And the vacuum cords at my work are also excellent, the vacuum brand being another German product, Sebo.
Corkscrewing normally comes from improper wrapping or deployment. Safest bet is using over under. The way shown in the video will twist, just less then tight around the arm.
@@KenHill I don't know if the cords are original, but the vacuums are originally a German product, and the brand now owned by German company Karcher. I don't have good things to say about their vacuums, of which we have at least 12.
Good stuff. This is the best way, as far as I'm concerned. If you do it as shown, it will not tangle. IF, you always wrap from the same end. When I get on site, I plug in and walk to the house, dropping cord. When I leave, I coil it as I walk back to the power source. Never tangles, once it's trained.
Thanks for this! The "homeowner arm coil" just puts bends in the cord that never seem to come out. I loop the cord in two foot or so coils like you did but use a piece of velcro around to tie off, so the coiled cord is a big "O". I put the velcro around the unwound cord when the cord is in use, and it never gets lost.
Or, you could just take the 10 minutes to show them how to anti-twist the coil as they coil it up. My Dad has cords that are 50ish years old that were coiled and are just as good as new.
I do mine very similar, only i start with with ends instead of one end so its slightly faster and the loop is the exact middle of the cord, doesn't really matter it just looks cleaner hanging on the van
Right technique but you're wrapping it counterclockwise. The individual conductors inside of all cable jackets are twisted clockwise. Roll it up clockwise and you won't bunch and kink the clockwise twisted conductors. Your loops will then be round and pretty and your cord will lay flat on the floor when unfurled. Your cord is full of kinks.
Probably, it should be a bit less tight, and you need to make sure that you're untwisting the cable as you go. But yeah, my Dad has extension cords that were bought during the Carter administration, or thereabouts that he's coiled. It took me a bit to learn how to do it, but it's really not that hard, just a bit of practice and patience to break the cord in.
I’m glad you mentioned which end to start at. The way I remember/teach it is “to roll towards the power” that way you can walk to the power, undo the cord, plug it in and walk away unrolling it when you need it next time.
If you grab both ends together and make loops to left/right of your gripping hand and then bring those sets of loops together, wrap the already doubled end around and pull through. now when you go to open it, you hold both plugs and toss out the middle of the cord. then you have the power end to plug in and the recepticle end to walk to your final destination in the direction you already threw the middle.
My father was an electrician back in the '60s thru the early '80s. That's how he taught me to roll up cords, but he plugged the ends together first, and rolled it up doubled.
Good video try starting with the male end. The when you un wrap your loop hold your male end to plug in an throw the rest of your coils to strech the cord out. Works most the time.
I agree it's a good way and it's not the best definitely not the worst. Using both arms, hold the female plug in one hand and dipped one arm under The Wire. And then the other under The Wire and continue doing that. Creating a figure 8 loop then finish with a similar loop. To how he finished this way. One arm is wrapping the cord clockwise while the other is wrapping the cord counter clockwise. This means zero twist in the cord. The problem with wrapping accord in loops is that every loop creates a small twist on the wires inside the sheath. Over time when you wrapped the cord the same way with the same hands in the same direction, you will eventually create quite a bit of twist inside the cord. Wrapping in a figurate creates no twists. I also prefer a daisy chain method. Double up the cord and start in the middle of the cord. Working your way back towards the you within a few feet of the end. Take the first loop and pass it through several other loops in the Daisy chain 2 basically create a small enough package. That it can be stored easily. Daisy chains of a one hundred foot chord end up being about twelve feet long, but if you wrap that first loop through it three times it's only three feet long. Similar to the way it is shown here. The advantage to this is that you can plug the cord in and then secure the cord to something solid near the plug so. As not to pull on the plug as you pull on the rest of the cord. This allows you to undo as much of the Daisy chain as you need to to get to where you need to go. Leaving the rest of it still coiled halfway between the plug and your worksite. Then, when you're done, you can simply continue the daisy chain back up and secure it. Daisy chains also have the advantage of not creating twists in the cord and doubling up. The cord just makes the daisy chain that much shorter. Definitely the worst way you could wrap. Your cord is by wrapping it over your hand and elbow as he showed in the beginning. You would literally be better off just wadding it up.
Ben is right. It's the way we coiled cords in the mill where I worked. It's quick and doesn't make the cord all twisted. Once, a guy in the crew tried the daisy chain thing, and it put a whole slew of trip hazards in the cords. We went back to the big loops.
I know of a person who wrapped the the cord around his arm after mowing the lawn and the cord had a small cut in it. He wrapped it from the socket side( Female), plugged in and as bad luck would have it, the grass was damp and the RCD was not functional. He was electrocuted! I teach everyone to only coil the extension cord from the plug( Male) side. Stay safe!
Dude how am I still learning so many awesome new things from you. I learned how to coil wire before, including the quarter turn, but nobody ever taught me that knot at the end. Maybe because I was coiling AV wire and you gotta be gentle, but this is super useful for extension cord!
Well done for passing this little trick on .I've been doing this for years and also trying to pass it on to others and apprentice construction kids ,try finishing the video by showing how easy it can be to unpack the cord also
This is always a good tip to show people that don’t know it. My only suggestion would be to show the DIY homeowners why we don’t wrap it around our arms. Maybe just show how twisted the cord gets and how impossible it is to reverse that once it’s done. Great tip tho
Exactly how I was shown to do it when I first got into the trades. Undo the first wrap, plug it in and walk toward the work area while you lay the cord out.
It wraps up a little better if you run the cord through your hands one time first for the whole length. It takes most of the twist out of it so when you wrap it it's a little bit smoother 👍
over/under and you have a proper av wrap. It keeps the internal wires from twisting, added bonus is that it unferls without kinking if you throw it from the right end 👍
Been doing this for years. This is how you wrapped boat lines too; that's where I originally learned. Hard to get guys to do it though, but it's the best way; your cords will stay in great condition for a lifetime!
Any cord over 25ft needs to be on a cord reel. It makes everything faster and neater and will preserve your cords, meaning you won't have to buy as many replacements over the years due to frays and kinks.
Sounds good. However, even reels put twists in cords and water and air hoses. One twist for every turn of the reel. Try putting the ends together and double roll it. It naturally turns 1/2 turn one way and 1/2 turn the other. NO twists. Like zero! Plus it helps keep debris, dirt, sand etc. out of the receptacles. Especially important with air tool hoses! And it's faster. Which is important on a large production site, when time and wages are everything! Many times I just leave them rolled out, ready for the next day. The time saved, pays for them in only about a week, with a $1,000 per day crew. However, I'm talking on a different level than most people in this thread. Peace. 👻🤠
@williamtsmith9668 I showed up at the jobsite one morning to find a worker putting blue painter tape on the doorknobs. I asked him what he was doing, and he explained that taping them keeps them from getting scratched until the job is finished. I had to explain to him that the doorknob cost me $25, and he made $17 an hour. He didn't understand that it was cheaper for me to replace the knob than it was to pull him off the drywall for the time it was taking him to tape and untape a doorknob.
It doesn't matter if you only intend on having the cord for a year or so, or if you only use it a few times a year. But if you use your cords daily and want them to last, roll them up with more loose coils like this and take extra care to make sure they aren't twisted when doing so. Rolling up a twisted cord like he did the first way twists the wires inside, expands the outer jacket, and leads to the outer jacket breaking and splitting much faster. I use a 5 gallon bucket with a lid. I leave about 4' of male end hanging out, and I coil the rest up inside the bucket. I've got cords that have lasted over 10 years that I use daily. I buy high-quality cords and tools, and I make them last for a long time.
Thank you 🙏🏻🙏🏻 been trying to do this but without the turn.. my neighbor a navy man always had ropes hung up so relaxed and neat and I always fought and ended up with a nest of super helix loops
My naval experience with throwing line showed me that you make the plug ends hang longer so they dont knot , send the line out straight before you wrap and twist it to make it want to naturally set with itself and the width of loop should be to make it want to set evenly and not twine up, and put the plug ends together to protect the prongs and keep debri out . And make an end splice rope ring to hold it on a hanger. Its a squid thing.
Plug the ends together before you roll it up and double roll it. Then it's automatically twisting 1/2 one way and 1/2 the other way. Especially with air hoses! You are correct in protecting them from debris.
I do it basically that way. But the best thing I ever did was to stop buying 100' extension cords. They tangle so fast and are a PIA to deal with - it ends up being an 8' cord with all the knots. Most of the time, all I need is a 25' or at most a 50' cord, anyway
I've used the coil around my hand and elbow method my whole life. Slips off the arm easily and if you do it right it ain't twist into a figure 8 on you. Makes for a more compact bundle and is 10x faster than your garden hose method. I've had a lead cord for 17 years now that's 100' 👌
That’s how I do it but each coil I do the Figure 8’s like your first few. It will avoid the kinks as you pay it out.. Same with hose. Works like a charm every time Good tips
I chain link mine. Connect both ends together, tie a loop, pull a little through the loop then grab that part that made a loop thru the forst loop and pull more thru that loop and so on. N hang up, looks like chain link when done. Stays together til ready. When undoing just pull an end and it all comes loose n ready to plug in n roll...
I was taught how to do this but the end result should be that you can take the cord by the same female end you held while wrapping it and toss the entire coil out in front of you and it will uncool cleanly without any knks, or you could plug the male end in, drop the coil on the ground and pull the female end out cleanly as you need it without it getting bunched up or caught in knots. A similar technique is used to wrap audio cable. That method really focuses on an alternating turn in the cord each time and alternating the side of the coil or something like that. It's an attempt to keep the internal wires from getting all twisted up and splitting or crosstalking.
This is exactly how we were taught as children, helping our Dad. To wrap those cords. Just like catheter tubing, it should never be cranked a twist simply will not do.👍🏼
I actually had to ban my step-dad years ago from wrapping up my extension cords at the end of our work-days. He couldn't or wouldn't coil them the way this guy does which is how I've done it for the past 45 years.
This is personal preference. You can do everything you explained by wrapping it around your elbow in tight loops. As long as you let the end do what it wants instead of holding onto it, it WILL NOT spin the guts of the cord. Ive had the same cords for over 10 years and they are just as good as the day I bought them and I wrap them around my elbow every day. Regardless of how you wrap them, if youre not smarter than the cord then it will end up in a knot.
I wrap my cords to a basic circle. Most of my cords have a scrap wire on the end i wrap around to keep it together. My buddy does his this way and i wrap to a basic circle and hand them to him and say do your thing.
I always start from the male end . A. It makes sure the cord is not live . B. I start where I'm working unrolling it so I either end up at a plug in spot or where I need another cord from C. We refer to starting from the female end as " checking for bare spots " in the framing trade .
That’s how we wrap ropes doing tree work. I spent some time working for a carpenter who chewed me out for wrapping extension cords up like that. He was worried about creating shorts in the cords. Idk if that’s really much of a a concern but he wrapped em in straight coils without a bind at the end to avoid that.
You have to keep in mind that most homeowners use their cords sparingly unless they're doing an extended project. Smaller coils store in smaller spaces, making it more convenient for them. Learning to alternate the direction of the coil to avoid snags is probably more important for their purposes.
I disagree that smaller coils is easier to store. You end up with a thicker bundle. If you hang the cord with longer coils it stores pretty flat. And the cord has "memory" like bending a paperclip. So the tighter coils really do cause more tangles.
Ive been rolling up my lines exactly like this for years, but whats just as important is how you roll it out. You always grab the first coil on the outside and throw it down and away... The problem is when people think they're going to Indian Jones 25' of line like magic rather than actually rolling it out.
I only have cordless extension cords , they work fantastic
😅
Haha!!!!
KANT GO WRONG W/ THEM KORDLESS EXTENSION KORDS MY PEOPLE'S
@@mr.klutchrednose2700 I used to have a couple but I misplaced them. Must have left em on a job somewhere.
@@GarrisonFallBattery.
“Not the best, not the worst, but a good way.” Best marketing I’ve heard in ages. Humble. Confident. Got more ideas?
Reminds me of road trips along CA to TX where there's billboards for this beef jerky company, saying, 'really good beef jerky! Next exit!' Not the best, not great even, just really good lol idk why it was so funny but after 10 hours of driving through desert, it was a good chuckle lol
Man, I had no idea how to mud until i watched your videos. Now I've done my basement, garage, neighbours basement, friends full house, etc...
Can't thank you enough for the instruction and giving me the confidence to do it
Congrats man 👍
My pleasure🙂 Now you can start wrapping up their cords for them too ;)
@@vancouvercarpenter🤣🤣
Same here! I tried watching a bunch of videos before I did the drywall in my garage and Vancouver Carpenter has the most helpful videos by a mile
@@vancouvercarpenter😂😂😂
I always go for the over/under technique. Works wondera to avoid tangles and twists
Please learn… should be a skill taught to all children. It changes lives.
Over under is the only acceptable coiling method. Period.
@@LightYagamiVSLPersonally use the over under but the chain link method is better for rough transported settings.
Yup, any variation of wrapping an electrical cable that isn't on a drum, or isn't over under, is just over under done wrong.
This is a hill I will die on lol
Orrrr.. just do what I do. It's called the 8 method...thank me later 👊😌.. ✌️😎
Well I've been doing it the first way for about 40 years. I don't put it in my armpit though. I coil it near the elbow. Nice and neat. Never had a problem.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it
exactly. doesn't matter how you wrap it. wrapping it around your arm makes a more compact bundle which easily just goes over a cord holder, or even can be placed easy in a cabinet, box, etc
Depends on what I'm coiling and where it's going. Different methods have different pros and cons.
I know a guy that was electrocuted to death when using the first method, he couldnt let go of the cord, there was entire article written about him...
@@mechanicd7562that guy, was in fact.... stupid. And I would know 👆
sailboat owner here. you are close on the coiling technique. but, pro tip: do not give the quarter turn, just hold your recieving hand out like a hook and bring the other hand up and just lay the line into it, let it form a figure 8. the figure 8 prevents tangling. if you quarter turn, the line will twist up and form knots as you try to pull it out to use it. with the natural figure 8, you can just drop the coil on the ground and pull the end you want free and it should uncoil cleanly.
Yes, the method you describe works perfectly with ropes (as I learned sailing with my navy-veteran father). Electrical cables don’t coil like that though. They need to be wrapped around something.
Electrical cords are twisted inside the outer jacket so, they want to form into an 7
@@hardrockminer-50 form ”an 7?” 😅
Doesn’t matter. Roll them into a coil, wrap them back and forth, nice and neat. Lay the chord on the ground. Now pick it up. It’s in knots again. The knot fairies come and tangle it all all up.
Use the over under technique like they do for concerts and stuff. Audio guys know how to coil cables correctly!
You have to loop slower so you can twist the cord as you go, or you get figure 8 action going.
Of course there's also a way to use a figure 8 so when you go to use your cord, you can just walk it out with no knots etc..
Basically the way electricians, linemen and communications cablers lay long runs out so they pull smoothly.
Those damn fairies are at it again?
Look up the butterfly coil. Thats what I use. You start by folding the rope in half, then gather the free ends in one hand, and wrap it in a figure eight around your hands (its hard to explain but its easy to do - videos online will show you) or over your shoulders if you have an extra long rope or cord, then finish it kinda like this video does. The beauty is, when you gather both free ends at the same time while coiling, and hold them as you unravel the cord, its impossible for the cord the knot itself. Seriously, try it out. I promise it works perfectly. Rock climbers use it for their ropes and they seem pretty knowledgeable about ropes and stuff, considering they use rope to keep from dying all the time.
God, are we really wasting time on this!
I learned from studio audio technicians an alternating 180 degree twist works every time but that said I'm going to try this method and compare the difference thanks
The over under method is best for wrapping. The method shown is working because it keeps it from being twisted on the wrap, but you have to have enough on the free end. It gets harder on long cords like 100fters. I can do over under for a long cord and not have to "whip" the whole length like you see him doing. The hanging loop isn't a terrible idea tho.
@@TallGuyChrisLonger is a problem. I do the shown method on 50ft and under. Anything longer is opposing 180 loops. Once learned it's not difficult and it produces a nice hanging loop as well. The real beauty though is when you go to use the cord with opposing 180 loops it just uncoils without any snags.
@@hdsnow7049yeah a short cord I don't worry too much other than smooth loops. The one shown is long enough I would try to over under it as there is still enough potential for twists , and you can see the cord isn't sitting great. Still so much better than around the arm though 😂
@@TallGuyChris Your over under description also describes what I tried to say with the 180 twist. Most people I try and explain this to seem to think it's too complicated. I guess they like untangling their extension cords.
@@imbroken2631 yessir. I teach it as over under as when you wrap your hand you loop it under (the 180). I think it depends slightly too on how you hold it. We're on the same page 💯 People are impressed when I can throw a 100 ft cord and it ends up straight lol.
Try doing what sound/Av guys do. It’s called the over under method. A little more challenging but will make your cords last 10x longer. By putting turns it in you’re actually twisting the copper and eventually it will degrade. Over under prevents that and prevents ton of knots.
I've used the over/under method for years...after it's learned..it's muscle memory on every cord....EVERY SINGLE WIRE YOU ENCOUNTER....
Exactly. We do that with climbing ropes also. Keeps them from twisting and getting all screwed up. I refer to it as a figure 8 coil.
What are you doing where having cords that last for 500 years is necessary? I think that after 5 or 6 decades of service that you can probably afford to buy a new cord. I'm in my mid-40s and my Dad has extension cables that he bought before I was born that are still perfectly reliable. The copper doesn't twist because he broke the cords in to be coiled at the same size as the copper inside.
The reason for the over under for audio cables has nothing to do with that. It's because you don't have issues with induction when roughly half of the cord is running opposite the other. Which the over under does.
It does nothing for cords that couldn't be achieved by twisting the coil as you go other than managing the generated magnetic field and any related induced current.
The over/under method saves the cable from knots and damage. TV production crews have been doing it for years and if you do it right you will not have kinks or knots. I have 30 year old audio cable that's still in use because it's been coiled correctly.
You're right for AV wire. An extension cord like he's showing does not need to be babied.
As a person who has rolled up MILES of camera cable, there is NO WAY we rolled it up by hand. We used either electric or manual spoolers. I cant imagine rolling up a 1,000 foot camera cable by hand!
Even audio cable was spooled either electric or manual spoiler.
I have even seen pros use a garden hose winder as well.
That's not why you'd want to use that method. Over under reduces issues of induced current and magnetic field generation. It happens to be decent for the longevity of the cables,but properly coiling them does as well. My Dad has cables that have been coiled for decades and are just as good as new because he always coils them with the conductor, rather than against the conductor.
If you use an over under coil, then you don't have to completely uncoil the cord in order to test it or to run current through it. It's also a bit easier if you've got a somewhat longer run of cord to work with than twisting the coil to account for the twist in the cord as you coil it.
But, in terms of longevity, 30 years is just a bit over half as old as the ones that my Dad has been coiling. So, that that impressive.
@@rty1955 I'm not surprised. The only real issue with that is that you can have issues running power through all those windings and it can be an issue to check the cables without uncoiling them.
But, with that much to work with, I'm sure that's a minor consideration. And, if you're using a spooler, then there probably aren't many unexpected faults.
I prefer the chain method. As it also holds down anything in the back of your van or pickup truck from flying around.
Yeah braiding your chords puts the least amount of memory in them. You can also undo them a little at a time. So you don't have cord all over under your feet
And you can get one cord without tangled up with other cords
@@Sasquatch2188-gv6pf exactly and your cords stay together for years longer, when I've seen circled up ones come apart in less than a year along with tangles up with everything it's in contact with.
and you only take what you need!
Well said! This is a good way to do it. I am picky about over-undering my cables. So the quarter turns in the same direction doesn't ride with me. However! I have found it extremely difficult to teach that concept. And those big loose coils and several other features address my complaints. And you seem a great teacher. Great video Thanks!
Just plug the ends together and double roll it. It's automatically twisting 1/2 one way and 1/2 the other way, so NO twists and it helps keep debris from getting in the plugs. Especially important on air hoses!
@@williamtsmith9668Agreed! It is on my mind now to try a few different things. Like starting in the center with a loop maybe. Saw a hose wrapping method that might work too. New ideas are good!
BEEN WRAPPING MINE FOR YEARS UPON YEARS AROUND THE SHOULDER AND ELBOW LIKE YOU
showed not to do first. Never have had a problem. They are unwrapped and wrapped back day after day after day. Custom homes 24/7
For real
This way is twice as fast easily and unspools every time.
Same doing it the first way and no probs, these guys just can't keep this way to themselves and coexist with folks like us. First way is superior.
i’ve been wrapping cords similar to that for 24 years i’ve never seen anyone except for the man who taught me that new that trick Bravo good sir
Former Tradesman here: doesn’t matter how u wrap, every company has their journeyman teaching u different. We do it the first way with elbows & hands cause it’s faster. When your cleaning up at least half a dozen on a daily basis and your Union buddies are telling u to hurry the f#%@k up because they ain’t getting paid OT, you do it quickly.
Exactly!!!
We always clean up 30 minutes before quitting time just for that reason!
My Dad was a union carpenter for years, and the way that he taught me to do it is more or less the first way. However, and this is rather important, You have to coil the cord the same way each time. If you do that, then the wires inside of the cord will orient themselves to the desired coil. It makes the process both a lot faster and results in less damage from the process of coiling and uncoiling the cords. He's got ones from the '70s that are still completely safe to use, because the wires haven't been damaged by incompetent coiling like we see in the video. Just looking at those little ripples in the cord is painful.
Thank you for that lovely tutorial on how you wrap your cord! I’ve been doing this all wrong for years 😮
Using a spool is the best way. Not the fastest, but the important thing is not to have any tight radius as that damages the conductor and reduces the capacity of the cord. Not a big deal for most use cases, but if you're using high amp powertools or anything thay requires high current, it won't run as well and could even melt the cord or damage the tool eventually. I'll wrap my 14awg cords like in the video, but my 12awg or better (like my 6awg for the welder), i keep on a large spool.
Every job I do I get someone wrapping the cord around the elbow and I don't like it at all so I teach them the right way as you are doing great job bro
Just give them a really muddy or dusty when they're all sweaty 300 feet of cord, and let them wrap it up with their body! 😅😂. Then show them the proper way. It breaks them of that habit every time. 😅😂😅
The size of the coil isn't as important as that quarter twist on every loop. That's what stops it from tangling and lets it uncoil to lay flat without twisting up when you pull it.
Extension cords are pretty durable but you want to keep larger bend radius. Smaller tighter bends will break stranded cables. Now depending on the sensitivity of the cable this can be very dramatic. Ask any Guitarist they will tell you. Then obviously very sensitive cables like high frequency or fiber optic if you bend too much they start to lose performance to the point of failure. I don’t like to tie my cords in knots for this reason. But like I said it’s more preference because chances are no contractor has broke a cable from winding it too tight
nah, those turns you put into the cord is why the cord never comes out flat. best it turn one way one first loop then opposite way the next loop and alternate.
Please look up a video on how to coil a cord. I believe it’s an industry term, referring to a method of organizing, cord or line in an over under manner. When coiling a line, the over is twisted, one way, and the under is twisted the opposite way such that when two coils of the line are pulled out of the bundle The twists cancel each other, leaving you with no twist in the line. If you were to say, coil and audio wire as described in the video, you would almost certainly be reamed out by the engineers. Furthermore, your hoses would be all twisted up. If you learn proper coiling, when you pull the line out, there should be no twists in the line.
You guys are on to it. Every 6 months, we go over this with our production team / band.
@@MyUnquenchableThirst That's not even remotely true. If the coil isn't coming out flat, it's because you've done something very, very bad and you should be ashamed of yourself.
The way I was taught to do it, is that you coil the cord the same way each time and as the wires inside orient themselves to that coil, it gets easier to lay the entire thing flat. It does take a bit of break in time, but without the twists, it won't lay flat. And trust me, I've got ADHD and I would not be coiling the cords the way that I do, if it weren't necessary.
I wrap it medium tight around my arm. I've never had any problems and if it wears out the cord I'll go buy another one, 10 years and counting on new cords. My method is fast and leaves me with a very neat bundle. My bundle fits in a tool bag, on a shelf, etc.
Good deal. Come out to my site and at the end of a long cold wet day, or even snowy, or even hot and dusty and sweaty, and I'll have you roll up my crews 600' of cords and 400' of cold muddy wet or dusty sweaty air hoses around your body. Let's see how you do. I'll wish you luck! Gloves and rain gear might help you a little bit, but I'll roll them up 10 times faster than you. Without gloves and gear. That's called production construction. And we do clean work. Very clean work. Wallpaper subs and finish carpenters have ME frame up their houses. So does the General Superintendents. Yeah. I'm bragging. And rightfully so.
Peace. 👻🤠
Been wrapping cords like that for twenty years! I show everyone I can this method!
Always start with the female end, then it's just plug in and go after that!
My Dad's been in construction forever. This is how he's always done it, therefore I do the same! I love to see others doing it too!
I have two 100ft 10/3 cords in a 5 gallon bucket.
I drilled a hole at the bottom edge of the side large enough for the male end of the first cord to pass through plus 3ft.
Then cord is coiled into the bucket. I have a heavy duty 3 way plugged into that and then the second cord.
When I plug in. I only deploy the amount of cord needed to do thr job.
The 3 way is good for plugging in battery chargers or lights.
It is not any faster to roll up except I only have to roll up what I pulled out.
Nicely contained in a bucket.
Easy to move, easy to store.
Easy to burn
@@bastianmuller5547 Been using cords like this for over 25 years. The current 2 are 15 years old. They wont burn or get hot.
The only reason I have replaced them is damage to the insulation which has happened when they are unrolled.
@shawnr771 interesting, never heard that before. Sounds like a nightmare though wrapping it neat back in bucket though no?
@@TimboStang71 not at all.
The whole 200 ft takes longer than other methods.
But I only pull out what I need.
@shawnr771 ok got ya, yea I've been an electrician for 21 years and most the years I been wrapping exact like he shows in video, never thought of the bucket deal. Will see if I can try it
Ive been watching for several years your videos. Thank you for your advice
I've been doin it this way for years, so much quicker and easier on the cords. Some don't like that all the weight is put on one point of the cord but you can remedy that by hanging on a wider hook or surface to distribute the weight. Love the videos! keep them coming man! Cheers from Chicago
I learned this exact technique rockclimbing, for coiling rops so they don't untangle and easily uncoil when you toss them.
At the beginning of the video, I can see that the cord is corkscrewing. The 3 already twisted conductors are untwisting or twisting more internally, causing the cord to corkscrew.
I believe that it's a flaw in the design of the cord. I haven't looked into it in depth, but there are at least some manufacturers who'll say their cable products won't corkscrew, so they must know what's causing it.
If you see that corkscrew in your cords then you need to buy better cords. Don't buy the cheap orange crap. Yes, good cords cost money and produce satisfied end users.
@@KenHill almost every vacuum cord where I work is severely corkscrewed. 800 dollar vacuums with terribly constructed cords.
@@aredditor4272 Interesting. I have actually noticed that on my German Fein branded construction tools the cords are lay flat and straight. And the vacuum cords at my work are also excellent, the vacuum brand being another German product, Sebo.
Corkscrewing normally comes from improper wrapping or deployment. Safest bet is using over under.
The way shown in the video will twist, just less then tight around the arm.
@@KenHill I don't know if the cords are original, but the vacuums are originally a German product, and the brand now owned by German company Karcher.
I don't have good things to say about their vacuums, of which we have at least 12.
I can't tell you how much I appreciate seeing someone else g.a.f about coiling a cord properly.
Good stuff. This is the best way, as far as I'm concerned.
If you do it as shown, it will not tangle. IF, you always wrap from the same end. When I get on site, I plug in and walk to the house, dropping cord. When I leave, I coil it as I walk back to the power source. Never tangles, once it's trained.
Thanks for this! The "homeowner arm coil" just puts bends in the cord that never seem to come out. I loop the cord in two foot or so coils like you did but use a piece of velcro around to tie off, so the coiled cord is a big "O". I put the velcro around the unwound cord when the cord is in use, and it never gets lost.
The daisy chain method is also very effective for cord management
Dude. Over-under. As many others have said. Learn it. Live it. Love it.
Even if every apprentice now were to watch this I'd bet a good 20% of them will still f*** this up somehow 😂
Thanks again , valuable information on the final details to organize your coil . . .
I’ve been trying to get my fellow tradesmen to do this for 30yrs, they just don’t listen. Now everything is cordless so I give up.
Or, you could just take the 10 minutes to show them how to anti-twist the coil as they coil it up. My Dad has cords that are 50ish years old that were coiled and are just as good as new.
Did that. Over and over. That’s what it’s like working with hard headed millwrights.
I do mine very similar, only i start with with ends instead of one end so its slightly faster and the loop is the exact middle of the cord, doesn't really matter it just looks cleaner hanging on the van
Right technique but you're wrapping it counterclockwise. The individual conductors inside of all cable jackets are twisted clockwise. Roll it up clockwise and you won't bunch and kink the clockwise twisted conductors. Your loops will then be round and pretty and your cord will lay flat on the floor when unfurled. Your cord is full of kinks.
This is the best tip in all the comments so far, thanks.
this is good advice. glad there are people like this.thanks
You don't have to see. You just have to mind your own business
Don’t listen to this guy, there’s nothing wrong with the first way
Probably, it should be a bit less tight, and you need to make sure that you're untwisting the cable as you go.
But yeah, my Dad has extension cords that were bought during the Carter administration, or thereabouts that he's coiled. It took me a bit to learn how to do it, but it's really not that hard, just a bit of practice and patience to break the cord in.
I was literally battling my tight little coiled cord last evening lol and knew there had to be a better way lol thanks!
I’m glad you mentioned which end to start at. The way I remember/teach it is “to roll towards the power” that way you can walk to the power, undo the cord, plug it in and walk away unrolling it when you need it next time.
If you grab both ends together and make loops to left/right of your gripping hand and then bring those sets of loops together, wrap the already doubled end around and pull through.
now when you go to open it, you hold both plugs and toss out the middle of the cord. then you have the power end to plug in and the recepticle end to walk to your final destination in the direction you already threw the middle.
My father was an electrician back in the '60s thru the early '80s. That's how he taught me to roll up cords, but he plugged the ends together first, and rolled it up doubled.
Exactly!!!! Ding ding ding! 😅
Keeps the receptacles cleaner and NO twists. Especially important with air hoses!
Good video try starting with the male end. The when you un wrap your loop hold your male end to plug in an throw the rest of your coils to strech the cord out. Works most the time.
I agree it's a good way and it's not the best definitely not the worst. Using both arms, hold the female plug in one hand and dipped one arm under The Wire. And then the other under The Wire and continue doing that. Creating a figure 8 loop then finish with a similar loop. To how he finished this way. One arm is wrapping the cord clockwise while the other is wrapping the cord counter clockwise. This means zero twist in the cord. The problem with wrapping accord in loops is that every loop creates a small twist on the wires inside the sheath. Over time when you wrapped the cord the same way with the same hands in the same direction, you will eventually create quite a bit of twist inside the cord. Wrapping in a figurate creates no twists. I also prefer a daisy chain method. Double up the cord and start in the middle of the cord. Working your way back towards the you within a few feet of the end. Take the first loop and pass it through several other loops in the Daisy chain 2 basically create a small enough package. That it can be stored easily. Daisy chains of a one hundred foot chord end up being about twelve feet long, but if you wrap that first loop through it three times it's only three feet long. Similar to the way it is shown here. The advantage to this is that you can plug the cord in and then secure the cord to something solid near the plug so. As not to pull on the plug as you pull on the rest of the cord. This allows you to undo as much of the Daisy chain as you need to to get to where you need to go. Leaving the rest of it still coiled halfway between the plug and your worksite. Then, when you're done, you can simply continue the daisy chain back up and secure it. Daisy chains also have the advantage of not creating twists in the cord and doubling up. The cord just makes the daisy chain that much shorter. Definitely the worst way you could wrap. Your cord is by wrapping it over your hand and elbow as he showed in the beginning. You would literally be better off just wadding it up.
Ben is right. It's the way we coiled cords in the mill where I worked. It's quick and doesn't make the cord all twisted. Once, a guy in the crew tried the daisy chain thing, and it put a whole slew of trip hazards in the cords. We went back to the big loops.
I know of a person who wrapped the the cord around his arm after mowing the lawn and the cord had a small cut in it. He wrapped it from the socket side( Female), plugged in and as bad luck would have it, the grass was damp and the RCD was not functional. He was electrocuted!
I teach everyone to only coil the extension cord from the plug( Male) side.
Stay safe!
Perfect the only way i wrap a cord. Almost never have it kink when tossing it out!
Dude how am I still learning so many awesome new things from you. I learned how to coil wire before, including the quarter turn, but nobody ever taught me that knot at the end. Maybe because I was coiling AV wire and you gotta be gentle, but this is super useful for extension cord!
Retractable cord reel hanging from the ceiling of the garage is even better. :)
I can’t believe people don’t do this. Learn something new every day even if it wasn’t the intended lesson lol
Do you have a beautiful mind, sir? I’ve been winding towards up that way for many years. Great minds think alike.
Thank you
Nothing gets me going more than watching someone wrap a cord around their arm like that, especially one of my cords lol
Well done for passing this little trick on .I've been doing this for years and also trying to pass it on to others and apprentice construction kids ,try finishing the video by showing how easy it can be to unpack the cord also
Jacobs Ladder is the best method ive found. Zero tangles ever. Ive seen lots of ways and preferences over the years though.
Keep preaching it Brother! So many still need to her / learn this!
This is always a good tip to show people that don’t know it. My only suggestion would be to show the DIY homeowners why we don’t wrap it around our arms. Maybe just show how twisted the cord gets and how impossible it is to reverse that once it’s done. Great tip tho
Exactly how I was shown to do it when I first got into the trades. Undo the first wrap, plug it in and walk toward the work area while you lay the cord out.
It wraps up a little better if you run the cord through your hands one time first for the whole length. It takes most of the twist out of it so when you wrap it it's a little bit smoother 👍
I just do overhand/underhand wraps. Works great! Or daisy chaining it is great, too!
over/under and you have a proper av wrap. It keeps the internal wires from twisting, added bonus is that it unferls without kinking if you throw it from the right end 👍
Been doing this for years. This is how you wrapped boat lines too; that's where I originally learned.
Hard to get guys to do it though, but it's the best way; your cords will stay in great condition for a lifetime!
Keep up with these vids in THAT room we wanna see the results of those arches & cabinets ❤❤❤❤
Thanks for your awesome pro tips
Any cord over 25ft needs to be on a cord reel. It makes everything faster and neater and will preserve your cords, meaning you won't have to buy as many replacements over the years due to frays and kinks.
Sounds good. However, even reels put twists in cords and water and air hoses. One twist for every turn of the reel. Try putting the ends together and double roll it. It naturally turns 1/2 turn one way and 1/2 turn the other. NO twists. Like zero! Plus it helps keep debris, dirt, sand etc. out of the receptacles. Especially important with air tool hoses! And it's faster. Which is important on a large production site, when time and wages are everything! Many times I just leave them rolled out, ready for the next day. The time saved, pays for them in only about a week, with a $1,000 per day crew. However, I'm talking on a different level than most people in this thread.
Peace. 👻🤠
@williamtsmith9668 I showed up at the jobsite one morning to find a worker putting blue painter tape on the doorknobs. I asked him what he was doing, and he explained that taping them keeps them from getting scratched until the job is finished. I had to explain to him that the doorknob cost me $25, and he made $17 an hour. He didn't understand that it was cheaper for me to replace the knob than it was to pull him off the drywall for the time it was taking him to tape and untape a doorknob.
Great and useful tip, thanks for posting!
It doesn't matter if you only intend on having the cord for a year or so, or if you only use it a few times a year. But if you use your cords daily and want them to last, roll them up with more loose coils like this and take extra care to make sure they aren't twisted when doing so.
Rolling up a twisted cord like he did the first way twists the wires inside, expands the outer jacket, and leads to the outer jacket breaking and splitting much faster.
I use a 5 gallon bucket with a lid. I leave about 4' of male end hanging out, and I coil the rest up inside the bucket. I've got cords that have lasted over 10 years that I use daily. I buy high-quality cords and tools, and I make them last for a long time.
Kind of like a climbing rope... Agree makes much more sense than the small coils.
As an electrician I want to say thank you so much for not wrapping the cord around your arm. That drives me insane on jobs when I see guys doing that.
Thank you 🙏🏻🙏🏻 been trying to do this but without the turn.. my neighbor a navy man always had ropes hung up so relaxed and neat and I always fought and ended up with a nest of super helix loops
I wrap it around my waist , that way I always have a safety belt and an extension cord at all times ... works like a charm
Exactly how I've done it for years. Nice vid
My naval experience with throwing line showed me that you make the plug ends hang longer so they dont knot , send the line out straight before you wrap and twist it to make it want to naturally set with itself and the width of loop should be to make it want to set evenly and not twine up, and put the plug ends together to protect the prongs and keep debri out .
And make an end splice rope ring to hold it on a hanger.
Its a squid thing.
Plug the ends together before you roll it up and double roll it. Then it's automatically twisting 1/2 one way and 1/2 the other way. Especially with air hoses! You are correct in protecting them from debris.
Solid way and this is how I've done it for a few years now
I've literally never had any issues with cables. The coil method works perfectly fine or I use one where you can wind it back into a case.
I learned that trick through a carpenter I worked with a couple of years ago. Works every time
An additional advantage of tying it up like this is when you go to use it again it throws out nice, also if its a longer cord double it up first.
I do it basically that way. But the best thing I ever did was to stop buying 100' extension cords. They tangle so fast and are a PIA to deal with - it ends up being an 8' cord with all the knots. Most of the time, all I need is a 25' or at most a 50' cord, anyway
I've used the coil around my hand and elbow method my whole life. Slips off the arm easily and if you do it right it ain't twist into a figure 8 on you. Makes for a more compact bundle and is 10x faster than your garden hose method. I've had a lead cord for 17 years now that's 100' 👌
As a skater and audio engineer, this video makes me happier than you know Ben 😂
That’s how I do it but each coil I do the Figure 8’s like your first few. It will avoid the kinks as you pay it out.. Same with hose. Works like a charm every time
Good tips
All my cords are tied in an electricians knot. Super easy and quick. Never gets tangled up when unrolling
I "LIKED" the video instantly as soon as u said "STOP WRAPPING UR CORD AROUND"..... My wife drives me nuts when she uses all my extensions.
I chain link mine. Connect both ends together, tie a loop, pull a little through the loop then grab that part that made a loop thru the forst loop and pull more thru that loop and so on. N hang up, looks like chain link when done. Stays together til ready. When undoing just pull an end and it all comes loose n ready to plug in n roll...
I was taught how to do this but the end result should be that you can take the cord by the same female end you held while wrapping it and toss the entire coil out in front of you and it will uncool cleanly without any knks, or you could plug the male end in, drop the coil on the ground and pull the female end out cleanly as you need it without it getting bunched up or caught in knots.
A similar technique is used to wrap audio cable. That method really focuses on an alternating turn in the cord each time and alternating the side of the coil or something like that. It's an attempt to keep the internal wires from getting all twisted up and splitting or crosstalking.
The best part of this video is the clear explanation of why one way is better than the other.
This is exactly how we were taught as children, helping our Dad.
To wrap those cords.
Just like catheter tubing, it should never be cranked a twist simply will not do.👍🏼
Also how we wrap ropes up on a sailboat. Well done.
Luv and Peace.
This is the only way to wrap up a lead. One of the very first things I was taught as an apprentice 20 odd years ago
I actually had to ban my step-dad years ago from wrapping up my extension cords at the end of our work-days. He couldn't or wouldn't coil them the way this guy does which is how I've done it for the past 45 years.
Great!, so you weaken the internal copper wire from the final tight twists.!!! Amazing tuition, should have shares in copper.
And that’s how we tie up our sailboat lines too! 😉
Thanks dude the Earth has been around so long and how did we ever make it without you
This is personal preference. You can do everything you explained by wrapping it around your elbow in tight loops. As long as you let the end do what it wants instead of holding onto it, it WILL NOT spin the guts of the cord. Ive had the same cords for over 10 years and they are just as good as the day I bought them and I wrap them around my elbow every day. Regardless of how you wrap them, if youre not smarter than the cord then it will end up in a knot.
I wrap my cords to a basic circle. Most of my cords have a scrap wire on the end i wrap around to keep it together.
My buddy does his this way and i wrap to a basic circle and hand them to him and say do your thing.
I always start from the male end . A. It makes sure the cord is not live . B. I start where I'm working unrolling it so I either end up at a plug in spot or where I need another cord from C. We refer to starting from the female end as " checking for bare spots " in the framing trade .
This is so good! ❤❤❤ Thank You ….I will try this
That’s how we wrap ropes doing tree work. I spent some time working for a carpenter who chewed me out for wrapping extension cords up like that. He was worried about creating shorts in the cords. Idk if that’s really much of a a concern but he wrapped em in straight coils without a bind at the end to avoid that.
Bro you the best. I never thought of a way. You had to been in Boyscouts growing up.
You have to keep in mind that most homeowners use their cords sparingly unless they're doing an extended project. Smaller coils store in smaller spaces, making it more convenient for them. Learning to alternate the direction of the coil to avoid snags is probably more important for their purposes.
I disagree that smaller coils is easier to store. You end up with a thicker bundle. If you hang the cord with longer coils it stores pretty flat. And the cord has "memory" like bending a paperclip. So the tighter coils really do cause more tangles.
Thanks for the tip! Works well!
Ive been rolling up my lines exactly like this for years, but whats just as important is how you roll it out. You always grab the first coil on the outside and throw it down and away... The problem is when people think they're going to Indian Jones 25' of line like magic rather than actually rolling it out.