Coiling Extension Cabling.

[derrynoose]

I have a surge protected extension lead supporting a BT router and its associated wall mounted kit. I want to tidy up the extension cabling. Is it safe to coil up the lead and, if so, how small a coil would be OK. I know I can shorten the lead, but coiling would be handier. Thanks.

[Milvus]

Basically if you coil an electrical cable and pass a current through it you form a heating element. Think of the bar on an electric fire. So best not coil it even though the power draw on your router etc is pretty low. If it ever fails and shorts then the power draw will rocket. Additionally if you have extension cables on a drum, for power tools etc. you should uncoil them completely before using the tool

[Old_Geezer]

Whilst true, I have difficulty believing a single router would prove a problem. Do not coil flex smaller than it will go without force; go with its natural curl to avoid stressing it internally.

[Mosaic]

...or buy a shorter extension lead, then you can be absolutely sure.

[alavahalf]

After seeing the end result .. I would suggest that you cut the extension to the right length and refit the plug .. take no chances. If someone else decides to use the 'spare socket' the lead offers. They may well not know about the coil effect and might plug a power hungry device into it.

A neighbour of mine took great delight in upsetting everyone with his mobile car repair business .. the only problem being that he wasn't very mobile and did his repairs in the street outside his house. All day long we would have air tools and compressors running as he went about his work. One day I seen him working using a long extension lead still wound up in it's reel. I thought to myself " I wonder if he knows what he is doing" and "That may well start a fire". Later that night I heard a fire engine arriving .. someone had reported seeing smoke coming from his garage. I went straight out and informed the firemen that there were oxy/acetylene cylinders in the garage. They then backed off and cleared the onlookers and doused the fire from a distance.
When the smoke died down they dragged the smouldering contents of the garage out into the road.
Still plugged into a wall socket was the coiled extension lead that was deemed to be the source of the fire !
That was actually the third fire I have known to be started by an extension.