A question on rolled shore power cords

[Raist11]

Good morning all,

So I've read many stories and posts about the dangers of having your shore power cord rolled up when plugged in. I've even heard that a regular extension cord rolled up when in use can be a fire hazard.

My question is this.. My 1990 Triple E has a female plug in the compartment for my shore cord for when I use my generator. Wwhen on the road, obviously I can't leave the cord run out underneath the motorhome. It has to be nicely rolled up in it's compartment. And that thing gets hot after a day of travel on a warm day. Is this just the way those with this setup just have to do it? It makes me nervous every time we're traveling. Fortunately our travels don't take us very far.

Thanks for any insight.

[wa8yxm]

Cite a reference stating a coiled cord is a fire hazard. "I heard" is not a valid reference.

I did, I posted my personal test and findings,, Though due to the limited current drawn in my test there was no fire, The cord was too hot to handle comfortably and had we been loading it down the way it's designed to load a fire would have resulted.

Also if you look at wire size charts, some of the better ones give the ratings for free air, in wall and in coils.

[rgatijnet1]

A label from a new extension cord, after the lawyers have had their input:

[WILDEBILL308]

pianotuna wrote:
I solved the issue by cutting off the cord. I added a male end to the cut off RV cord, and a female end to the remainder.

Congratulations for solving a problem that didn't exist. When using a properly rated cord for the load the circuit barkers will trip before the cord gets to hot. I never pull my cord out more than what it takes to hook up. Never had a problem.
Bill

[DougE]

I HAVE used a coiled extension cord that was too long and not of sufficient gauge to handle the load and it did melt the insulation. Any electrical wire carrying current will have some resistance value and will create heat. So long as they are able to shed the heat at the rate it is being created they will operate satisfactorily. Gathering multiple wires in a conduit or cable tray impacts their ability to reject heat and there are tables for de-rating the current capacity of the wires accordingly. If you will take a look at the power pole wires you will see that they are relatively small. Because they are bare and exposed to the air they can easily shed heat so can carry large loads.

[Gjac]

I never thought about this until your post. My 50 amp cord is coiled all the time and is plugged in(no transfer switch). If the cord gets hot because the load is too high won't it cause the breakers to trip?

[Raist11]

DSDP Don wrote:
"Raist11"......Many of your larger RV's use power cord reels where the cords stay coiled all the time. Typically, fires in cords occur when something heavy is set on them. Their own weight is not sufficient.

This is what I had thought too. I think between this and as Chuck says below.. I think I will just go forward as I do and to be safe just try not to have a bunch of crud plugged in that doesn't need to be.

chuckftboy wrote:
A cord does not heat up because it is coiled. It does heat up from damage or when you draw more current that it is rated for. A bad connection will over load it.
My cord is on an electric reel and is always tightly rolled when in use. By the way, it is also U.L approved to be used that way and that would not happen if it were a fire hazard.
Never heard of a RV bursting into flames because they coiled a power cord.

As I said above, thanks for the input.

[sh410]

A coiled cord powered by AC current will set up and collapse a magnetic field 60 times per second and that will create heat.

My wife's vacuum cleaner with a retractable cord will get hot unless that cord is pulled all the way out.

[chuckftboy]

A cord does not heat up because it is coiled. It does heat up from damage or when you draw more current that it is rated for. A bad connection will over load it.
My cord is on an electric reel and is always tightly rolled when in use. By the way, it is also U.L approved to be used that way and that would not happen if it were a fire hazard.
Never heard of a RV bursting into flames because they coiled a power cord.

[DSDP_Don]

"Raist11"......Many of your larger RV's use power cord reels where the cords stay coiled all the time. Typically, fires in cords occur when something heavy is set on them. Their own weight is not sufficient.

[Raist11]

Tom N wrote:
I leave most of my 50amp cable rolled up in my electrical basement compartment. I only take out enough to reach the power pedestal. Been doing this since 1974.

Cite a reference stating a coiled cord is a fire hazard. "I heard" is not a valid reference.

While I appreciate your input, I'm not inclined to worry about citing any examples. The reason for my post is to find out from those experienced, if I should worry about having it coiled when connected to the generator while driving down the road. Since the purpose is to calm my concerns, then my examples causing my concerns don't need to be verified. I'm not worried if you believe that I am truly worried.

Cheers. 🙂

[wa8yxm]

Generally the generator is not able to deliver full power to the RV For example my Generator is only 5500 watts. the max possible shore draw is 1200 watts.

However even that. If you must coil.. Make the coil as LARGE as possible. The larger the coil the cooler the coil

I once had a 100' coil of 12ga.. Layed out this could pass 20 amps packed in a wall.. MORE lying in open air.. Coiled I was pulling no more than 10 and that puppy got hot, Not dangerously hot, but hotter than I was comfortable with.

That is why I caution against it.. But if a large coil should be ok. The fewer turns in teh coil the better.

[pianotuna]

I solved the issue by cutting off the cord. I added a male end to the cut off RV cord, and a female end to the remainder.

[Tom_N]

I leave most of my 50amp cable rolled up in my electrical basement compartment. I only take out enough to reach the power pedestal. Been doing this since 1974.

Cite a reference stating a coiled cord is a fire hazard. "I heard" is not a valid reference.

[Raist11]

3oaks wrote:
I don't think it is much of an issue otherwise there would be a lot of flaming RVs in the campgrounds. Most shore power cord compartments are small in order to save interior space. I see a lot of campers just pull out the minimum length of cord needed to make the plug-in at the pedestal, the rest is left coiled in the compartment.

However, I am not familiar with running generators hooked to power cords while on the road and cannot comment on that situation.

Well, there have been flaming RVs in campgrounds due to the shore power cord being coiled up. I have even seen reports of it happening at home, a garage burnt down due to the heater cord being coiled up and igniting. Now of course it isn't a "common" thing. I have left extension cords coiled up all my life without issue. But this is a new arena for me, so after hearing these reports and stories I started to wonder.