powere winders for water hose and electric cord

[Goldencrazy]

Anyone add power winders to their rigs after market. If so any advice

[FIRE_UP]

Ours is the "Cablemaster" one. It's the type that all the cord is in a drum that you cannot see. There are plenty of times that, only about 10-12' of cable is stretched out to make it to the post. Never worried about what's left on the drum, inside the barrel, getting too hot. That cord is about 1" thick or, maybe even 1.125 thick. I'm pretty sure there's enough insulation on it to keep from fires starting.
Scott

[JimM68]

Our manual cord reel looks a lot like the one posted above.

An no, it's never a problem if we don't unwind it all.
Engineers "booklearning" sometimes leaves a bit to be desired in the real world.

[mtrumpet]

rk911 wrote:

Goldencrazy wrote:
Anyone add power winders to their rigs after market. If so any advice

and to those who do have them...does the 50-amp cord need to be totally unwound to avoid heat build-up in the cord?

I have never actually noticed such a problem. Many times I've only let out as much as needed to plug into the shore power pedestal. I have not noticed any heat build up to the power cord. At least, nothing that was noticeable. Then again, most of the time I have at least 75% (if not all of it) of the cord unwound to reach the pedestal anyway.

Interesting point though. Out of curiosity, it's something that I'm going to pay attention to this season and see - especially when running both AC's in the summer.

[mccsix]

That makes sense. You wouldn't be able to dissipate the heat as well,
But it still centers on load vs wire diameter & length.

[rk911]

mccsix wrote:
There isn't any more resistance(heat) in the cord whether it's wound up or laying out.

I asked because I saw this on another forum:

Electrical engineer here-

The amount of inductance from an extension cord coiled loosly pretty negligable.

Heat does not increase resistance an appreciable amount in copper wire, either. If that were the case we wouldn't need circuit breakers as all circuits would be self-limiting.

The only reason to watch out for a coiled extension cord is the heat. The rule of thumb that I would use is to derate the amperage rating of the cord by 25-50% when coiled, or just bump to the next size larger cord. For a #12, coiled cord I would keep the continuous amperage draw below 10 amps. You can just touch it with your hand once in a while to see if it gets warm.

The danger is from the insulation on the wires melting and causing a fire as the wires arc together.

[mccsix]

There isn't any more resistance(heat) in the cord whether it's wound up or laying out.

[rk911]

Goldencrazy wrote:
Anyone add power winders to their rigs after market. If so any advice

and to those who do have them...does the 50-amp cord need to be totally unwound to avoid heat build-up in the cord?

[mtrumpet]

Mine came with an electric cord reel installed. I'm glad I have it because winding and storing that big thick 50 amp cord would be a real chore to do manually.

I was thinking about installing a hose reel, but still have not concluded as to whether or not I really need it. It would be a nice convenience though.

[sailor_lou]

I installed this power cord reel in my electrical bay:

Power Cord Reel

and this manual hose reel in my wet bay:

Maunal Hose Reel

I was able to find the power reel from an individual who had purchased two from a closing RV shop and got it for 1/2 price. I also used a wireless D.C. motor controller so I can extend and retract the cord using a fob.

They make setup and breakdown at the CG much easier and well worth the expense IMO.

Lou
05 Travel Supreme Envoy

[dons2346]

I have the hose reel and power cord reel from Glendinning. They are the best in the market

[Goldencrazy]

I might even sacrifice a bay. I think I am ready to shell out some big bucks. I agree the 50 amp is heavy. As age takes its inevitable toll I look for easier ways to do basic tasks.

[chuckftboy]

I only had enough room for 1 power reel so I chose to install the power cord. The 25 foot water hose is easy enough to handle but the 50 amp power cord wasn't much fun. For me the install was pretty easy as I already had 12 power in the wet bay. Power reels are well worth the cost and effort to install. Atleast for me they are.

[DSDP_Don]

Adding an aftermarket power cord reel is VERY expensive, but can be done if you have the space. You just need 12 volt power to make them work. Here is one of the most popular brands. Not all of them have to be on a reel. This company makes a grabber that pulls the cord and coils it into a box. Glendinning

On my previous coach, I add a mechanical hose reel, like the old gas station type. I mounted it in an unused bay and ran PVC to the water bay.

[JimM68]

Mine came with a power water hose, which I love. It works great and has never been a problem.

My power is on a reel with a hand crank. Easier than stuffing it into a compartment, but still a bear to crank up, wish it was power.

I got nuttin on adding them aftermarket though. 😞