How do you plug your coach in ?

[bevans6]

It can actually apply to any cable on a reel, or otherwise not exposed to open air, as I understand it.  Extension cords are rated for the current carrying capacity based on the wire gauge and insulation type and anticipated use.  As a general rule, extension cord wire is rated for open air use.  So the portion of the cord on the reel is prone to overheating, if used at close to it's rated load.  I can imagine some inductive coupling from the coil, as well, but couldn't easily find a cite for that. 
 
I have experienced a hot extension cord from just having it coiled on the ground, but it was a cheap orange 14 gauge cord and I was running a power saw, so it was at full rated load.  Now, I have extension cords that come on a reel and I often just unroll as much as I need, so I need to now think about that a little more.  I've known of this issue for years, but didn't make the connection to the new cord on a reel that I just bought.  There are also extension cords on retractable reels, you don't have much option about them being on a reel.

This bears a little more thought, I do believe!

Brian

[robertglines1]

Have actually had a cord wound on a reel and it looked great but wouldn't work;;un wound it and found it actually fused together about half way down....was in a continous use situation and prob near or over rated capacity;proper breaker would mabe have prevented it.

[kyle4501]

Wire will heat up as current is passed thru it - more current = more heat. Unless this heat is dissipated, the temperature of the wire will continue to rise until the insulation melts or burns. If left on a roll, the heat has no where to go. Then there is the possibility of induction heating. . . .

20 amps is a lot of power & I've seen lots of smoke & sparks without tripping the breaker. 15 amp breakers usually trip without as many theatrics.

If the wire is sized so that the temperature rise is negligible while in use & the reel is nonconductive, being left on a roll probably won't matter.

However, wire costs more the bigger it gets & we all spend only what we have to . . . Why buy a 100Amp rated cord when all we're pulling is 50 max? Also, the 100 amp cord is going to be lots harder to work with.

[Lin]

We have one of those marine-type connectors on the outside skin.  One end of the cord plugs into that, the other to shore power.  Our cord has only 3 #6 wires, so we only draw one leg at 50 amps.  It's funny but I set up my last bus like that since we did not use any 240v, and it made the cord 25% lighter and more manageable.  When we bought this coach, it was set up the same way.  I generally coil the electric cord last and lay it on the bay floor.  The sewer hose is just fed into a 5 gallon bucket which also stores other dump plumbing parts.

[buswarrior]

all I can remember is that wire in coils makes heat.

Whether circled on the ground or wound on a reel.

Coils do funny things, who remembers the theory?

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[JackConrad]

Then there is the possibility of induction heating. . . .

Doesn't induction heating require a piece of metal in the middle of the coil?  Jack

[white-eagle]

We have a powertech quiet box, so i coil the 50a cable on top of it when stored, pull it out to use.  nothing else fits up there anyway, and i don't want some mess on top of the genset box getting warm and smelling hot or worse.  so the cable works well in unused storage space.  we have a twist lock plug that comes up thru the floor thru a 4 inch sewer pipe type opeing to the cable receptacle.  the other end goes to 50a shore power.  i carry a 75 foot 30a adaptor cable just in case i have to go that far.  it stays in the van most of the time. 

also, someone mentioned old and pushing the cable thru the floor being tough.  i am old and that's the least of my issues. 

[kyle4501]

Then there is the possibility of induction heating. . . .

Doesn't induction heating require a piece of metal in the middle of the coil?  Jack

Induction heating works directly only with conductive materials ( normally metals, but any conductive material will be heated - some more efficiently than others ). Plastics and other non-conductive materials can often be heated indirectly by first heating a conductive material which then transfers heat to the non-conductive material - this would apply to the insulation on the power wire.

So, while it may not be likely, there is a possibility that we should be aware of.