How do you store extension cords?

[SSHANK42]

Need help with locating bags to store extension cords in. Each truck has a permanantly mounted reel to get us away from the truck to the action area. At the present time we store our cords on handheld reels. The cords are 25 ft. to 50 ft. long so we can go from the main cord to were ever. This works okay, however it seems awfully bulky. The discussion has been held to buy some bags to store them in, like the rope. Is their a difference between cord bags and rope bags. Any website for me to to look at would be great. Any other idea's on storage. Thanks for the help.

[Dalmatian90]

Interesting idea...I guess as long as you don't pinch the cords, it should be OK. I'm picturing the male plug out the back of the bag, so it can be plugged in and you just pull out what you need for the female side.

We don't use reels -- just make a "circle" with the cord (they're too heavy to wrap around your arm like consumer/contractor cords) and use some velcro wrist restraints to keep them together. I'd think if you're using heavy wire like most of ours, you couldn't stuff it in a bag very easily.

[firenresq77]

I would think a rope bag would work fine. I know the rope we have in ours is about the size of our cords on our reels. It may be a little harder to load due to the stiffness, but I would think it would work. And I agree with the mal;e hanging out the bottom.side and the female out the top.

[eastendldrco]

rope bags are great. my trk co has used them for the last ten years and its a hell of alot easier to haul bags around in the large commercial bldgs & apt's than those damn steel hannay reels. we have 75 ft in each bag...

we also visqueen (plastic rolls) in place of salvage tarps. no nooed to go back and pick 'em up.. leave and get new back in quarters

on our ladder we have 5, yes 5 generators. 2 - honda lights, 2 - honda portable generators and 10 kw on board ONAN

go to www.rocknrescue.com for bags. that's where we got ours

[Dickey]

Guess I never thought of it. We have some extra cord that we just wind up and hang on a hook in the compartments. Like east said, as long as you don't kink the cord or pinch it, it should be fine in a rope bag. I would assume the bigger the bag the better it would be to wind up and play out.

Keep your head down and your powder dry.
_______________________
Lt.Jason Knecht
Altoona Fire Rescue
Altoona, WI

[ffexpCP]

We use wind-up reels. I think bags would be ok. The only problem I can see is the cord getting cold, making it stiff and therefore making it more difficult to deploy.

When I worked as a theater electrician and stage hand, we NEVER wrapped cords around our arms. This helps to breakdown the wire inside the insulation and often tangles and knots up. If our manager saw us coil our cables this way he would make us mop the stage for the next show.

[mcaldwell]

We actually use old 20L plastic pails to hold our heavy cords. The cords coil perfectly inside and pay out easily as you walk along or up stairs. It may be a little more bulky than a bag, but we just stuff our adapters and lights in the hole down the middle, and in the end there is not much wasted space.

It offers good protection for the cords as well since you can drop or hit them without any damage, and you always have some pails on the truck when you need them.

[E229Lt]

The pails do work well. Cut a hole in the bottom of the side, ( not the bottom of the pail) and feed the male plug out the hole. Now coil the cord into the bucket. To deploy, simply plug the male into your other cord and pull the female out the top to your point of operation.

A few small holes drilled in the bottom for water drainage and you're ready to go. They will also stack well for storage.

[KAPNKRNCH]

www.duluthtrading.com they have some nice bags made just for extension cords.

[k1500chevy97]

Might need to look into some of those bags for our light rescue/ambulance . Right now we just wrap them up we do have one on a reel though .

[Weruj1]

I must admit we have messy cordage ...........I have seen them in duffle bags, used foam buckets, 5 gallon buckets, hung on hooks , plasitc reels, as noted before one of those HEAVY freaking Hannay reeels.......never have truly seen an electrical cord bag but sounds intersting ......

[KAPNKRNCH]

Not too bad.

[Weruj1]

thanks ..............ladies and geltlemen that is the one from his link........cheap too ....19.99 !

[SIGNAL99COM]

SSHANK42,

We used to use reels like you explained also. They were the bulkiest things to carry, it was awful. We now carry most of our cords just wrapped up and neatly placed into a compartment. It is much easier for our guys to carry them and it doesnt take up as much compartment space.

On our Rescue Engine (1 month old) we had Sauslbury design totes for the cords, with (3) sections of cord in each box. Here are some photos:

[Resq14]

Those boxes... if they're the UPF "mini water tank" boxes, they are quite expensive.

$400ish per box...

It's easier to roll them into the purchase price of a new truck for sure (I wish we did).

For electrical extension cords, we use the standard hardware store hand reels. No, you can't store 100' of the heavier wire on them, but it gives you good working lengths of 35-50'. We considered the bucket idea, but the hand reels seem a little more compact and fit our needs better. And THANK GOD we pulled those 500lb big manual "portable" reels of the trucks. haha

For the 200' lengths, they're on powered reels on the truck.

For HRT extension hoses, we use those $19.99 bags pictured above. They work pretty well.