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Please Recommend a Good EHU that does not Kink.

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YawpedalMiska

VIP Member
Messages
21
Location
Stebbing Dunmow Essex
Vehicle
T6.1 Coast 150
Hello , Would appreciate some good recommendations for EHU Cable that does not kink. I have a 25 m cable
wound on proper spool and kept in a bag. However it Kinks a twists when used.
 
you could make your own with some flex designed for irons . that braided stuff. not sure how suitable it wouldbe though
 
Interested in this too.

Keen on a 2.5mm one.

BTW - kink can be reduced if you give it a 1/4 twist when winding it up!
 
The kink will be worse when the cable is cold, as in winter camping. In the summer it's much more supple, like me. It's a factor of the materials used which are specified for safety reasons. I suspect it's something you'll have to live with. I always lay the cable out fully on return and rewind it as my tendency to OCD abhors a kink.
 
When you wind up any round electrical cable it will try and kink due to the way the cores are wound in helix pattern. Thats done to negate the voltage pressure on the outer sheath, (the emf balances itself out). So, as @da_murphster mentions, you need to to turn the coil every couple of loops by a rotation, and then it behaves. The compound used for the outer sheath helps, if it’s softer, especially when cold, but then it might stand abrasion so well.

Now if anyone has found the perfect non kinkable garden hose - I’d be really interested in that!
 
We use a blue-coloured cable which I understand is a cold-weather cable which tends not to twist up.Artic cable
 
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I use a 50m electric cable on a drum. I pull it off (tangential to the drum) which causes the drum to rotate as the wire feeds off.... then when winding it back on I use the handle on the drum to wind it back on. So this is exactly the reverse process to pulling the wire off. Never had a kink in 15years, and the process will not twist the cable..

However if you wind the wire on by hand, each revolution will put a twist in the cable and this will lead to a kinking problem. I have the same problem with our mower - hand winding on and off causes cable twist.

I used to get the same thing with a vacuum cleaner, winding it on and off would always cause issues, but nowadays our Vax cleaner (I think Dyson also) has a clip which you rotate to dis-engage the cable retention so you can pull the whole cable off without twisting it.

So it may be how you are winding it on and off and the type of spool you are using....

Clear as mud !!!

John
 
Johnboy said:
However if you wind the wire on by hand, each revolution will put a twist in the cable and this will lead to a kinking problem. I have the same problem with our mower - hand winding on and off causes cable twist.
Click to expand...
If you unwind your cable completely from the drum and then untwist all the kinks out of it so that it lies flat, you can then wind it round the drum again from one side (mark this side). As you wind the cable on it will be twisted but if you wind the cable off from the same side next time you use it the twist will disappear and the cable will lie flat.
 
YawpedalMiska said:
Hello , Would appreciate some good recommendations for EHU Cable that does not kink. I have a 25 m cable
wound on proper spool and kept in a bag. However it Kinks a twists when used.
Click to expand...
Here you go, try this…… the video does make it look a little tricky but it really does work! I have been using this method for a few years now (works great with hosepipe too). There are plenty of similar videos out there, this is just one that I found just now…….

 
I've had the same 30m HU cable since we bought our Cali in Feb 2017. That's six years use. No winding on "Hands and Elbows" or against the natural "set" of the cable and no kinks. When we hook up I always unwind the cable fully and make sure that in the rewinding there are no winds against the natural winding "set". Here are a couple of photos of my 30m x 0.32m HU cable.
1677089801925.png
1677089910798.png
 
Ha Ha there is a way to coil a cable without causing un-necessary twists in it. I can't tell you but I could show you how to do it. It looks as if @Jabberwocky knows the secret!
 
10 year old cable....wound hand elbow...always packs away in the same bag it came in, winter or summer. Not sure why everyone has an issue or uses a technical way of doing it, it's only 25M of cable so nothing difficult?
 
The best flex cable to use is 3 core H07RN also known as pond flex 3183P.
It doesn't kink like the orange hook up flex or even the blue arctic flex does at low temperatures.

2.5mm is a bit overkill for use with a Cali unless you are using 50 metres of cable or pushing the cable load close to 16 amps.

If you are ok with making up your own leads, Screwfix and toolstation sell it in 25 metre lengths as well as the 16 amp blue plug and sockets. The ABB ones screwfix sell are great quality.
Stick it on one of those orange hook up cable reels and it is even easier to pack away.
 
Hawthorn37 said:
Now if anyone has found the perfect non kinkable garden hose - I’d be really interested in that!
Click to expand...

Can’t comment on electrical cables I’m afraid but highly recommend the Fitt Heavy Braided wintech garden hose from Screwfix ! Never kinks and works with all your hozelock attachments !
 
CaliBear said:
The best flex cable to use is 3 core H07RN also known as pond flex 3183P.
It doesn't kink like the orange hook up flex or even the blue arctic flex does at low temperatures.

2.5mm is a bit overkill for use with a Cali unless you are using 50 metres of cable or pushing the cable load close to 16 amps.

If you are ok with making up your own leads, Screwfix and toolstation sell it in 25 metre lengths as well as the 16 amp blue plug and sockets. The ABB ones screwfix sell are great quality.
Stick it on one of those orange hook up cable reels and it is even easier to pack away.
Click to expand...
I’d be wary of using black cable. It’s a trip hazard on site as you can’t see it as easily and the outer sheath is easier to cut. I believe there are a number of other safety features missing that I can’t be bothered to Google. More pertinent is there are a number of sites that won’t allow you to use a non orange cable regardless of protestations. Reality is the winding challenge vanishes in the summer and I’d imaging the OP will forget all about the few winter niggles with it.
 
dspuk said:
I’d be wary of using black cable. It’s a trip hazard on site as you can’t see it as easily and the outer sheath is easier to cut. I believe there are a number of other safety features missing that I can’t be bothered to Google. More pertinent is there are a number of sites that won’t allow you to use a non orange cable regardless of protestations. Reality is the winding challenge vanishes in the summer and I’d imaging the OP will forget all about the few winter niggles with it.
Click to expand...
Millions of European campers survive with black cable ffs.
 
I have two cable in ours , the 25Mtr orange cable for club sites and to use if a long way from hook up ? And a thinner blue one 1/2 the length and more flexible and easier to roll as I use most of the time and reaches 95% of the time , and I i use no heaters or heavy loading equipment in the cali , its just for the battery charger
 
sidepod said:
Millions of European campers survive with black cable ffs.
Click to expand...
Yeah, totally true, millions, ffs.

As a side note to others who got out of bed on the ride side, I did have a look at a few sites and the british standards.

The general rule seems to be “orange is advised” to reduce trip hazards and the sheeth should be able to withstand lawnmowers - but the cables must be 2.5mm, well made and safe - at the site managers discretion if they are not. So if they decide your black cable is a trip or lawnmower hazard, they may stop you, your risk and choice to take one. I guess if you so desired and you can find one, take a pink one @sidepod

The main rules are around the blue end connectors which fall into standards more specifically. The bit in the middle is a little more open to interpretation.

This link was the most useful:


The description and spec in this link also gives a good overview of why one cable over another:

toughleads.co.uk

16A 230v premium caravan hook up

Heavy duty 16A 230v 2.5mmsq premium orange rubber H07BQ-F cable caravan hook up CEE IEC 60309.
toughleads.co.uk toughleads.co.uk
 
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Of all the repetitive post here, this topic has been done to death, beaten, kicked, regurgitated, resurrected and re-argued.
 
dspuk said:
I’d be wary of using black cable. It’s a trip hazard on site as you can’t see it as easily and the outer sheath is easier to cut. I believe there are a number of other safety features missing that I can’t be bothered to Google. More pertinent is there are a number of sites that won’t allow you to use a non orange cable regardless of protestations. Reality is the winding challenge vanishes in the summer and I’d imaging the OP will forget all about the few winter niggles with it.
Click to expand...
got 2 cables. 1 yellow. one blue. no ones ever said they are the 'wrong colour' in 8 years of use
 
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