No matter how carefully I coil the cable, I can't seem to get rid of the twists and kinks. Has anyone else noticed this, and any ideas how to make it coil more easily? I've tried slightly twisting each loop as I coil it up, as I would do with a standard electrical cord. I've also stretched it out in the sun for a while. Nothing seems to get rid of its tendency to coil back on itself and kink.
Maybe this will help? My Nissan Leaf Forum • View topic - How to wrap your EVSE/other cables! (You're doing it wrong!) Ingineer on MNL is aka pEEf here on Priuschat.
I use this method for garden hoses, and will give it a try. The thing is, my EVSE cable came out of the storage area in the car the first day with the tendency to twist and kink I described in my opening post. I've never experienced what the guy in the video claims in the way of ruined extension cords, and I have three of them that range from ten to thirty years of service. Always willing to learn something new, and PC is a good source for that! Thanks for the link, cwerdna.
personally i use the cord pro organizer that's linked in my mods thread. however, i have discovered that if i don't unwrap it fully, the cord can get pretty warm.
mine coils very nicely. even in 35 degree weather, i have no kinks or twists. i wonder if warranty would cover it?
The EVSE definitely has a warranty but I have my doubts about a dealer willing to replace it just because it's twisted. My 2ยข.
The best way to keep hand rolled wires and devices alike is the one shown in the video, over- under with a finger twist. I had been using this method for the last 40 years and became 2nd nature while fiddling with extension cords, cat 5, and mic cables in staging set-ups. Never a kink...
Mine is also kinda "kinky". I leave it out all the time in the garage and plug/unplug every day. Over the last several weeks it has developed a "mind of it's own". I think I am twisting it without realizing when plugging it in and disconnecting.
Bisco, Your cable coils nicely, but how do you coil it? I do the over/under method. It works well, although the cold hardens the cable. I don't like the video, since I don't coil it with just 2 fingers, but it gets the point across.
i coil it the old fashioned way, laying it in the back of the hatch, brick first and then slowly coiling and twisting, rotation the other end as i go. i don't have to uncoil it much at work because i can park right below my office window. there's a spigot there so i hung a 4" pvc pipe fitting on it to hang the evse on. it hasn't gotten very cold here and it spends most of the time in the garage between 45-50 degrees, still flexible. however, the 30 amp cable i got from the open evse project is pretty stiff!
