Retractable power cord recommendations

[mark kosse]

Can anyone give a recommendation for a decent auto retractable or manual winding cord reel? I bought a 50' 12g auto wind one from the green bear but Im hoping I can improve on its usefulness.

For or self winding I'd like 100' of 12g and for auto wind 50' of the same. There are some self winds with mesh baskets named green leaf that look interesting.

[Larry Browning]

It is my understanding that these can be dangerous if not fully extended from the reel. The cable can generate heat and cause a fire. Others more knowledgeable in such things should be able to verify or deny it though. With that said, I have one of these that I got at Harbor Freight hanging from the ceiling that works well for me. Of course your standards may be higher than mine. :o

[Michael Stein]

I got one I use for light dudty stuff from Lowes. Think it was 25 or 30, 3 outlets on the end. It works well when I need it.

[Ken Krawford]

I bought one from Lee Valley a number of years ago. It is very well made and has a popup circuit breaker on the triple outlet. My main complaint is that it is difficult to get the last couple of feet on the reel. There is no way to re-tension the take up spring. Otherwise it's perfect. I use it all the time.

[glenn bradley]

Oddly enough I have a couple of 12ga x 40' ones I got at Harbor Freight a decade ago. I expected them to last long enough to put my shop together but, they are still in use. Having used them at least once a week for some time I can maybe add some value with comments on use.

First I will say that 40' is about as long as I would go. After that things just get messy. I would stagger three or four 40' units before I would struggle (or pay the price) for a unit that could handle 100' of 12 ga cord effectively.

Second, as Larry points out, like extension cords in buckets, cord reels should not be used aggressively unless played out.

322612

Pulling out 30' or so of a 40' reel is pretty common even in my small shop. Leaving too much cord in a 100' reel is probably the norm.

Thirdly, I am surprised how much I use them. In my 20' x 30' space I have two reels. These have let me change things around several times without running additional in-wall power. I guess what I am saying is that they proved useful way beyond what I expected.

[ken masoumi]

I bought one of these (http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=32020&cat=1,43456,43460) (manual type) from Lee Valley few years ago and occasionally use it, it works well, but I use the self-retracting Snapon brand I got from Costco most often maybe because I'm too lazy to manually turn the hand crank to rewind the cord.:)

http://www.leevalley.com/en/images/item/woodworking/assorted/bn105s1.jpg

[Mike Heidrick]

Industrial quality ones:
coxreels
aero-motive (I bought one of these used on ebay)

Looks very interesting:
robo reel