Storing Welding Leads ?

[Boucher]

Is there a better way to store welding leads? Over the years I have Wound them up in a pile, Wound them up in a figure 8 etc. I have some old spools that would be about right for rolling them onto but most of my welding is DC and this would seem to make a large electro magnet. Let me hear your thoughts on this subject. Thanks !

[macona]

I just hang them on a hook. Use connector to make the lengths more manageable.

As long as they are looped in air its OK, once you start wrapping them around a steel reel you get problems. It will act like a big inductor and cause all sorts of weird things.

When I used to load test some machines at up to 600 amps the cables would separate from each other when under load.

[davidh]

we just mounted a couple car wheels on the wall and wound the cable up on the wheels. not tight, just to keep it off the floor.

[macona]

And thats what you dont want to do.

[davidh]

i do unwind them when i use them, this is just for storage. . . .

i suppose it would be neat to have them on a wood spool or sorts, even a 2 by 6 sticking out of the wall and be able to unwind only as much as needed to get to the job.

those wheels would make an interesting magnet in some instances.

never gave it a thought about making them a transformer of sorts.

[macona]

It dosnt make a transformer but and inductor. And it can seriously mess up your slope.

[doctor demo]

It dosnt make a transformer but and inductor. And it can seriously mess up your slope.

I don't do any welding in the hills, so I don't wory about slope problems .
Steve

[torker]

I have a lot of cables. They are always a problem....try having 6 guys working on a big project for a week...it takes a whole day to clean up the tangled mess of cables.
I still use hooks and as big of loops as the height will allow.
I run 250 feet on the stinger side of my portable....lotta cable to deal with.
I tried a reel once...I hated it in the winter. The cable would come off like a coiled spring...and stay that way.
Russ.

[gearedloco]

I have a lot of cables. They are always a problem....try having 6 guys working on a big project for a week...it takes a whole day to clean up the tangled mess of cables.
I still use hooks and as big of loops as the height will allow.
I run 250 feet on the stinger side of my portable....lotta cable to deal with.
I tried a reel once...I hated it in the winter. The cable would come off like a coiled spring...and stay that way.
Russ.

One thing you might try is to hang the cables from a pair of (largish) pegs mounted several feet apart vertically. When you wind the cables onto the pegs don't go "round and round" but wind them in a "figure 8" fashion. This will avoid the problem of the cables being twisted when unwound.

This is a very common method of winding cables and lines in the maritime trades. If the cables are wound this way laying on the ground it is sometimes called "faking down" or "flaking down" a line.

Works great with garden hose, although many just don't understand and insist on twisting it back into a coil.

The first time you try this it would be good to stretch the cable out and get all of the twists and kinks out of it before you start.

-bill

[torker]

Bill.. That is a good way of hanging stuff. I use that figure 8 deal on all my cutting rig hoses. Only thing...the "pile" of hose or cable...grows out sideways in a hurry. 250 feet of heavy cable...the pile would be about a foot and a half thick.
It does come off nice tho...