Ron Paulk is best known for his customized box truck and tool trailer and for designing successively more-sophisticated portable work stations, but not everything he does is on such a grand scale. In the video below, he shows how to coil electrical cords (and air hoses) in a manner that makes them last longer and lay flat when you roll them out.
His method is similar to one I learned during a summer job as a deckhand, where we had to run 1,000 feet of cord (in 200 to 300-foot lengths) to the end of a barge tow to power running lights. We put cord out and took it in as barges were added or removed from the tow. Instead of coiling it into a hand—like Paulk does—we coiled the cord over our necks and let it hang to our knees because 200 feet of cord is heavy and more than one can hold in a hand. It was important to do it correctly because it takes forever to untangle 300 feet of cord (don’t ask how I know).
The video has a long introduction; if you’re in a hurry, skip ahead to 0:50. Paulk begins by demonstrating the way he used to coil cords and how he discovered his was not the best way to do it. At 2:20 he demonstrates the method he uses now.
Paulk’s video has received a couple of dozen comments so far on YouTube, several by people with an aversion to improperly coiled cords. They won’t allow others to coil their cords unless they learn the correct way to do it. I know the feeling.
