Not sure if this shouldn't be in electrics but ...
I had a good quality professional 40m one - old though so no thermal cut out. Someone (not me!) managed to overload it (an electric convector heater) -the coils all melted together..
Need a new one -with thermal cut out but got all confused now - amps? cable size? open or enclosed reel? IP44 rated? fixed sockets?
Just for DIY/gardening...
Not sure I need 40m (choice seems to be mainly 25 or 50m) -never used it at full stretch- but moving to a new house soon - bigger garden is about 28m long.
I will need to use it with hedge trimmer but all the hedges are closer to the house. At bottom of garden there are trees I might need to take a power saw to at some point ...and I will need to mow down to about 23m from socket but lawnmower has long lead.
Thinking maybe I should get a 25m one (so not so heavy/bulky) and then plug in to a small extension lead if I really need to get right to the bottom of the garden. (unless this will be too annoying in anyone's experience?)
Think highest power consumption will be using power tools (eg drill/angle grinder/ pmf), maybe work light, and a hoover when it is preferably not fully uncoiled....amp rating for that? does having open/handbag style or enclosed reels make a difference to that? (I'm inclined to enclosed/handbang cos old open reel cable tangling used to annoy me.)
Is IP44 rated worth it? (thinking you shouldn't be using electric tools in the rain anyway? -but have managed to angle grind through a pipe in past filled with standing water which sprayed everywhere )
Fixed sockets? (can see why- an annoyance in the past - but unless I'm missing something they all seem to be a lot of extra £££££ )
(What I do think would be handy too are switched sockets -less faff changing blades/bits etc but I often use a switched double adapter)
House has RCD protection -so don't need to worry about that
Help - just too much choice!
I had a good quality professional 40m one - old though so no thermal cut out. Someone (not me!) managed to overload it (an electric convector heater) -the coils all melted together..
Need a new one -with thermal cut out but got all confused now - amps? cable size? open or enclosed reel? IP44 rated? fixed sockets?
Just for DIY/gardening...
Not sure I need 40m (choice seems to be mainly 25 or 50m) -never used it at full stretch- but moving to a new house soon - bigger garden is about 28m long.
I will need to use it with hedge trimmer but all the hedges are closer to the house. At bottom of garden there are trees I might need to take a power saw to at some point ...and I will need to mow down to about 23m from socket but lawnmower has long lead.
Thinking maybe I should get a 25m one (so not so heavy/bulky) and then plug in to a small extension lead if I really need to get right to the bottom of the garden. (unless this will be too annoying in anyone's experience?)
Think highest power consumption will be using power tools (eg drill/angle grinder/ pmf), maybe work light, and a hoover when it is preferably not fully uncoiled....amp rating for that? does having open/handbag style or enclosed reels make a difference to that? (I'm inclined to enclosed/handbang cos old open reel cable tangling used to annoy me.)
Is IP44 rated worth it? (thinking you shouldn't be using electric tools in the rain anyway? -but have managed to angle grind through a pipe in past filled with standing water which sprayed everywhere )
Fixed sockets? (can see why- an annoyance in the past - but unless I'm missing something they all seem to be a lot of extra £££££ )
(What I do think would be handy too are switched sockets -less faff changing blades/bits etc but I often use a switched double adapter)
House has RCD protection -so don't need to worry about that
Help - just too much choice!