Those extension leads, on a drum

[Harry Bloomfield]

So do you think people might have a use for ones like those in a domestic environment?

One would be handy to have around, just in case, in the home, yes. Much less out of place, than an ugly drum real extension.

 

[morqthana]

If you think in terms of incandescents, the light output is usually 6-10 times that of an incandescent bulb of the same wattage. 120W worth of LED therefore should produce about the same amount of light as would 720 W - 1,200 W of incandescents - which would be an awful lot of light, at least in a domestic setting

Many of the rooms in my house are (adequately) lighted with just 12 W or 15 W of LEDs.

I did just guess at "half an amp or less".

But back in the day, work lights with 500W linear halogen bulbs were widespread.

 

[morqthana]

One would be handy to have around, just in case, in the home, yes. Much less out of place, than an ugly drum real extension.

Indeed - I've got both sorts, and the 50m drum reel doesn't get much use indoors.

But that doesn't help us with this:

I advocate sufficient socket-outlets so that extension leads aren't required.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

But that doesn't help us with this:

I think we are mostly in agreement on that point..

 

[morqthana]

An industrial grade cable reel, is one on a tubular bracket/stand, allowing the cable to be run out by simply pulling the plug end of the cable, leaving the reel in place.

I'll fix that for you

An industrial grade cable reel, is one on a tubular bracket/stand, allowing the cable to be run out by simply pulling the plug end of the cable, leaving the reel in place, having first found double-figures kg of weights to place on the tubular frame to stop it moving or falling over as you pull the cable.

 

[morqthana]

I think we are mostly in agreement on that point..

Does he actually have any useful purpose?

 

[plugwash]

The question has to be why would anyone, living in a normal domestic environment, in 2025...................An industrial grade cable reel, is one on a tubular bracket/stand, allowing the cable to be run out by simply pulling the plug end of the cable, leaving the reel in place.

Both myself and my parents have large reels on tubular stands, though I wouldn't exactly describe them as "industrial grade" (in particular the side peices of the reel are plastic, and on my parents one they are starting to break down with age), they get used for a two main things in my experience.

1. When doing DIY electrical work in the house, a large part of the house may have it's power shut off. My house and my parents house are both built out of rock-hard brick, good luck making holes in it with a normal cordless drill. A cordless SDS+ might work, but those are pricy and very heavy. Corded hammer drills are what we have always used.
2. To provide power in the garden, either for running gardening tools or woodworking tools. Gardening tools have longer leads than most appliances, but still often not long enough to reach all of a large garden,

We also have some of the smaller cassette style reels, often used for powering laptops, or sewing machines or other stuff that doesn't have a permanent place and doesn't have a long enough lead to always reach a socket, and also for DIY jobs that don't require shutting off the power. Sometimes we also use leads not on reels.

We could install more sockets, but I'm not sure it would help much, appliances rarely come with more than a meter or two of flex, and that's often not enough to reach the nearest wall.

 

[morqthana]

I can't imagine why I would ever need to use a 6, 12, 25 or 50 metre extension drum or cassette indoors.

Well yes, the longer you go the more unlikely it would be to need it, but for temporary use, doesn't a cassette which stows away neatly provide useful benefits over a multiway with a 5m cable on it, even if it's in the 5-15m (say) range?

 

[JohnW2]

I did just guess at "half an amp or less".

... and that was 'fair enough', but ...

But back in the day, work lights with 500W linear halogen bulbs were widespread.

... not in domestic premises. Even in the days of incandescents, many houses had little, if anything, more than 500W's worth of bulbs in the entire house!

 

[JohnW2]

Well yes, the longer you go the more unlikely it would be to need it, but for temporary use, doesn't a cassette which stows away neatly provide useful benefits over a multiway with a 5m cable on it, even if it's in the 5-15m (say) range?

It would, and I do own such things and very occasionally use them indoors (but virtually never in my own house). However, as I've explained, within my own house I can't think of when I would need even 5m, let alone 15m. The one exception is if/when one needs to power some appliance 'from a different circuit', pending repair of a failed circuit, but that is very rare and genuinely temporary.

 

[morqthana]

... not in domestic premises.

I've got a 500W work light, somewhere. A bit bashed about, IIRC, keep meaning to dig it out and see if it's worth investing in some LED R7s. Didn't realise I was very unusual.

They're still sold, although who would buy them over LED IHNI.

Even in the days of incandescents, many houses had little, if anything, more than 500W's worth of bulbs in the entire house!

Maybe not indoor ones, but you've got some 500W floods.

 

[JohnW2]

I've got a 500W work light, somewhere. A bit bashed about, IIRC, keep meaning to dig it out and see if it's worth investing in some LED R7s.

So have I - and, as you may have noticed, I recently discovered (by asking here) that LED R7s exist, so have now upgraded it!

However, I was talking about inside a domestic property - where I wouldn't have expected to find a 500 W light

Maybe not indoor ones, but you've got some 500W floods.

As above,I wasn't talking about 'indoors'.

 

[SUNRAY]

I use them indoors, usually 2 or 4 at a time.





However usually as auditorium uplighters for plays

 

[JohnW2]

I use them indoors, usually 2 or 4 at a time. .... However usually as auditorium uplighters for plays

Hmmm ...

... not in domestic premises. ....

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

We also have some of the smaller cassette style reels, often used for powering laptops, or sewing machines or other stuff that doesn't have a permanent place and doesn't have a long enough lead to always reach a socket, and also for DIY jobs that don't require shutting off the power. Sometimes we also use leads not on reels.

We could install more sockets, but I'm not sure it would help much, appliances rarely come with more than a meter or two of flex, and that's often not enough to reach the nearest wall.

The way I decide, is if an item of equipment is regularly used at a certain location, and using it there requires an extension, then I consider adding an extra socket. I have added many, over the years, usually that takes place just before I decorate the room. My garage and workshop, have so many sockets, I often forget where they are, but in there, of I see a need, I just add one - I don't like using extension in there, because they are a trip hazard. Many are overhead, so the flexes drop straight down, to where I am working. Some located above workbenches, at the back wall, some located on the front edge face of the workbench, for work done on the floor near the bench.

As said, I do have some none reel extensions indoors, the longest is around 3m. They are rarely used, usually needed when something needs power in the centre of a floor area indoors.