Cables --> Coils

[Charc]

How to properly coil a cable (a pet pev of mine)

This was mentioned in another thread, so I thought I'd add this question for the masses to answer. What is your technique for coiling cable, what do you consider correct, what are the important characteristics of a coiled cable?

[Van]

Good thread starter. I'd like to add a question on to it as well.
What's the proper way to coil spare feeder cable when it's powered up? and Why.

I never "force" my cable to a "style" of coiling, I let the cable determine coil size and direction.

[Jamie]

i've always over-undered cable to avoid kinks and allow easy throwouts

[Jezza]

Ah, this is a GREAT thread. Ok, I'll start, but I'm sure there will be many to follow. ALL cables, well all the ones I am aware of, have a right hand turn built into them. That means the cables inside, as well as the insullation, tend to turn and lie twisted clockwise or to the right.
If you coil a cable against this right hand turn, it becomes knotted, kinked, and can potentally ruin the cable by improper coiling it, or putting a left hand turn into it. Ever see someone coiling an extension cord over their shoulder, you know, how everyone in America, besides people in the entertainment industry do it? They are ruining their cables. Ever seen a cable to badly kinked and notted and gunked up you know it doesn't look right? Well that's what can happen to a cable.
SO! If your a righty, grasp end of said cable in your hand so that the plug facing towards you and the actual cable droops down away from body. Now, making a loop about 1.5' in diamater with your right hand, bring both hands together while using your fingers of your right hand to role the cable to the right about 1/4 turn. This is putting a right hand spin on the cable. You'll notice that the cable will WANT to spin in the direction and will also generally "tell" you how large of a coil it wants to be in. If you come across kinks, splay them out all the way and even spin them down to the end of the cable if you have to before starting to coil again. One kink and you'll ruin the whole thing.
That's different to visualize, but maybe someone on here has a link to a video of how to correctly coil a cable?
As for coiling feeder, it should ALWAYS be done in a figure 8 on the floor, near your distro, disconnect, trussing, etc. By coiling the cable in a figure out, you end up canceling the phases and not allowing the cable to create an electromagnet. Too much feeder coiled up running at too high an amperage has to possibility to not only create this electromagnet, but also over heat very quickly, and possibly melt. This is especially important when working with 3-Phase feeder

[Van]

Originally Posted by Jezza

As for coiling feeder, it should ALWAYS be done in a figure 8 on the floor, near your distro, disconnect, trussing, etc. By coiling the cable in a figure out, you end up canceling the phases and not allowing the cable to create an electromagnet. Too much feeder coiled up running at too high an amperage has to possibility to not only create this electromagnet, but also over heat very quickly, and possibly melt. This is especially important when working with 3-Phase feeder

Very good! I've heard guys joke about being able to levitate a crescent wrench in the middle of a circular feeder coil, I don't know if that could really happen, but by figure-eighting feeder cable you do cancel out the possibility of building yourself an inductance coil that could cause over heating. We followed a rule in the movie biz as well, that anytime you needed to cross a couple of peices of 2-0 or 4-0 cable, you always do it at right angles.

[Logos]

I see no problem with any of the above advice. Lets hope we have no sailors on here. I had a running battle over about three years with an ME who was a sailor and coiled left.

[stantonsound]

If you are south of the equator, do you coil the opposite way? Isn't it like the water in the toilet thing?

[JD]

Right on the figure 8! The other way to handle surplus feeder is to spread it out in the electrical room if there is room. Avoid coiling or stacking any cable.

Now, as for coil technique, I usually go with a two foot loop. Let the cable tell you how it wants to be rolled! If you are holding the loop and the next loop wants to go in the other direction, rotate the loop and let it. Not all cable spins to the right! I used to use SDN37 for truss feeders. There were three layers of wires inside the cable, each layer rotated in the opposite direction. Some of the old multi-core Belden used multiple layers that all rotated in the same direction. Only the cable knows, but it will tell you as you try to wind it up. The only cable I have problems with is that wide-temperature cable that seams to have no mind of its own!

[NABster07]

Here is a link to a good video of how to coil cable.

http://stagecraft.theprices.net/gall...lewrap-rm.html

Hope it helps.

[JD]

Good time for an old "war story" about feeder cable! Somewhere around 1979, I did a show for AC/DC in Northhampton PA. I had a young crew that day, so we went early and got a head start on the set up. After focusing the show I headed out for a bite, only to be interrupted at the burger joint by a freaked out roadie screaming that the sound company was getting a horrible buzzing in their system from the lights. (Like dinner ever worked!) I returned to the venue and started inspecting cable locations. There was no slack on the feeders at the dimmer end or the switch end. Odd, because there should have been a lot. The stage was on a 24 inch riser, I followed the cable under the riser only to find that one of my young crew had neatly coiled the slack under the riser, directly under the monitor mix board!