I am using the 250-foot coils of romex that come shrink wrapped in plastic with a plastic band on the outside. The obvious way to get the wire off the coil is to tear a hole in the center of the plastic and pull from the inside of the roll. The problem is that when you are pulling out 50 or 100′ for a run, you get this big corkscrew effect that is a pain in the butt to straighten out.
I thought of building a little set up where the romex coils would go on spools, and then I could mount these horizontally and pull from the outside, something like the takeup reel that they use when you buy wire by the foot off a big spool at the store. But that seems like a lot of trouble for what use I would be getting out of it.
Anyone have any simple solutions to this? I tried untwisting it after measuring and cutting what I need, but it still seems to end up twisted. I just want the installation to look neat when it’s done, not a corkscrew stapled up to the joists.
Thanks.
Replies
See here http://forums.taunton.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=tp-breaktime&msg=41985.1
Also get a piece of pipe through the coil and nail it between 2 studs with some bent nails.
I was watching a guy pull wire yesterday. He had a very nifty 'dispenser' that had a clamp for mounting on a stud (works in new construction or with a wall open). He was using a large spool (500? 1000?) and the wire was coming off the roll from the outside in, and it was coming off flat, no corkscrew. 250 footers are wound from the outside in and basically suck for that reason.
Thanks for the link to the old thread. I wasn't thinking outside the box for the orientation of the spool. (was thinking it had to be standing up like a wheel.) I like the concept of the hanging by a string 2x6 design. I think I'll build that this evening. Could even get all fancy and do it with a lazy susan bearing, and maybe even a double decker design for different coils - i.e. one 12/2, one 14/2, maybe a 14/3?
Thanks again!
Actually, you don't need a bearing. We build these on the job for pulling wire - a 2x4 T about 24x24, a bit of scrap OSB to secure the 2x4s together, a wrap of romex secured with a staple or two and a bent nail at the top, through the wire and hooked over another nail. They spin about the vertical axis and the wire comes off flat.
Myself, I have a snap for a dog leash that I use in lieu of a nail. It has a swivel.
ToolBear
The spool holder is the way to go. If you only have a little to do, you can take off the end, weigh it down with something heavy, and roll the rool across the floor, uncoiling it flat. It's awkward in a small space, though.
Actually, that "corkscrew" effect is a good thing. It minimizes the electronic noise pollution coming from the Romex. Telephone wire for years has been called "twisted pair" because they deliberately twist it.
At any instant in time, the current in the hot is going the opposite direction to the current in the neutral. Having alternating twists so that equal amounts of hot and neutral are on the near side of the run to you cancels out the inductive effects.
So, stretch out your Romex, clamp the far end down, and make a hook you can chuck in a drill motor to put more twist into it.
-- J.S.
John, once again I have to ask, are you making this up?
What effects might I notice in my home if I was to have untwisted Romex vs twisted?
It's sure easier to work with flat.
Joe H
He is not making it up.
But unless you are are trying to do brainwave studies in your home and you are using cheap, poorly designed equipment at that, you will never know the difference.
On the old telephone lines that were two separate wires on the old glass insulators, they would periodically cross the wires so that they ran on the opposite side of each other to minimize the static and such that they would pick up - not that it did that much good...
I took a empty can that fit the id of the spool and screwed two round pieces of 1/4 ply.Drilled a hole in the middle and had a spool.I actuly ended up making two spools and built a tote that held the contraption.I used it a few times but most the time freinds and family are borowing the thing for there projects.Its about 5 years old and no warany work yet.
3 phase power transmission lines do that also. It reduces the inductance of the powerlines.
Don't remember how often they do that.
So I can't blame poor TV reception & Bill Gates Blue Screen Of Death on my flat Romex?
The tarnish on my tinfoil hat is caused by atmospheric pollution, not misaligned electrons?
Joe H
No, this is real. But not too important. You'd probably get a noticeable difference if you had some lights on a dimmer at about half brightness and you were trying to listen to a weak or distant radio station. It would also make a difference for recording stages where they run low level microphone lines a good distance. But those are always done with EMT, which is much better even than twisting the Romex.
I think to do much good you'd have to twist it at least 360 degrees per foot, which would give you a flat place for stapling every six inches. And with that you'd want to put the radio at least a yard from the nearest Romex.
-- J.S.
If you pull from the center it gets too curled up to staple. I found that if you completely remove the plastic wrap and strap, then you can unwind it from the outside. This results in less twists. You can also "unroll" it so that it comes off straight from the coil. I never used a holder to do this, just hold the coil in both hands and feed it from the outside. Keep turning the roll until you have enough (or a few feet more), then cut.
Electricians I hired used this method succesfully, and I tried it for two runs to the 3rd floor. Worked well.
For the coiled romex, purchased without a spool, I built a simple device. Take two pieces of 1x3 furring strips, cut a little longer than the diameter of the purchased coil. Screw them together flat, creating an 'X'. Cut two pieces of the romex, about 2 feet long each.
The only thing I purchased was a large swivel hook (hardware store). Pass the two pieces of romex through the loop on the bottom of the swivel hook. Staple (romex staples) the romex to the under side edges of the 1x3, creating a type of pyramid.
Set your coil on top of the 'X', passing the romex/swivel hook through the center of the coil.
The swivel hook can be hung from a piece of conduit, supported between two saw horses. The 1x3 frame supports the coil flat, and the swivel hook allows the contraption to turn as you unwind romex. Make three of these things, and pull three lines at a time. Works like a charm, once you figure out what the hell I'm describing.
If it's not clear, let me know. I'll try to improve the description.
Kind regards,
--TJM
I made this reel which has worked really well for me for years. Periodically, I have to replace the base because it gets warped or the vertical rod gets loose in its socket.