Storing Electrical Cords

i hate to say it, Dave, but that is not a good way to coil extension cords. yes it helps you get a clean coil, but bending the cable around your elbow like that can put permanent kinks in the cord. also, the extended use of that technique can break the wire inside depending on the gauge of the wire. i also wouldn't secure it like you describe at the end of the comic. i would use a small piece of rope or a velcro tie that is sold at Lowes or Home Depot to just tie off the cable in a loop. that way there is no damage to the cord itself. i feel like a complete nerd/a bit of an a-hole for saying all of this (especially since i love the punch line of that comic) but i coil extension cords every day for a rental company. it hurts us to see people coil them like that. i love the comic though.

i'm with aeh. cords + elbows = cord death, and in the case of electrical cords... = short circuits = fires = your death.

uh-oh.

I'm glad someone else out there refers to that strip when tying up cords. Whenever I'm doing it, I try to look all nonchalant, but I'm actually thinking, "Now what did Gramp do next?"

I store my cords in a 5 gallon bucket. Buy a cheap plastic bucket (I prefer the orange ones at Home Depot). Cut a hole in the side near the base. Place the male end of the 100 foot cord through the hole with about 6 feet of slack. Then coil the rest of the cord around and around in the bucket, atop itself. Then take the 6 feet of male-end slack and bring it over the top and coil it on the rest. You can now pick up the entire cord with one hand by lifting the bucket by its handle. When you want to use it, uncoil the male end, plug it in and simply grab the female end and walk off with it. No tangles, no broken wires in the cord. When finished, it is as easy to recoil it in the bucket as to use Gramp's method. I learned that watching a tip from master carpenter and general contractor Tom Silva on "This Old House".