Public Charger Cable Coiling: The Shopping Cart Theory of the BEV World

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Hey, all. So, I've edited and deleted a few posts in this thread and I hope we're back on track now.

I think this whole topic has highlighted an issue I hadn't previously considered: while I am a cord coiler and a returner of shopping carts, not everyone is equally-abled and I shouldn't be as quick to judge. With the added COVID contamination possibilities, I can see how this can be more of an issue than it was in the "before times."

To me, public charging cords have always been a challenge. They're a so-called friction point. They may be left on the ground in various sorts of conditions -- dirt, puddles, snow, and ice. They may even one day be targeted by wire thieves, making upkeep constant and expensive.

It is for this and other reasons, I think that wireless charging will, at some point, become a sought-after feature and eventually just the way it's done.
 
insightman said:
There would be no issues with public charging cord etiquette if people here had to bring their own cords the way they do on the other side of the Atlantic. Less opportunity for easy vandalism, too.
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Interesting - I did not know other countries were "bring your own cord".
 
Here's another tangentially related observation. Part of the problem is how people coil the cords. Literally coiling them means that when one grasps the nozzle and pulls it to the vehicle, for each loop on the hanger, one twist is imparted to the cable. I know of two ways to prevent this:
1. Coil the cable onto the post using a figure 8. This is sometimes difficult, as the cord is thick and doesn't like two turns in the short distance from the post to the ground, so I prefer:
2. Just draping the cord over the post, left to right to left to right, basically making a figure 8 that is supported in the middle. That way, as people take the cord off, the top drapes are lifted from the post and the cable lies flat.

My top photo in the OP is way #2.
 
F14Scott said:
1. Coil the cable onto the post using a figure 8. This is sometimes difficult, as the cord is thick and doesn't like two turns in the short distance from the post to the ground
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I believe this is known in professional (performing arts?) circles as the over-under method of coiling. Once I learned of this I've been doing it with everything – extension cords, hoses, rope, etc. – and it's so much nicer. Using this technique really helps with uncoiling too. It took some practice, but now it's so natural I can't imagine doing it any other way.

 
I would love if we adopted the “BYO” approach to charging cables. Charge stations would look less messy, the stations would cost less, and damaged plugs would be a non-issue.

I haven’t come across any such J1772 systems where the cable is removable. Could it be a regulatory issue in the US?
 
Puppethead said:
I believe this is known in professional (performing arts?) circles as the over-under method of coiling. Once I learned of this I've been doing it with everything – extension cords, hoses, rope, etc. – and it's so much nicer. Using this technique really helps with uncoiling too. It took some practice, but now it's so natural I can't imagine doing it any other way.

Click to expand...

Nice/agreed. The important thing is that there is no "net" twist imparted to the cable during the coiling; rather, it must be wound with left twist then right twist then left twist, etc.
 
Chicago said:
What you have to understand is that is not a single person coiling it like that. It takes a dozen or so for it to get that bad. With Covid, until every user is fully vaccinated, you can't call out anyone as savage for not untangling it.


(And yes, that was me using the one next to you.)
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This is more blame on the media. Surface transfer of Covid is so minimal hospitals aren't even concerned with it anymore. It was basically false info but no one wants to point out further incorrect "science".


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Recoil45 said:
This is more blame on the media. Surface transfer of Covid is so minimal hospitals aren't even concerned with it anymore. It was basically false info but no one wants to point out further incorrect "science".


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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It's a valid point that it's not nearly the vector it was thought to be at first. Still, people have every right to exercise the caution they feel is necessary for their situation.

My wife insists to this day on cleaning our hands with alcohol after we leave a grocery store. Drives me crazy, but sometimes it's easier to just let her do it so she feels safer. And, I should add, we're both fully vaxxed.
 
Domenick said:
It's a valid point that it's not nearly the vector it was thought to be at first. Still, people have every right to exercise the caution they feel is necessary for their situation.

My wife insists to this day on cleaning our hands with alcohol after we leave a grocery store. Drives me crazy, but sometimes it's easier to just let her do it so she feels safer. And, I should add, we're both fully vaxxed.
Click to expand...
I say to many, we took a while adjusting to it all, it will take time to adjust back. I have a 13yo we just vaccinated (2nd dose in 1.5 weeks) and I'm finally starting to relax about these things.
 
Puppethead said:
I believe this is known in professional (performing arts?) circles as the over-under method of coiling. Once I learned of this I've been doing it with everything – extension cords, hoses, rope, etc. – and it's so much nicer. Using this technique really helps with uncoiling too. It took some practice, but now it's so natural I can't imagine doing it any other way.

Click to expand...

I have used this method for 30+ years working in the electrical contracting business for all jobsite cords including heavy duty extensions. The lifespan of the cords are greatly extended and usually wear out from insulation defects (drying out and cracking) long before the coiling affect has a bearing.;)
 
Puppethead said:
I believe this is known in professional (performing arts?) circles as the over-under method of coiling. Once I learned of this I've been doing it with everything – extension cords, hoses, rope, etc. – and it's so much nicer. Using this technique really helps with uncoiling too. It took some practice, but now it's so natural I can't imagine doing it any other way.

Click to expand...

I thought, "my way works fine" so I ignored the video until just now after reading @electriceddy's post. It turns out "my way" ends up with the cord coiled the same as in the video but I was rotating the coil in the hand holding the coil 180 degrees before adding the next loop. I was proud of the technique I discovered many years ago, but this technique of reversing just the next loop instead of the whole coil is easier still. Thanks to all!
 
It turns out I don't do the 180º hand turn, but actually push up and under the next coil on alternating coils. I tried the 180º hand turn and that works great too, but not sure if either way is easier. Result is the same.

It's interesting how there are multiple ways to accomplish the same thing.
 
Domenick said:
It's a valid point that it's not nearly the vector it was thought to be at first. Still, people have every right to exercise the caution they feel is necessary for their situation.

My wife insists to this day on cleaning our hands with alcohol after we leave a grocery store. Drives me crazy, but sometimes it's easier to just let her do it so she feels safer. And, I should add, we're both fully vaxxed.
Click to expand...

I fully support freedom and peoples right to do as they wish.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
As a millenial, I don't think this is a generational issue at all. There have always been lazy bones out there that don't put the shopping cart back or the coil the cord up. Calling people out on it is fine, if they want to get upset about it, let them fester, but move on either way.

The pictures look exactly like a whole foods in Pasadena lol.
 
Also a millennial. I will literally return other people’s carts along my path into a store. I don’t understand how people can push a cart around for an hour, but tire out the last 20 feet before the cart corral. Pure laziness!
 
GetOffYourGas said:
Is it better to be in the ignored generation, or the one blamed for all of society's problems?

I'm somewhere in between, in the fun-named "Geriatric Millenials"

https://www.cnet.com/news/geriatric-millennials-what-are-they-and-are-you-one/
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I'll go with ignored... we're used to it anyway.

I am the younger end of GenX (youngest in my family) but still solidly Genx, however I have a lot of friends who are in that "Geriatric Millenial" category. Read a similar article about that last week. Just laughed and joked with my friends about how at least the ones older than them will just be forgotten, and never be viewed as old... or anything

MM2OFBORYZE2VLHBZIFZWFOGQQ.webp
 
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