Customer Reviews

Bayco K-100 150-Foot Cord Reel

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

i've owned a couple of these (not through amazon) and they do work, especially with cords 100' or less and not greater than 16g. I am writing this to help those who have or are looking to purchase one of these. this tip will make this a useful "tool" AND save you half the time and hassle.

rather than winding this thing end to end, unroll the cord and fold it once. the male and female ends should now be together. at the opposite end is the middle of the cord. take some plastic zip ties (3 or 4 minimum) and zip tie the middle of the cord to the cord wheel. now when you roll the cord, you are rolling both ends in at the same time. i roll with one hand and use the other to feed the incoming cord so they stay side by side and feed it evenly over the center hub of the reel. now both male and female ends are ALWAYS visible and accessible. when you need cord, put it 1/2 way between the wall outlet and the jobsie and unfeed both ends at once. way easier to show someone than to type, hopefully you get the idea!

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I used the "wind from center" method mentioned by another reviewer and was able to easily and quickly wind my my Coleman Cable 02589 12/3 Vinyl Outdoor Extension Cord with Lighted End, 100-Foot. (See the attached video for details.)

Other than that, there's not too much to be said. You spend your < $15 and get something that will make your long extension cord much easier to use.

If I ever buy more long extension cords I'll certainly get more of these as well.

OK, there is more to say... How I got 100' of extension cord onto this reel. What I did was to walk the cord out, so it was completely extended and then walk one end back to the other. That gets the plug and socket at one end and the middle at the other. I put a couple Cables to Go 43036 Cable Ties - 100 Pack (Black) (not these exactly but something I had on hand that is the same thing) at the middle to make a ring and put that ring onto the hook on the reel. (If you don't have any cable ties you might still be able to just hook the cord middle in the reel hook and wind it up that way.) Then when I wound up the cord it pulled the middle in first and the two ends last.

BTW, I feel that honest, effective reviews, accompanied by detailed videos, can take the place of first-hand experiences that are often lacking in online shopping. I've always appreciated the help I've received from other reviewers and try to return the favor as best as I can. I hope you found this review helpful and the video at least entertaining. If there was anything you thought was lacking or unclear leave a comment and I'll do what I can to fix it.

The cord I'm using is the Coleman Cable 02589 12/3 Vinyl Outdoor Extension Cord with Lighted End, 100-Foot which is probably a little thicker than most but maybe not as thick as some.

Some other reviewers suggest doubly winding the cord to allow for partially unreeling. I've not tried that, but seems like it would work. Not sure how easy it is to reel that doubled cord though.

Others suggest drilling a hole in the spindle and passing the female end through the hole. This will work, but if you have any length of the cord sticking out, it's going to fly around as you try to wind the cord.

If you want to singly wind the cord without the free end flying around, then you can make a modification that stores the free male end on the outside of the spool hub. To do this you simply have to notch 4 of the 5 hub splines. This is fairly easy to do with a sharp utility knife and needle nose pliers. Then you can clip the male plug into one of the holes in the hub. See my customer photos for the details.

As you unwind, the free end will stay out of the way. After unwinding the amount that you need, just free up the male end from the hub and plug it in the outlet. To reel in, just store the male end on the hub and reel it in. The free end stays completely out of the way.

I have a 50' cord wound on this reel and it's sturdy enough for that much cord. Bought mine at Home Depot and I've used it often in the many years that I've had it. It's held up great. Yeah, it's plastic, but sturdy enough. Nothing has broken or fallen off of mine.

Giving it 5 stars because, for the price and with the modification I suggest, it's does a great job.

I agree with the other review regarding this being only a storage reel. However, for pure storage and being wall mountable it is perfect for me. I still have an electric blower and electric trimmer. I use the entire length each time I use these. I used to use the old elbow around the thumb cord wrap method. The cord got to the point it was almost unuseable due to the cord twisting. I put this on the new reel, mounted on the wall and my old twisted cord is almost as good as new. I like this solution

Wow some pretty fancy reviews and photos of mods for a $10 item! Thanks for the ideas and pics, I had not thought of them. For the price you can't expect a lot, it does what I need.

In my opinion if you have a hole saw then Henry's got the best idea overall and that is what I did, saw a hole and in my case feed the female receptacle end through it. If you don't have a hole saw then Todd's idea is genius too, except that I want the female receptacle end to be the one to keep at the reel and not the male plug end, and it will get in the way more than the way you can wedge the male prongs end into the plastic.

My use model in the yard is to plug in the power (this is the free end that is wound onto the reel last) then hold it in my hands and unspool it as I head across the yard to where my leaf blower or power tool is and setup there. That way I don't have to walk back to the other end and plug it in, like Todd's way. Saves trips :)

A tip: IF you like to use it by setting it on the ground and pull the cord here is a tip to help keep it from tipping over: Just be sure that the cord is being fed off of the bottom of the reel and NOT the top, this is a lot less tipping force and you should have no problem, I don't (when I sometimes use it that way).

Very time consuming and frustrating to use. If you read some of the other reviews they will recommend using a zip tie to hold the middle of the cord so you can wind both ends evenly. While this does work, pulling the cord to use it is way more time consuming than it's worth and after only a week it was starting to damage the casing on the cord - a Yellow Jacket 12/3 Heavy-Duty Extension Cord which is not some cheapo cord. This product was definitely not well thought out. Eventually I got sick of spending more time trying to wind the cord than I was actually using the tools so I went back to using the over-palm-and-under-the-elbow method. Also, I found this same exact item in L0we's for two dollars cheaper. All I can say is this is a waste of plastic.

This cord reel serves well in storing and using my Coleman Cable 02409-88-04 100-Foot 14/3 SJTW Vinyl Outdoor Extension Cord, Red. As the reviewer R. Armstrong suggested, one only needs to fold the cord in half, place that "middle" end under the hook of the reel (see additional pictures) and start rolling in "both" cords for storage. When you need to use it, just place the reel approximately half a distance between wall outlet and the job site and pull the cords out. It works for me.

Not enough weight in stand to help coil a cord. Pieces fall off if you use it more than once. Waste of money.

Serves my purpose.Attached to the wall and drilled a hole thru the center and non handle side.This allows the plug end of cord to slide thru allowing the remainder of 100 ft cord to coil without any difficulty.It was mounted 1.5 ft from the outlet.

I probably have one of the first ones made. I didn't buy it from Amazon, I don't think Amazon was around when I bought it. I've had it so long it has turned yellow. I bought 2 and gave one to a Brother Inlaw. He still uses his, mine finally gave up the ghost this week. I just now ordered 2 more from Amazon, I hope they will be as good as these. I used it mostly with a Leaf Blower. I also use the double-wind method and since I need it portable I mounted it on a 1X8X24" board and when rewinding the cord I stand on one end of the board this keeps the reel sturdy and easier to rewind. When using it I place the reel at the halfway point of the worksite this gives me room to maneuver without having to drag the reel.