Smart power This isn’t your grandfather’s extension cord By Mike Mavrigian
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C power is obviously an indispensable feature for any shop, to power an array of electric components. For on-demand power (for operation of various electric hand tools), all of us are accustomed to using extension cords and springretractable extension cord units. Loose extension cords plug into wall sockets and live a tough life, being dragged around the shop, getting walked on, getting flthy from shop foors, being tangled into a frustrating puzzle when not handled or stored carefully, etc. Spring-retractable power cord units (mounted to a wall or a ceiling) are sometimes fnicky during pull-out, position locking and retraction. Also, it’s common for spring-assist units to sometimes The ceiling mount model features a heavy-duty swivelwildly whip the cord during fast ing mount and a steel ceiling mounting base. retraction, with the possibility of the power cord head smacking into the convenient location. The ceiling mount, as operator or a nearby vehicle. We’ve come the term implies, mounts to the shop ceiling. to accept these shortcomings as a natural OPERATION aspect of a shop environment. Now for the really cool features. The ball Sometimes, technology works in our favor. housing pivots in all planes, aligning with An example is the new RoboReel power cord system. While the features may at frst the direction of the extended cord. The cord’s power head (where you plug in your seem like overkill to some, the benefts tool) features a center-located button that quickly become appreciated to even the allows you to turn the power on/off and to most stubborn of us. retract the cord. Simply press the button, The 50-foot 12-gauge power cord is and the power shuts off (indicated by the stored inside a free-pivoting ball housing LED lights turning off). Press the button that features an electric motor. Two veronce more, and the electric motor retracts sions are available, including a portable the cord back into the ball housing. unit and a ceiling-mount unit. The portable When the cord retracts to a pre-proversion features a built-in carry handle and grammed point (yes, you can actually resting frame. It can be bench-mounted or wall-mounted with the appropriate optional program this unit), the cord slows down until it reaches its stopping point. This brackets, or carried around the shop to any
52 | January/February 2013
