150 ft. 16/3 Extension Cord Storage Reel with Stand

seriously, just bore a hole in the spool using a hole saw

This is working great with my otherwise unwieldly 100 ft extension cord. However, and several other reviewers have pointed this out, it works WAY better if you cut a 1 -1/4" hole in the axle and feed a few inches of the female end out the non handle side. This way, you can plug in to an outlet, walk to your job location unwinding as you got, plug into the female outlet end, then unplug and wind it up as you walk back to your power source. I can't give it 5 stars, but if they had put this hole in it for me I would have. In cutting you run the risk of breaking the axle plastic but I got lucky using a spade bit. A hole saw would be ideal if you have a long enough arbor. Just be advised if you use a lot of amps you should probably unwind it all the way to avoid heat buildup.

I couldn’t figure this thing out. I knew there had to be an easier way so I came back and looked at the reviews and saw that several people said they drilled a hole in the middle to feed the electrical cord through. I didn’t have a drill bit big enough but I drilled a hole and then cut a square out with a razor knife so the male end of the cord fed through the center hub. I fed about 5 feet through it which would reach my outside plug and from there it was easy breezy! Very happy!

This product could be five stars if a 1 1/8" hole for the entry of the cord was available through the center hub, near the retainer clip. I drilled my own hole, and it works perfectly. Without the hole, the entry end of the cord swings around while you wind the cord.

This is cord storage and can be used as an extension cord. I've been using a 100' thick extension cord on and off for a while, and always end up piling it up into a box so I don't trip over it, but this still caused it to twist and tangle, and causing me frustration and time when I take it out to use it again. Bought this cord storage reel at Home Depot (lower cost than other big box store). Disappointed about the simple instructions which is for storage ONLY just like the product name said. However, I needed it for frequent use so developed a way to make it so I can also use the cord and wind it back for storage. PRO: It's lightweight, easy to rotate, stands independently on its own flat footing or lay horizontally on its non-handle side if that's the space you have, compacted my 100' of thick extension cord as a storage unit ONLY if you follow their label's simple instructions. Read below for a TIP on how to start it as a Storage reel, and BIG TIP if you want to make it a very USABLE storage unit as long as the cord does not have any cuts or wires exposed. CON: The label's simple instructions sets this up for ONLY 'storage', but insufficient if you're going it also want to use the cord while wound up in the reel. TIP: Either way, begin by making sure your entire cord isn't all twisted up or it will be very lumpy, hard to wind up onto the reel & will use more reel space. To start winding your cord onto the reel, the inside reel has a molded starter hook to place the initial end of your cord (the plug end). Unfortunately my 100' heavy duty orange extension cord was too thick to fit into this start-hook and I didn't want to force the cord into such a narrow hook (either the plastic hook will break or my cord will tear and expose the wires inside). As a work-around, you can take your cord's plug end and use a short strong tape to hold down the cord onto the inside reel if you're only using this as storage. Continue winding the rest of the cord until you reach the (socket) end, and weave the socket head through the big circles on one of the sides to keep cord in place while being stored. BIG TIP to make this a USABLE storage: BEFORE beginning, make sure your cord is not twisted, tangled, have any cuts or exposed wires. Take at least 10 to 15 inches of the plug end cord and weave it thru the big circles on one of the sides, leaving the plug to hang out from one of the outside big circle. Use a strong short tape and tape a small area of the cord onto the inside reel where the plastic start hook is located. Start winding the rest of the cord until you reach the socket end, then connect both socket and plug ends together to keep everything in place. This allows you to store it neatly, the plug and socket ends readily available to use and for unwinding/re-winding capability when both ends are not together. Hope this helps all you long cord owners.

Need to have lead wire so I can plug in cord to outlet. In order to do this you need to compress the tab holding the 2 sides together. I'm unable to compress the tabs, therefore the reel is not useable

I've seen better. I won't buy anymore. Useless to use to wind up or pull out in a hurry-it doesn't. It's quicker to do contractor loops. It's a good compact storage for a long heavy duty electric cord

works great rolls up cord easily and neatly