lead well verses spool reels

By Tyler1970 (***)

Date 02-27-2011 22:30

reels get hotter than wells. but reels are way faster to roll up. and if u have your reels onto ur bed and not built onto ur machine, its a pain to get on a buggy. like wells getting on a buggy your leads will have to just be hung off the hood of ur machine or rooled up in the bed. ither build reels onto ur machine or build a nice lead rack. but the wells can keep ur lead locked up at night where those five finger discounts happen often.

By Rig Hand (***)

Date 02-28-2011 00:15

Reels are really nice but, so is having your leads when you walk out of the motel in the morning.

I've learned my $600 lesson. I have lockable wells.

By altnden (*)

Date 02-28-2011 00:29

That same thought has crossed my mine. I also have heard about the heat issue with them spooled up tight. Do you men have any prefrence in the regular black coated lead verses the orenge lead.

By Rig Hand (***)

Date 02-28-2011 00:39

I use 1/0 black lead, never had trouble, got a little warm when I was gouging but everything does. A buddy of mine ran #1 and he about blistered his hand one day reaching into his wells.

I haven't used the orange super flex, but I'm hoping at buy some this summer.

By altnden (*)

Date 02-28-2011 01:00

yes that super flex is supposed to be the best ,so is the price 2/0 in a 250' or 500' a little over 4-somethinf a foot delievered anywhere encluded in that price.Thats from a place in Chicashaee Oak. But as they say it only cost a little more to go first class.

By Tyler1970 (***)

Date 02-28-2011 03:10

i have been running my reels for over a year now. they do get warm, but like people say when they will melt the coating off. just get a little warm and thats about it.;

By tighand430 (***)

Date 02-28-2011 06:31

I put mine in wells right from the get go. I'd heard too many stories of hands comin out in the mornin to a few inches of lead left. The reels will get smokin hot if they're wrapped up tight an been running big rods all day on a firing line unless you spool out extra lead. The wells take a lil longer to roll up but to me, the cost of replacing 300' of lead is more than the time to roll up. Also, I'd get the ulti-flex lead. It stays extremely flexible in very cold temps where the black stuff gets so hard you can't get it to loop up.

By wagon83 (**)

Date 02-28-2011 00:51

I had mine on reels after being stolen twice in one week I went with the wells and a cover I can lock. They have been safe for 2 years now

By altnden (*)

Date 02-28-2011 01:01

i do like the lock tops on the lead wells

By Cumminsguy71 (*****)

Date 02-28-2011 11:15

I've got homemade reels right now and have worked without them before and love my reels. After plugging away all day long it's nice to grab the handle and roll up 200' of lead in about 5 minutes. I've worked with mine halfway out and never had any problems with the wire getting hot, but mostly run 1/8" rod, sometimes 5/32". On the last job I'd spool out most of the cable the wrap it under my hitch then over my vise on the back of the bed and wind it all up that way. When I was riding next to the pipe I'd only take off what I needed to reach the pipe. When I got ready to get off in a ditch I'd unwind more and when it was time for lunch I'd wind it back around the hitch and the vise and drive to lunch. Worked out well and did not have the leads wrapped real tight.

I've heard about cable missing when coming out of the hotel and heard of guys spooling off there cable into the room and then closing the door at night. Lead wells will be safer I suppose but all your gonna have is a padlock on it and a guy wanting to steel something is gonna steel it, besides that who's to say you won't come out and find the whole truck gone one morning. That's why the insurance man gets so much money from me every year I suppose! LoL! I'm surprised with all of these high end cable reels out there that nobody has come up with a quick release so you can slip the whole deal in the hotel at night, something I've been considering as I adore my cable reels. Either way it's about what works best for you, sets your mind at ease. If they can't steel my cables then they'll bust the tool box open and clean it out, can't get in there maybe they'll bust the window out and steel my hoods, my radio. I guess if they have easy access to the cable at least that heavy sh_t will weigh them down so they leave the rest of the gear alone!! Hahahaha!

Here's a pic of what I was talking about looping my cables, this works out pretty well and then you don't have all the cable on the reels heating up but then you don't have all of your cable stretched out on the ground either.

By 52lincoln (***)

Date 02-28-2011 22:55

im curious why wouldn't you just roll them up when you went to lunch?not trying to sound like a smart ass just kinda wondering

By Cumminsguy71 (*****)

Date 03-01-2011 12:19

I guess I did it this way because we were running a straight run for a bit, then off in a ditch for a bit, then back up the road in another ditch, basically all over the place. I left them like this because they rode well, were not gonna get stolen at the eatin house. I'd roll off 75' or so in the morning and just wrap it up like this and then roll off what I needed at a particular spot where I was working. This way spools didn't get hot or anything and was not rolling them up and then out 10 times. End of the day one of the guys or me would roll up the garden hose extension cord and welding leads and go home. Rolling up before lunch meant, unwinding all of the cable around the hitch/vise, pulling it straight, rolling it up and then doing the opposite when I got back from lunch. If I left it wrapped around the hitch/vise and went to lunch I've saved myself time/extra work peat and repeating and I could just get to work instead of toying around connecting everything again. Sure it probably only amounts to a few minutes to roll up but figure 5-10 minutes to roll up, 5-10 to unroll and repeat this for a week you've got 100 minutes of work doing something you can eliminate easily. 100 minutes I don't have to charge them for rolling out/up over and over, 100 minutes I can get straight back to working on the line instead of dragging out again. Basically, it works for me and it didn't sound like a smart azz question 52lincoln, just a question.

By altnden (*)

Date 03-01-2011 18:39

Hey cummingsguy71,That landscape sure looks familier where was that pic taken?

By Cumminsguy71 (*****)

Date 03-01-2011 19:19

Over here in southern middle Tn

By altnden (*)

Date 03-01-2011 23:18

around giles ,lincoln or lawrence co?

By rig welder6 (**)

Date 03-01-2011 23:49

I have had good luck building hooks and loopin them dont get hot and pretty easy to wrap on and off and i havent had any "missing lead" where i have been so thats my .
.02

By Cumminsguy71 (*****)

Date 03-02-2011 11:27

Around Lawrence Co. I'm in Maury right on the edge of Lewis,Lawrence co's.

By Johnny Walker (***)

Date 03-02-2011 13:46

I run wells it's fast and easy for me!

By ryan gaspard (**)

Date 03-04-2011 04:52

nice looking rig from the back,give us a few more from the side and the front.Any of u guys out there working take a couple of pictures of ur rig and post them on here.never know when u will give someone a good ideal of rigging up.