First of all, there’s the price tag. At just over 40 quid for a 50-metre cable reel, it is hard to beat, and what’s more, it doesn’t look as if Status have cut any corners to get that price down either.

Centurion EXT1038 2 Way UK 3Pin Plug 10amp Extension Reel with 10 Metre Heavy-Duty Winding Cable and Safety Cut Out Switch We sell a wide range of heavy duty extension leads and accessories, from standard household extension leads to three phase leads used in heavy industry. All our extension leads are fully tested & inspected before dispatch & comply with BS7671 IET guidance notes. The cable itself seemed fine to me, but the outer housing probably wouldn’t take much of a beating, so you’ll have to be careful about dropping or standing on it. I also wouldn’t ever use this outside in wet conditions.Electrical Safety First has devised a calculator so you can estimate the power consumption of the appliances, devices or tools that you’re planning to connect to your extension lead. For general household use, you probably won’t need to worry too much as items like lamps or laptop or mobile phone chargers are very low in wattage, less than 100W in general, and even TVs and Hi-Fi components tend to draw hundreds rather than thousands of watts. That said, it pays to be vigilant: seemingly innocuous small household items such as hairdryers, irons and kettles can consume the best part of 3KW each – and if you’re thinking about electric lawnmowers and power tools, these too can demand kilowatts of power. At the time of writing this article, the centurion EXT was on sale for around 15 quid. That’s not bad at all for a ten-metre cable reel, fully enclosed in a plastic casing. Of course, with the low price come a few minor faults, but for simple home use it is fine, and a lot of people don’t want to spend the Earth for their extension leads. Also on the power, you’ll see there is a thermal reset switch on this model too. When you compare them you can quite clearly see they are almost identical in that respect. I just prefer the feel and wind of this slightly different model.

Some claim to have run four 2000 Watt heaters on one lead. If they did, it wouldn’t be for long and defies science 😀 After all you have a max Watts rating of 13 Amps * 240 Volts (3120 Watts). One heater on full power, or two half power is the most you sensibly want to push through this power cord! If you do manage to overload the cable and pop the fuse then you’ll not have much trouble replacing, it is designed for easy swap over. The lead is hot to touch: This suggests that you are overloading your extension cord beyond its capacity and marks a real safety hazard, as noted above. No, we wouldn’t recommend it. Connecting two or more extension leads together, sometimes referred to as ‘daisy chaining’, is benign on its own but the problem lies in the likelihood that you will be plugging in too many devices that use too much power all at once. This overloading, as described above, increases the electrical resistance in the chain and is often the root cause of fires. So you’ll like the design – as you place in your plug, the lid will come down and encapsulate the plug creating a water tight seal. Here’s a look at that: Now, if you have a smaller garden, the idea of unwinding 50 metres of cable might sound like a bit oof a nightmare, but thankfully, this product is also available in smaller sizes of 20 and 25 metres.Both the metal stand and the plastic reel feel strong and sturdy, and the cable is 13A high quality stuff, not the 10A that is sometimes used in low-cost products claiming to be heavy duty. Every cable reel should have the minimum safety of a thermal breaker. This means that if you don’t unwind the cable you’ll heat up the unit and it’ll cut out. It can still cut out when unwound but you’re more likely to pop the fuse if it’s fully extended. On a straightforward extension lead you would expect a fuse, ideally 13 amp so you can use a table top heater or wall mounted heater (perhaps something similar like a blow heater)