"Tricycle" Cord Reel

"Tricycle" Cord Reel FARM SHOP Miscellaneous 27-2-10 "It might look odd, but it really comes in handy for running out heavy electrical cord around our farm," says Graydon Dennis, Peace River, Alberta, about the "tricycle" cord reel he built out of old bicycle parts and a commercial cord reel. By holding onto a handle with one hand and turning a crank with the other, he's able to let out cord as he walks along. "It was cheap to build and works unbelievably well," says Dennis. The reel holds 300 ft. of cord. It rides between two 28-in. bicycle wheels that are supported by a frame made of steel tubing. A third wheel is located ahead of the wheels. Dennis mounted a bicycle crank mechanism on the frame which drives a bicycle chain and a 10-speed tightener. A sprocket mounts on the end of the cord reel. "It's very light which makes it super easy to maneuver," says Dennis. "To wind the cord back up I just crank the reel and follow it back to the outlet. It eliminates the need to coil the cord up like a lariat and watch it get all tangled up as you let it out. "I already had the reel and the bicycle parts. I didn't want the hassle of having to pump up tires, so I removed the tires from the rims and bolted some old discarded V-belts to them." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Graydon S. Dennis, Box 6144, Peace River, Alberta, Canada T8S 1S1 (ph 780 624-8790).

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