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Cable reel buying guide: current, cut-out and length

Updated: 22 October 2026

You are in a UK garage, the socket is on the wrong wall, and the reel in the photo has four outlets and a long coil. It is still one BS 1363 plug. A cable reel buying guide starts with the current mark, a thermal cut-out, and a length you will pull all the way off the drum. Extra sockets do not add amps, and metres left coiled are the part that gets hot. The Products Compared editorial team wrote this on 19 October 2026 from the amazon.co.uk listings in the [cable reel comparison](/hub/sockets-and-extension-leads/cable-reel). A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You are in a UK garage, the socket is on the wrong wall, and the reel in the photo has four outlets and a long coil. It is still one BS 1363 plug.

Our top picks

Masterplug Masterplug 25 m open reel

Best overall

Masterplug Masterplug 25 m open reel
9.0/10about £24.00
View offer
Masterplug Masterplug Pro-XT 10 m

Best value

Masterplug Masterplug Pro-XT 10 m
8.3/10about £16.69
View offer
Masterplug Masterplug 10 m cassette

Alternative

Masterplug Masterplug 10 m cassette
7.0/10about £15.01
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What a UK cable reel is allowed to supply
  2. 2.Wound load and the thermal cut-out
  3. 3.Length, format and weather
  4. 4.What this set costs

What a UK cable reel is allowed to supply

A domestic cable reel extends one wall socket. It is not a second consumer unit. The plug should be BS 1363, with a BS 1362 fuse, and the lead needs an earth. Electrical Safety First points out that many reels on sale are only 10 A, so the current mark comes before the length. In this set the Masterplug cassette at about £15.01 is marked 10 A. The Pro-XT at about £16.69 is marked 13 A. Both are about 10 m with four sockets, and those outlets still share one rating. The reel needs a thermal cut-out, because the fuse in the plug does not protect cable still on the drum. The VonLux 16 A inlet does not fit a kitchen socket.

Wound load and the thermal cut-out

Cable piled on a drum cannot shed heat the way a lead laid across the floor can. Electrical Safety First puts a typical wound rating at about 3 A or 4 A, and says not to use a reel that has no thermal cut-out. The Status 15 m listing prints 5 A wound and 13 A unwound. SLx’s user guide for the 30 m and 50 m family states 960 W fully wound and 3,120 W fully extended. That 3,120 W is about one wall socket at 240 V, not per outlet. The cut-out is a backstop. It is not permission to leave a 50 m lead coiled, and you should not daisy-chain a second reel into the first.
Masterplug Masterplug 25 m open reel

Testsieger

Masterplug Masterplug 25 m open reel
9.0/10about £24.00
View offer

Length, format and weather

SLx’s length guide says to buy the shortest reel you can deploy fully. A 10 m cassette covers a bench if you pull it out. A 25 m open reel covers a longer workshop or a dry path when you will use most of it. A 50 m reel is only for a route that really is about 50 m. The cassettes in this set are the two 10 m Masterplugs, and open frames are the practical shape at 25 m and 30 m. Rewind is on the open cable reel or cassette page. A bright cable is not an IP rating. Rain and an RCD are on the outdoor cable reel page.

What this set costs

Prices below are the amazon.co.uk shelf prices stored with these listings, in GBP. From about £15.01 to £19.95 you get the 10 A cassette, the 13 A Pro-XT, and the Status 15 m reel. Its 4.6 from 21,068 reviews mixes other lengths, so that count is not proof about this 15 m model. The Masterplug 25 m open reel is about £24.00 with 4.7 from 4,909 reviews. The SLx 20 m IP54 reel is about £34.99, the 30 m SLx about £44.99, and the indoor 50 m Brennenstuhl about £69.99. Pay the longer prices only for a route you will unwind.

Common questions

Is 10 A enough for a kettle or a heater?
Often no. Electrical Safety First notes that many reels are only 10 A, and a kettle or heater that wants a normal UK socket is the load that shows the gap. In this set the £15.01 Masterplug cassette is the 10 A listing, and the £16.69 Pro-XT is the 13 A cassette of similar length. Four sockets on the 10 A reel do not raise the mark. A light or a charger can sit inside 10 A. You still read the drum.
Do four sockets mean I can run four 13 A tools?
No. The sockets share the rating of the reel and of the single BS 1363 plug. Four outlets are for small loads that add up to that rating, or for one tool and a spare place to plug it. They are not 52 A. Where an SLx guide prints 3,120 W fully extended, that figure is about one socket, not a sum across the face of the reel.
Should I buy 50 m so I am covered later?
Only if you will unwind most of it. A long reel left coiled is the case Electrical Safety First warns about, because a wound drum is typically a few amps, not the unwound 13 A. The 50 m Brennenstuhl here is indoor H05VV-F cable at about £69.99 and 5.9 kg. For a 10 m garage job, a reel you can empty is the closer match.
What is a thermal cut-out for?
It opens when the reel overheats, often because the cable stayed on the drum under load. You reset it only after the reel has cooled and the load is lower. It is a backstop, not the everyday way to run a coiled lead. Do not buy a reel that has none. The Status listing prints 5 A wound, a bit above the 3 A or 4 A Electrical Safety First treats as typical, so the label on your reel still wins.
Is a campsite 16 A reel better for the house?
No. The VonLux 10 m reel is a 16 A hook-up inlet feeding four 13 A UK sockets, with an IP44 claim. That supply plug does not fit a BS 1363 wall socket. It can be the right reel on a pitch whose bollard matches the inlet. It is the wrong reel for a kitchen or a garage socket at home.

Related pages

Best cable reel

Cable reel

How to use a cable reel: unwind it before you start

Open cable reel vs cassette: length and the rewind

Outdoor cable reel: IP54 covers, an RCD, dry grass

Sources

Sources taken from the research digest. Listings were scored on 19 October 2026. This page did not run a lab test.

  1. Electrical Safety First — Extension leads and cable reels (retrieved 19.10.2026)
  2. Electrical Safety First — Overloading sockets (retrieved 19.10.2026)
  3. Electrical Safety First — Garden (retrieved 19.10.2026)
  4. Electrical Safety First — Lawnmowers (retrieved 19.10.2026)
  5. legislation.gov.uk — Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016, regulation 35 (retrieved 19.10.2026)
  6. BSI — BS EN 61242:1997+A13:2017 (retrieved 19.10.2026)
  7. Philex — SLx 30 m and 50 m user guide (retrieved 19.10.2026)
  8. SLx — How to choose cable reel length (retrieved 19.10.2026)