---
kind: "section"
citation: "30 C.F.R. § 18.45"
title: "30"
number: "18.45"
heading: "Cable reels."
url: "https://uscodex.org/cfr/30/18.45"
---

# §18.45. Cable reels.

- (a) A self-propelled machine, that receives electrical energy through a portable cable and is designed to travel at speeds exceeding 2.5 miles per hour, shall have a mechanically, hydraulically, or electrically driven reel upon which to wind the portable cable.
- (b) The enclosure for moving contacts or slip rings of a cable reel shall be explosion-proof.
- (c) Cable-reel bearings shall not constitute an integral part of a circuit for transmitting electrical energy.
- (d) Cable reels for shuttle cars and locomotives shall maintain positive tension on the portable cable during reeling and unreeling. Such tension shall only be high enough to prevent a machine from running over its own cable(s).
- (e) Cable reels and spooling devices shall be insulated with flame-resistant material.
- (f) The maximum speed of travel of a machine when receiving power through a portable (trailing) cable shall not exceed 6 miles per hour.
- (g) Diameters of cable reel drums and sheaves should be large enough to prevent undue bending strain on cables.

## Notes

### Authority

Authority: 30 U.S.C. 957, 961.

### Source

Source: 33 FR 4660, Mar. 19, 1968, unless otherwise noted.