Hookup wire

[Brian Roth]

When the earth was still cooling (1970's), I asked the folks who made the Crown power amplifiers what make/model of wire they used for the wiring within the amp chassis.  Answer:  irradiated PVC.

So, when I built The Beast:

http://brianroth.com/projects/m77/m77.html

...that's what I used.  Fast Forward to 2016....

Need to now stock a pile of hookup wire in all the colors.  Found this company:

http://www.daburn.com/2200IrradiatedPVCHook-UpWire.aspx

$13.00/hundred feet of #22....

Bri

 

[Brian Roth]

I see that my original posting seemed like a commentary, versus opening a discussion.

Teflon insulated wire is a PITA to use.  Ordinary PVC insulation (ie, Rat Shack wire...lol) easily melts with less than careful workmanship.

Seeking thoughts from other constructors, AND suppliers for what I THINK is a choice between two extremes...before I drop some dollars to build up a stockpile for my projects.

Bri

 

[PRR]

You don't say if radioactive PVC is the bee's-knees, or if Crown was full of bull.

Do you like it?

Better than pulling-apart CAT5 cable?

 

[mjrippe]

It sounds like a great product and $13 for 100 feet of tinned copper is a good price.  Is that for the 19/34 or the 7/30 stranded?

 

[JohnRoberts]

I see that my original posting seemed like a commentary, versus opening a discussion.

Teflon insulated wire is a PITA to use.  Ordinary PVC insulation (ie, Rat Shack wire...lol) easily melts with less than careful workmanship.

Back in the 60s (as a technician) I worked on a navy project using teflon insulated wire. We had a set of hot wire strippers that cleanly stripped the wire without nicking or losing any strands.

Seeking thoughts from other constructors, AND suppliers for what I THINK is a choice between two extremes...before I drop some dollars to build up a stockpile for my projects.

Bri

It seems we've talked about this before... stranded wire, of appropriate gauge for the current involved. Insulation type depends on the application... I did one project where I used some power resistors as heating elements (for a slow cooker) and I had to use high temp wire for that...  It was hard to work with.

JR

 

[Brian Roth]

You don't say if radioactive PVC is the bee's-knees, or if Crown was full of bull.

Do you like it?

Better than pulling-apart CAT5 cable?

It's been decades since I actually worked with that wire, but I recall it was pretty easy to strip and work with.  I also recall that it had no "insulation shrink back" from soldering.  However, my memories are kind of dim, so hoping someone here had recent experiences with current production items, or other alternatives to ordinary PVC and Teflon insulated wire.

I have indeed used the conductors from CAT5 "installation cable" in some applications.  The insulation on plenum rated CAT5 conductors holds up well to soldering.  Downsides:  solid core conductor, 24 gauge may be too small in some situations, and insulation voltage rating isn't very high.

Bri

 

[Brian Roth]

It sounds like a great product and $13 for 100 feet of tinned copper is a good price.  Is that for the 19/34 or the 7/30 stranded?

The price was much less than what I found at Mouser.  I was looking at 7/30. 

Some (limited) searching didn't turn up any better pricing.

Bri

 

[dmp]

I have indeed used the conductors from CAT5 "installation cable" in some applications.  The insulation on plenum rated CAT5 conductors holds up well to soldering.  Downsides:  solid core conductor,

I use wire from CAT5 a lot and it is stranded  most of the time. Sometimes when I cut one open it is solid core, but that seems to be the minority.
I either use stranded CAT5 or teflon coated wire for projects, depending on the application.

 

[sircletus]

I have some Belden 20 gauge teflon wire I use for the "nice stuff" and I have no problem stripping it with regular ol' strippers.  Also have a few spools of teflon coated 24 gauge that strips easily.  I use this stripper, had it for years:

http://www.idealind.com/prodDetail.do?prodId=t-stripper

I also sharpen my stripper regularly.

Maybe should have chosen the above words more carefully.  Hmmm.

Only bad thing about the teflon wire is the cost.  OUCH.

Never tried the irradiated PVC, was always skeptical of the  "cost vs. reduced shrinkback" ratio.  Buuuuut, I'm currently in need of some red wire; maybe I'll try it out.

 

[PRR]

> plenum CAT5 ....  solid core conductor

Net-wire comes both ways:

* stranded for patch-cords
* solid for in-the-walls

If you follow behind the guy with his head in the ceiling, he drops scraps of solid because solid is cheaper. If the ceiling is also an air-return (or he is not sure) he should be using slow-burn "plenum" stuff.

The guy making patch cords should be using stranded, else the cords will fail after multiple re-re-re-patching. When they fail they become available for hookup wire.

So you will find at least three different types (solid, solid hot, stranded) in wire-piles.

To me "hookup wire" is for when it just has to conduct and some overwrap would be nice. #24 PVC will do a lot of hookups. Some builds need easy-strip or no-blob cover.

As you say, some paths need fatter stuff, and JR is trying to burn his wire up.

I've bought $150+ of wire this month and can't help you at all; buying #10 Cu to #2 Al.

 

[Gold]

I've never used irradiated PVC. If it's as flexible as regular PVC with less shrink back it would be useful to me. If you want teflon coated wire at bargain basement prices try Apex Jr. http://www.apexjr.com/wire.html. I use 24 ga and it's not too bad to strip with normal strippers. I have automated strippers for cleaner work.  Sometimes I use 18 ga and I  use automated strippers for that. 
http://knipex-tools.com/index.php?id=1023&page=group_detail&parentID=1363&groupID=1379

 

[ruffrecords]

I am a little confused. Is Teflon coated the same as PTFE?

Cheers

Ian

 

[gyraf]

At least I always considered it to be...?

 

[ruffrecords]

At least I always considered it to be...?

Back in the late 70s I worked in the aerospace industry. I was involved in the design of a guidance unit that consisted of about 20 PCBs each with a 40 way connector. The connectors were all hand wired together using PTFE wire. Despite its resilience to soldering, by the time the guidance unit had been built and all the wiring mistakes corrected, it would never pass quality control because of the damage to the insulation. It took me a while but I persuaded them to replace all the hand wiring with a 10 layer PCB.

Cheers

Ian

 

[PRR]

> Teflon ... same as PTFE?

Is "Ford" the same as "car"?

Teflon is a brand name, mostly used on DuPont's Polytetrafluoroethylene, but market-creep has the Teflon name on some other compounds now.

There are several varieties of Polytetrafluoroethylene and several related compounds.

Teflon FEP is often used for wire insulation and is fluorinated ethylene propylene.
https://www.chemours.com/Teflon_Industrial/en_US/tech_info/techinfo_compare.html

Oddly, PTFE is kinda-sorta Polyethylene with Florine stuck in the molecules.

 

[ruffrecords]

> Teflon ... same as PTFE?

Is "Ford" the same as "car"?

Not even close

Teflon is a brand name, mostly used on DuPont's Polytetrafluoroethylene, but market-creep has the Teflon name on some other compounds now.

Over here, Teflon is what makes non-stick pans ....... non stick. Never heard it used in the context of hook up wire.

There are several varieties of Polytetrafluoroethylene and several related compounds.

Teflon FEP is often used for wire insulation and is fluorinated ethylene propylene.
https://www.chemours.com/Teflon_Industrial/en_US/tech_info/techinfo_compare.html

Oddly, PTFE is kinda-sorta Polyethylene with Florine stuck in the molecules.

So I guess that means there are not the same.

Cheers

Ian

 

[Gold]

The PTFE coating is slippery and heat resistant, Like Teflon™.  DuPont Teflon™ is available here as a spray lubricant. It's popular to use on bicycles. When I search for teflon sheet, PTFE comes up.

 

[afropunk]

Hi Brian.

That desk you built is beautiful! You must be proud.

I use Alpha's Ecowire for my projects. I find it has a better resistance to heat than PVC, takes up less room and strips nicely.

http://www.alphawire.com/en/Products/Wire/EcoGen/EcoWire

Let me know your thoughts.

Cheers
Ahmad

 

[Brian Roth]

Thanks, Ahmad!

I looked up Alpha 6713 at Mouser...YIKES...$37.46 per hundred......

Bri

 

[afropunk]

Boo

They hiked up the price for your side of the atlantic...! my bad for not checking... guess i didn't take into account they are local to me
http://uk.farnell.com/alpha-wire/6713-rd005/wire-eco-22awg-red-30-5m/dp/1764934

Ahmad