I just bought $150 worth of wire (several colors, 100 ft rolls) from Mouser.com and boy am I disappointed. The stuff I got (<<link>>) has a clear plastic jacket on top of the colored insulation, making the wire extra thick and extra stiff and extra-impossible to twist or braid. Bleah!
I'd like to buy some nice stranded wire in ~ 18AWG, that only has a single thin layer of colored insulation ... like the "hook up wire" solid core stuff that has no clear plastic jacket.
Where should I go, what should I do (asked Scarlett O'Hara to Rhett Butler)? What's the secret name of stranded wire with colored insulation but no clear jacket? What companies make it? What distributors sell it?
I'd like to buy some nice stranded wire in ~ 18AWG, that only has a single thin layer of colored insulation ... like the "hook up wire" solid core stuff that has no clear plastic jacket.
Where should I go, what should I do (asked Scarlett O'Hara to Rhett Butler)? What's the secret name of stranded wire with colored insulation but no clear jacket? What companies make it? What distributors sell it?
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Acerracing.com They have 600strand 12awg with or without silver plate. I'm sure they have 18awg. All in single silicone jacket
Weird, my experience is that "simple" sleeve type (just a single layer of caloured plastic) is the "regular" type available everywhere, and your double layer one is the odd type.
I have NO problem at all either twisting or braiding the standard single layer one.
I have NO problem at all either twisting or braiding the standard single layer one.
It's just called hook-up wire, but it can be either stranded or solid.
Belden Global Catalog
Hook-Up Wire | Premium | Alpha Wire
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If you want a lot of flexibility, use silicone insulated wire. I got some from China, good to 200c, 3kV. I use it for tubes with plate caps.
Otherwise Digikey sells 25' rolls of solid or stranded hook up wire, not sure about No. 18, as I use No. 22.
Otherwise Digikey sells 25' rolls of solid or stranded hook up wire, not sure about No. 18, as I use No. 22.
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I just received my order from: 16 GAUGE AWG WIRE 10 COLORS 25 FT EA PRIMARY STRANDED COPPER POWER REMOTE CABLE | eBay.
It will be nice to have plenty of colors to work with and fits your description of a single layer insulation. It has similar flexibility to what you would find in a transformer. One helpful term I found for this outside of hookup wire is “machine tool wire” or MTW. McMaster Carr also has a large selection if you need something specific.
It will be nice to have plenty of colors to work with and fits your description of a single layer insulation. It has similar flexibility to what you would find in a transformer. One helpful term I found for this outside of hookup wire is “machine tool wire” or MTW. McMaster Carr also has a large selection if you need something specific.
I stumbled across "Wet Noodle Wire" from WS Deans. They sell it to Radio Controlled quadcopter builders: 12 gauge, 1660 strands (!) : Deans - Wire
Amazon, among others, carries it.
Amazon, among others, carries it.
Online directories are usually a good way to see different sellers at once.
You can typically find them for just about anything, here are a couple for wiring/cords:
Cord Set Manufacturers Suppliers | IQS Directory
Power Cord Manufacturers | Power Cord Suppliers
You can typically find them for just about anything, here are a couple for wiring/cords:
Cord Set Manufacturers Suppliers | IQS Directory
Power Cord Manufacturers | Power Cord Suppliers
I've used Silicone insulated wire and found that stripping it was a real PITA. It might have been avionics cable so maybe the wire sold to RC hobbyists is different. I use thin insulation TFE insulated wire for finished products and Belden or Alpha PVC wire where I don't use Teflon, e.g., power supplies, and junk PVC wire for bench use. The PVC wire I bought from Remington is like the double-jacketed stuff Mark described in his first post. I don't like it much either. The polyethylene coated wire as found in Mogami cables is very flexible but not abrasion resistant. I bought a thermal stripper for the TFE wire and love it.
It's been awhile but I've bought wire from these guys and was always happy:
Discount Wire, Surplus Wire, Discount Cable, Discount Wire
Phil
It's been awhile but I've bought wire from these guys and was always happy:
Discount Wire, Surplus Wire, Discount Cable, Discount Wire
Phil
I've bought PTFE jacket, tinned stranded from Apex Jr. surplus.
PFTE won't melt when you are a less-than-expert solderer (like me)
Wire
Try seller BNTECHGO on Amazon.com for silicone stranded wire. It is super flexible, single jacketed, tinned and easy to strip:
BNTECHGO Ultra Flexible 18 Gauge Silicone Wire Spool 5 Color Red Black White Blue Green High Resistant 200 deg C 600V Electronic Wire 18 AWG Stranded Wire 150 Strands Tinned Copper Wire Hook Up: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific
PFTE won't melt when you are a less-than-expert solderer (like me)
Wire
Try seller BNTECHGO on Amazon.com for silicone stranded wire. It is super flexible, single jacketed, tinned and easy to strip:
BNTECHGO Ultra Flexible 18 Gauge Silicone Wire Spool 5 Color Red Black White Blue Green High Resistant 200 deg C 600V Electronic Wire 18 AWG Stranded Wire 150 Strands Tinned Copper Wire Hook Up: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific
Thanks tommus -- I put this on my last Amazon order and like it very much.
Very supple and easy to strip as you said. It will be perfect for some tube builds I've got going.Phil
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