Recommendation please, insulated stranded hookup wire - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: Dabbo56
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 20, 2022, 09:52:52 pm
content: I’d like to stock up with insulated, stranded, single core hookup copper wire in various colours for general use in projects. So looking for recommendations from old hands. I’ve been down the rabbit hole, reading about all the million varieties and performance figures, and my head is spinning.Say up to 600 volts and a “few” amps suitable for connecting power supplies or speaker leads etc. The insulation should be nice and flexible. What AWG/mm2 do you keep handy? Which manufacturer makes a decent product?By the way, when did hookup wire get so expensive?

author: Dabbo56
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 20, 2022, 09:56:46 pm
content: Mouser UK Hook-up Wire 16 AWG Hook-up Wire 1000 feet £ 1,436(later amended by OP: sorry, this is for a premium product. Real price should read a quarter of this)

author: floobydust
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 20, 2022, 11:22:50 pm
content: Overall - wire is crazy expensive 50¢-$1/ft.Copper priceswere almost double, see-saw a lot yet wire prices don't come down...I would stay away from the cheap chinese hookup wire, they have no certifications with terrible plastic insulation that is very thick (to cover up the skinny copper), gets hard after even 1 year, and the copper oxidizes into some black hell. Plenty of scam aluminum-core wire (with copper plating) out there as well. Very rare to see an ad using the word "copper".I find it's actually worth it to salvage wire from old equipment, or bite the bullet and buy high quality wire like Alpha, Belden, Carol etc. They do have some assortments as well.

author: jfiresto
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 21, 2022, 07:24:39 am
content: Quote from: Dabbo56 on October 20, 2022, 09:56:46 pmShould I read that as 1436 pounds sterling? That is a full order of magnitude greater per meter than I have seen for a 100m spool of 1.5mm^2 stranded PVC hookup wire.

author: Dabbo56
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 21, 2022, 07:30:33 am
content: jfiresto, Yes it is:https://www.mouser.co.uk/c/wire-cable/hook-up-wire/?wire%20gauge%20-%20awg=16%20AWG

author: Dabbo56
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 21, 2022, 07:45:20 am
content: floobydust, I agree your observations on cheap and nasty hookup wire. The insulation can be thick and brittle. As good as online shopping is, I miss being able to go into a store to touch and feel the product before buying. I didn’t realise sellers were substituting copper plated aluminium. You’re right about salvaging old wire and cable.

author: exmadscientist
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 21, 2022, 07:59:20 am
content: That's Alpha Wire. Alpha Wire is expensive. Don't buy regular hookup wire from Alpha Wire if you're paying for it.I usually get bog standard UL/AWM 1007 stuff from McMaster-Carr, of all places. McMaster does not, as a general rule, win on price, but for some reason their wire is quite cheap. I've used Jameco in the past, and have shortlisted Remington Wire but there's always McMaster orders going out so that ends up clearing the backlog. (There is some Remington magnet wire floating around here which is perfectly fine, hence why I've looked at them.) Unfortunately those suppliers are all fairly US-centric.In terms of gauge I've been preferring 26AWG lately as a good match for usual bench work. I've sized down a bit from 24AWG, as 26 is better for some of the smaller connector series we use but still carries plenty of current. 26 or 24 AWG with 105degC insulation in free air can carry a lot more current than people think it does. We stock a lot of other stuff for various uses, but it's usually in that range for signal, or 22 (sometimes 20 or 18) for power. Sometimes 14 or 12 for serious power in enclosed chassis. The 4/0 does not often come out. (Okay, it actually comes out a lot, but just for fun.) But 26 is the only size we stock all colors for, so you know that's got to be the favorite.

author: EPAIII
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 21, 2022, 08:09:00 am
content: Here in the US name brands include Belden and Alpha. I am not familiar with brands across the puddle.In the past I have obtained most of my hookup wire by stripping multiconductor cables and spooling the individual conductors in them. I would look for a ten conductor cable with the colors of the standard resistor/components color code. Often, I was able to salvage scraps of cabler from my places of employment where they were discarded as not long enough to use. This wasn't used cable, just new pieces that weren't worth keeping by those companies, so it was headed for the dumpster anyway. Well, on second thought, some of it was used. But very little can go bad in wire or cable just because it has been laying in a duct and passing electrons. Going by today's prices I have seen fortunes in copper being thrown away.Also, I have never gone wrong by visiting a local electronics store and purchasing whatever brand they had on hand.While copper has become quite expensive, some of the insulating materials can also be. Unless you have a real need for them, teflon and insulations rated for use in ventilation pathway areas can be avoided.Again, I don't know about your locality, but often I have been able to obtain hook-up wire from electronic surplus stores at real favorable prices. It may help to be a frequent customer and friendly with the owner(s). Yes, I know this does not work everywhere.

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 21, 2022, 08:22:55 am
content: Quote from: Dabbo56 on October 20, 2022, 09:52:52 pmYour list of requirements is makingmyhead spin! I think you need to tie down what you want more precisely.For normal interconnects within projects, normally 7/0.2mm stranded PVC for in-cabinet work and 30AWG solid core (wire-wrap wire) for non flexing application on PCBs and proto boards. For higher current, 16/0.2mm. For inernal wiring stuff you don't need extra flexible - in fact it becomes a positive liability because it won't stay where it's put.Are you really going to be going up to 600V for general stuff, that sounds excessive. If so, in what context? 4mm Shrounded plug Silicone or flexible insulated test leads are often rated up to 1kV. Unless you are making lots, and can afford the high cost of reel lengths and can find / fit shrouded plugs, you would be better buying these off the shelf.For speaker cable, buy speaker cable - this seems completely unrelated to the hookup wire requirement... unless you are planning to make your own out of single wires.As you're in the UK. Try RS / Farnell / CPC / Rapid etc. CPC at least look to have 7/0.2 in reasonable 100m reels. Also think about how many colours you want - monochrome wiring is a pain to follow.

author: jfiresto
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 21, 2022, 08:33:26 am
content: Quote from: Dabbo56 on October 21, 2022, 07:30:33 amThat is impressive "pricing power". The wire I looked at, AFAIK, is still made in Germany bywww.xbk-kabel.de– although perhaps not for long given the recent enthusiasm for suicidal self-sanctioning.

author: HobGoblyn
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 21, 2022, 09:23:03 pm
content: Not sure if this is the sort of thing you are afterhttps://uk.farnell.com/alpha-wire/6716-yl005/wire-eco-16awg-yellow-30-5m/dp/1764976?st=hook%20up%20wire%2016%20awgAn elderly client of my wife, was complaining that her extension lead was getting very warm when she plugged her heater in, my wife bought it home for me to check.Cable was far to thin, it was cheaper for me to get a dirt cheap extension lead off of Amazon than it was for me to buy just the cable from screwfix etc

author: artag
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 21, 2022, 09:35:54 pm
content: I stock up when I find it at boot sales (radio rallies). Some is good, some is a bit oxidised and needs decent (rosin-based) flux to solder well.But whenever I buy small reels from retailers or ebay, it has horrible pvc insulation that melts far too easily. Whatever Alpha and other good makes use is much higher temperature. Wire-wrap wire with kynar or tefzel insulation is also good stuff but only single core.Silicone insulation is lovely but expensive. Worthwhile sometimes.

author: KE5FX
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 21, 2022, 09:49:55 pm
content: It seems silly, but Ireallylikethis cheap Chinese wirefor low-current prototyping and maintenance work. It is very flexible (and stays that way over time), the insulation integrity is fine for wire this size, it solders flawlessly without melting or emitting anything noxious, and best of all you can strip it instantly with your fingernail.One odd thing is that while the wire I bought is 30AWG, under the part #B07G2SWB19, that part # now brings up some heatshrink tubing, and they no longer seem to sell the 30AWG size at all. So, caveat emptor, but hopefully the 28AWG size is just as good.

author: themadhippy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 21, 2022, 10:38:54 pm
content: for general tinkering i just buy what's cheapest when i need a restock,currently working through a stash of pink 7/0.2mm (24awg) that worked out at 1.7p a meter,but has recently shot up to 3p a meterhttps://cpc.farnell.com/concordia-technologies/6003202-10m/equipment-wire-7-0-20mm-pink-10m/dp/CB19557?st=hok%20up%20wire

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 22, 2022, 01:51:05 pm
content: My everyday hookup wire is 0.25mm2(24AWG) stranded PVC insulated from Helukabel or Kabeltronik, type LiYf (German VDE 0812 wire code, in this case, Li=stranded, Y=thermoplastic insulation, v=tinned). Costs around €30 for a spool of 100m.I rarely need thicker. I’d buy that as needed.You can buy this at Conrad.com and pay €10 shipping to the UK.

author: WattsThat
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 22, 2022, 02:53:26 pm
content: You don’t need/want 600v rated wire for electronics, 300v is sufficient. The 600v rating just increases the insulation thickness adding cost and making the wire harder to strip. If you ever need 600v rated wire, chances of it remaining at the usual 20 gauge or smaller sizes typically used in electronics projects are pretty unlikely.I buy Carol/General Cable brands from DigiKey and Mouser that are a bit lower in cost than the big name brands. I don’t mind the additional expense to get consistent tinned wire and an insulation quality that solders without effort and a jacket that doesn’t deform/melt.Remington typically uses second tier suppliers (like Carol/General) so their quality should be fine. But, be careful if you’re in a hurry. Just because it shows in stock, it doesn’t mean it’s ready to ship. I had a project recently where I needed some 500 foot lengths of 18 gauge in various colors for an industrial control panel build. I called them just to be sure it would ship same day and it turned out that in stock just meant they had the desired length on a master reel that needed to be respooled. Typical turn-around for that respool was a week to ten days. Bummer. But, I was glad I asked. I ended up buying from Automation Direct as it was guaranteed next day (with free shipping!) but it ended up with the wire quality being just okay. Some colors were bare copper, others were tinned. It didn’t mater for my application but I would have been more than annoyed if I had to solder the bare copper stuff.