Where to get AWG 8 and 10 stranded wire that has fine strands?

[HRTKD]

Don't confuse brick and stick with mobile applications. RV and van dc builds require fine stranded wire. The problem with welding cable compared with marine grade. There is no real standard for welding cable except what the individual manufactures say. With marine grade the Coast Guard and international insurance organizations set standards.

If my RV decides to set sail, I have bigger problem. I'll stick with the welding wire. The lugs are tinned.

 

[Ample]

If my RV decides to set sail, I have bigger problem. I'll stick with the welding wire. The lugs are tinned.

What a funny/tragic picture! (I can only assume it didn't end well.) Do you know the backstory?

 

[Ample]

You don't have to buy a roll. From the marine wire sources that @Dzl listed above you can buy by the foot, specify your length, and even have the (tinned) lugs crimped so you have finished cables at a pretty reasonable cost. And then you have tinned cables with tinned lugs that will do a lot better long term. In the grand scheme of things it's not that much more money into your conversion.

Mine's a budget build, but the bolded part is still very true. Thanks.

 

[PHoganDive]

Another thing to consider is the insulation used. I had a cheap set of jumper cables that had plastic insulation on the wires. They seemed fine in the store, but when you're likely to need them is when the temperature is below zero, and vehicles won't start, and the insulation was ROCK hard and stiff at those temperatures. I loaned them out and never got them back, so I got a better set with rubber insulation...those stay nice and flexible at low temps.

 

[Zil]

You bare free to select any wire you want. Good luck to you and yours.

 

[HRTKD]

What a funny/tragic picture! (I can only assume it didn't end well.) Do you know the backstory?

No, I don't know the story. The photo was posted on the Ford Truck forum, where we like to make fun of Chevy truck owners that do stupid things.

 

[John Frum]

"Zip cord", that is sold as lamp cord, is inappropriate for dc circuits in a vehicle.

Why?
Please explain.

 

[RCinFLA]

I recently bought this. Seems fairly good quality with good insulation. Very flexible.

Amazon.com

 

[Hdonly]

I get most of the wire I need from this site. They have just about any kind of wire you need.
wireandcableyourway.com

 

[sunnydaze]

The truck and trailer looks like someone was beach camping and the high tide came in the night.

 

[Mark Lindquist]

I like Amazon - Shonzin seems pretty good and you can buy it in shorter lengths.

Many to choose from - stay away from aluminum junk -

 

[DJSmiley]

Maybe you can check at a local electrician. I don't know if this applies to the US also, but here in europe the strands are classified in 4 ratings:

• Class 1: Solid conductor
• Class 2: Stranded conductor intended for fixed installation
• Class 5: Flexible conductor
• Class 6: Very Flexible conductor

These are listed in the IEC / DIN EN 60228 standard ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEC_60228 )

for my battery build, I used class 6 cables, which we had as a leftover piece from installing our generator (5x 50mm2 - approx 0AWG)

It did come with the standard colors used for 400V 3-phase networks (Black, grey, brown, blue and green/white) but for the + I just added red heatshrink to the grey wire

 

[Hedges]

Why?
Please explain.

(zip cord as wire in a vehicle)
The stuff gets brittle with age and cracks. Probably not high enough temperature rating either (unless it is meant for use with heating appliances.)
At least, the stuff left by my grandparents who date from 120+ years ago is in pretty bad shape.

 

[HaldorEE]

How fine strand do you want to go?

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Goes as fine as 665 strands of 38 gauge.

 

[evad]

Thhn or thwn is going to be 19 strands. Try talking to local electrical contractors you may be able to find roll ends for scrap prices. By using this type of wire you are buying a product which is made to recognized standards.

 

[chrisski]

I was eyeing some AWG 12 zip cord, sold as speaker wire. It was nice and finely stranded. Not that it would make a difference but the jacket was clear plastic (and thus I could see that the strands were fine).

I can’t say for sure, my guess is its not up to code, why is that I don’t know.

I’ve avoided using ZIP wire because when I read the fine print it says audio use only, well sometimes it says amplifier or LED also, but not other DC powered accessories. Zip cord May be advertised for 12 V, 24 V, 36V, but the better advertisements say audio only.

When I’ve been to 3rd world countries, when they want more electricity, they take speaker cord and run it to a power line. Works for them. Probably dangerous as can be, but I’m not sure. Never as a fire there.

I’m stuck at the same thing for some new accessories I want to add to my RV. The stuff at Home Depot is too stiff except for the ZIP cord, speaker wire, or lamp cord. Not absolutely positive what I am going to do on that yet. I’m eyeing some J1128 wire, which I think is secondary wire and I think is not as stiff.

 

[Jims94vmx]

Have you looked at Windy Nation on Amazon? can get pretty much whatever you need.

 

[Hedges]

Besides the clear speaker wire, Home Depo has 16 awg zip code that is for landscaping, UV resistant, for up to 150V.
Should be good for RV DC wiring

Southwire 500 ft. 16/2 Black Stranded CU Low-Voltage Landscape Lighting Wire 55213145 - The Home Depot

The Southwire Company 500 ft. Black 16/2 Landscape Lighting Cable features 2 fully annealed stranded copper conductors approved for direct burial. It is designed for outdoor landscape and security lighting.

www.homedepot.com

https://images.homedepot-static.com/catalog/pdfImages/f5/f59efb2e-26dc-492c-800b-b54143970970.pdf

Another option would be hookup wire, ideally put in some jacket to make your own wiring harness.

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