Wire Choice

[Techoverload]

Ok so I figured since there always seems to be alot of questions on wireing I would post what I have used done that seems to work very well.

I went to home cheapo and bought the .187 red female terminals (look in the electrical section by where the conduit and other industrial electrical stuff is) came in plastic boxes of 100 fully insulated (the terminal itself is also covered with plastic) these were like 6.99 per box

My wire choice was a spool of thermostat cable 20 guage twin wires red and white (wires arent actually attached to each other just sorta intertwined) this is solid core wire the whole 500 foot roll (which means 1000 feet total) was only I think 15-20.

The wire strips nicely and being solid core it holds whatever shape you bend it which makes for a very clean instalation. Also being solid core the I-pac screw terminals grab it nice and solid.

Because it is labeled thermostat which means it isnt rated for high current (say 110-220v) it is nice and cheap  

This is what I have used and have never had a problem.

Just thought I would share

[Violineb]

Hmm and I thought stranded was the only way to go :p
Very nice information....but.....

Now, as much extremely useful info as there is on this site I have to say one thing, it's very difficult to find ANYTHING. So either someone write a complete idiot's guide (which I might do when I'm not busy with violin, SAT, HTML, PS7 etc) or saint could somehow organize some things. Just to find Lucid's site I had to use Google. Not a biggie, but considering it is THE design to use, I'd expect it to be in the examples page.

I have no idea why I'm getting this all out now (and not in a seperate thread) but it's just something I think should be considered here, because as far as I know, the only way to get questions answered here is to ask on the forum.

[dmsuchy]

Thanks, That makes sense also the sold will hold its position much better then stranded.

[Techoverload]

I like using solid core wire...... not sure what the argument against it would be since it isnt being used for say audio but instead just as a very low voltage switch system I cant think of anything that would make using stranded absolutley the only way to go. Heck thermostat cable is meant to send almost exactly the same "signal" as what we use it for........ generaly a thermostat signal is sent at 6-12 volts to throw the relay on your heater/ac unit.

The one thing I didnt mention is when preping them for the quick disconnects if you are putting just one wire in (not chained for the the common ground) the crimp will hold perfectly if you strip enough off the end to fold it in half then insert into the terminal and give it a good squeez.

[EtherHawk]

I know the site is in the process of being redesigned, but I would second the vote above about this being moved to the wiring section of this site.  Definitely looks like a nice way to go, and the quick interconnects will make redoing everyting easy when I change my mind about the layout 5 times as I am putting together my prototype.

Thanks.

[Lilwolf]

Trouble with solid core is if you move your wires at all (I have a hot swap control panel... so I change it every few days).

Your connections to your disconnects wear down with motion since the wires don't move... they add force to the connections themself.

I thought mine was fine for a while... but after a few months I found I kept having to redo the connections as they would just start falling out.

But if yours isn't moving... it might work for you for years...

[LoRDDeVO]

other problem with solid core wire is if you move the wire alot you tend to break the wire at the connector (ipac, quick connect, etc.) Not recommended especially if you are bending the wire to shape or hotswapping your control panel

[Techoverload]

I would have to respectfully disagree with the reasoning behind not using solid core. yes it will break if you keep bending it. However it takes quite a bit of back and forth to overcome the tensile strength.

As far as the connection to the terminals as long as your crimp is good and tight I have alot less problem with solid then straded as stranded tends to flatten out when crimped and maybe only be actually grabing one or two strands...which is incredibly weak.

Just my opinion though

[LoRDDeVO]

use what you want man I just had problems with solid core with wirings breaking off soldered parts