How do you know if the cables are really OFC?

[Phased Out]

I just did my first amp install. Nothing crazy powered. I used the NVX 8 AWG amp kit that says 100% OFC. But it does not look or feel anything like any other copper I ever saw in any other wire. Its more bendy, but also much more brittle than plain copper. It also feels a lot less dense than plain copper. How can you tell if this is 100% OFC, or if half of the conductor is the "silver-tinned" part?

Is this really OFC copper? Or is just like CCA, but instead "ACC" aluminum clad copper?

Click to read more...

 

[adulbrich 5,000+ posts]

Silver is more expensive than copper, and more conductive, so I wouldn't be WORRIED if it was mostly silver.

Gotta trust the company, unless you want to chemically test the wire

 

[Phased Out]

Silver is more expensive than copper, and more conductive, so I wouldn't be WORRIED if it was mostly silver.

Is that what "silver-tinned copper" means? I couldnt find anything tgat said silver tinned = silver plated.

 

[adulbrich 5,000+ posts]

There's just a thin silver coating on the copper strands.

Iirc, the copper strands are sent through a solution with the silver dissolved in it, and there's an electric charge that causes the silver atoms to go towards and stick to the copper

 

[Phased Out]

I wasn't sure if it was silver or tin thats silver. I was skeptical of it being silver because you would think they'd point out the fact that silver is a better conductor in all of their marketing materials.

 

[adulbrich 5,000+ posts]

Yeah, but a lot of fuses are "gold plated" and nobody makes a huge deal about it anymore. Silver is cheaper than gold, and a very small amount of the metal is actually used in the tinning process, to produce a large amount of product