stupid question

[conor_thompson 10+ year member]

this might be a stupid question and i think i know the answer but i saw that welding wire insulation is fire/chemical/abrasion resistant. is normal power wire the same? like would it be better to run 2/0 of welding wire vs. skyhigh?

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[Mass Car Audio 10+ year member]

Yes welding wire has better insulation. I always use welding cable for my builds.

 

[Side Show 10+ year member]

^^ cheaper too

 

[jrdnhsnbrg 10+ year member]

Does anyone have any places online that sell welding cable? Gotta make a pair of jumper cables.

 

[winkychevelle 10+ year member]

Car audio wire is usually the same if it is high quality

 

[Mass Car Audio 10+ year member]

Car audio wire is usually the same if it is high quality

Yes but welding cable will have better insulation.

 

---------- Post added at 09:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:10 PM ----------

 

Does anyone have any places online that sell welding cable? Gotta make a pair of jumper cables.

Any local welding supply store will carry welding cable

 

[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

Yes but welding cable will have better insulation. 

---------- Post added at 09:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:10 PM ----------

 

Any local welding supply store will carry welding cable

Not if the wire is good quality. Also the car audio wire is thicker than welding wire

 

[rfluvinmf 10+ year member]

ROYAL EXCELENE WELDING CABLE

Google is your friend.

 

[Mass Car Audio 10+ year member]

Not if the wire is good quality. Also the car audio wire is thicker than welding wire

Really I did not know that, Ive never seen car audio power wire that had good insulation on it. All the car audio wire that I have seen is just coated with plastic and no insulation.

 

[Side Show 10+ year member]

^^ not true... the actual core in the car audio cable seems to be thicker and the insulation thinner

 

[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

It depends on the wire and company The cover is sometimes just that and insulation. Just depends on the outer cover material xs power wire and stinger hpm wire are both good examples

 

[mlstrass 5,000+ posts]

Usually 1/0 car wire = 2/0 welding wire

Did 4 runs of Sky High CCA 2/0 in a scion a few months ago, not the easiest to work with. Runs from batt bank into the amp ****** as the wire was way too big and CCA is a PITA to trim down and twist tight...

 

[SamIam71]

Until car audio wire makers begin to subscribe to the actual standards for wire sizes, I would avoid them like the plague. The idea that company x makes a better 0 gauge wire than company y because their wire is thicker, is ridiculous. If you wear a size 11 shoe, you don't buy size 13 because bigger is better do you? A 10g shotgun shell isn't better for a 12g shotgun is it? unless you are using a known good wire, made to correct size and tolerances, it will be almost impossible to properly fuse the circuit. Wire is a sidebar sort of market for most car audio companies. I would recommend buying your car audio components from reputable makers in the field, and buying your wire from those that specialize in making quality wire.

 

[bbeljefe]

Until car audio wire makers begin to subscribe to the actual standards for wire sizes, I would avoid them like the plague. The idea that company x makes a better 0 gauge wire than company y because their wire is thicker, is ridiculous. If you wear a size 11 shoe, you don't buy size 13 because bigger is better do you? A 10g shotgun shell isn't better for a 12g shotgun is it? unless you are using a known good wire, made to correct size and tolerances, it will be almost impossible to properly fuse the circuit. Wire is a sidebar sort of market for most car audio companies. I would recommend buying your car audio components from reputable makers in the field, and buying your wire from those that specialize in making quality wire.

Your analogies don't work very well. Yes, where the conducting of high currents is concerned, bigger is most certainly better and there is no such thing as too large a wire where current flow is concerned. As for fusing, there are formulas that allow anyone with a calculator and enough intelligence to push the buttons on it, which facilitate choosing the proper fuse.

As for the difference between welding wire jackets and car audio wire jackets, you're comparing apples to oranges. Welding wire is designed to be drug across rough surfaces, through harsh chemicals and is often exposed to direct sunlight for prolonged periods. Car audio wire, on the other hand, is designed to be run once in a vehicle, where it isn't exposed to much, if any, sunlight and unless you're doing some strange stuff with your vehicle, it isn't exposed to dragging across rough surfaces or through harsh chemicals.... save the occasional oil leak or spill of thinners or gasoline. The jacket is thick and soft (ideally) because it needs to compress and conform to the vibrations inherent in a vehicle and because it needs to resist cutting on sharp edges.

So in the end, the answer to the question "is welding wire better" is... better for what?

 

[SamIam71]

While my analogies may paint with a broad brush, they are more relevant than not. It is easy enough to calculate a wire's abilities with some fairly simple mathematical formulas, but why should you have to? After all, there is a standard set forth by the industry that works well when applied. It would hardly be practical to use trial and error methods to find a desired wire characteristic, when there are makers of wire that will be honest about their product specifications.Buy whatever you want, as for me, I don't want to have to calculate the efficiency of wire, when it should be made known, I don't want to have to weigh a 5 lb bag of sugar at the market because anything can be put into a bag and sold, and so on. There are standards in industry for reasons, and if a company chooses to disregard them, then buyer beware. Now as to which wire is better, welding wire. It is built to industry standards and governed by ANSI standards.