welding supply wire vs others...

[knukonceptz 10+ year member]

two 1/0 equal a single 4/0 - the copper area of two 1/0 cables equals that of a single 4/0 cable (based on AWG ratings)

 

[photocrazy8 10+ year member]

hey man can u put a 25cent or 1dollar next the the wires, itll give us a much better idea !!!//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

yes i will //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[reneeb7363 10+ year member]

here's my $0.02 -- I used to weld and repair hi voltage equipment (pumps) both electrical and Plumbing/water industry related. (licensed in the state of Idaho.-- so you don't think I am talking out my arse again.)

IF you are going to use welding wire, NG is right... it will rust something fierce and the jacket, unless you buy top quality stuff, will not tolerate a LOT of weather extremities, UV, etc... so:

1) protect the wire with loom inside the engine compartment.

2) after making any splice or connection, protect the exposed copper with an electrical sealer. This stuff is messy and very difficult to remove from skin and clothes. An example of the spray on sealer:

http://products3.3m.com/catalog/us/en001/utilities_telecom/electrical_contractors/node_GS7MN7W74Mbe/root_GST1T4S9TCgv/vroot_GSBCDFDZ1Zge/gvel_KN2J85R1D7gv/command_AbcPageHandler/theme_us_electricalcontractors_3_0

Working in the industry, where I spliced SUB (read underwater) connections, I would recommend the liquid form... comes with a brush or you can dip it.

3) Use heat shrink tube, that has the sealer/glue inside, evenly heat it without burning--yes, this requires patience.

Because we were submerssing the wire, sometimes under 100's of feet of water our method was to first make a good physical connection with a crimp or bolted fitting, seal it jacket to jacket with electrical sealant (gawd I wish i could remember the name of that brown shtuff we used to use) then we heat shrink it... tape it (tightly) from jacket to jacket over the heat shrink tube, then apply sealant again. I NEVER had a faulty connection doing it this way and, after pulling a pump that I had placed 4 years prior, we cut out and tore apart the splice... and the wire was as new and dry as the day we put it in.

so... after this incredibly long reply... you can use the welding wire... just make sure you take the time to finish off the connections and protect the wire, your car, and your system.

 

[AJ²06 5,000+ posts]

^^^

So Im going to go with KLM wire over the weildingsupply one. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[15nissen 10+ year member]

Kicker is the best wire ive ever used/owned.........hands down

 

[AJ²06 5,000+ posts]

Kicker is the best wire ive ever used/owned.........hands down

TRUE... if it wasnt soo dan expensive... I'd et sum more

 

[photocrazy8 10+ year member]

Kicker is the best wire ive ever used/owned.........hands down

i wish it was cheaper but i just might take one for the team and buy 2 spools....

sonic electronix has kicker for $5.00 a foot, so only $.75 cents more than the stinger HPM...

 

[Ruffy 10+ year member]

Needs Knukonceptz, Needs Streetwires, Needs Kicker

Knu can be had for 2.99 a foot for 1/0. I'd pay that difference to get a more flexible cable

 

[Ruffy 10+ year member]

and kicker shows up on ebay alot , 50ft for $60-$90 or $1.20 to $2.00 per foot.

Even at the more common $150 it's only $3 a foot. I see it on ebay for that price at least once a week.

 

[15nissen 10+ year member]

i got a complete kicker kit that included 18 ft. 1/0 wire, 8 ft 4 gauge wire, 2 distro blocks, 1 maxi/anlfuse block for 90 out the door. this was from a local shop. ive seen the same kits for like 120 shipped. thats not that bad at all

 

[SQBubble 10+ year member]

did someone ever used monster power cable??

*edit: wonder if the patented magnetic flux tube really works!

 

[photocrazy8 10+ year member]

Needs Knukonceptz, Needs Streetwires, Needs Kicker
Knu can be had for 2.99 a foot for 1/0. I'd pay that difference to get a more flexible cable

knu and kicker are on their way to be added to the data...

did someone ever used monster power cable??

not that i know of im trying to find a foot to compare

 

[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

FWIW - if copper is taken as the ideal conductor at a value of 100...Aluminum is about 60.

That's doesn't mean very much.

Actually, it means a lot.

Conductance or resistance per length are always more valid specifications since those are constants while ampacity varies significantly with length.

If you compare 2 1/0 gauge wires, for example, the ampacity of the aluminum wire is around 80% of the copper wire, meaning it can carry 80% of the current that the copper wire could.

How do you figure??

Copper %IACS = 100

Even the most conductive form of aluminum is

How do you come up with 80% as much "ampacity"? I suppose I could agree if we're talking about 10' of copper and 5' of aluminum.

Another useless bit of info - silver has better conductivity than copper, but I sure don't want to see what a 1/0 gauge run of silver wire would cost.

Yes, silver's a whopping 5% more conductive than copper, and only costs 40x as much.

 

[knukonceptz 10+ year member]

here's my $0.02 -- I used to weld and repair hi voltage equipment (pumps) both electrical and Plumbing/water industry related. (licensed in the state of Idaho.-- so you don't think I am talking out my arse again.) IF you are going to use welding wire, NG is right... it will rust something fierce and the jacket, unless you buy top quality stuff, will not tolerate a LOT of weather extremities, UV, etc... so:

1) protect the wire with loom inside the engine compartment.

2) after making any splice or connection, protect the exposed copper with an electrical sealer. This stuff is messy and very difficult to remove from skin and clothes. An example of the spray on sealer:

http://products3.3m.com/catalog/us/en001/utilities_telecom/electrical_contractors/node_GS7MN7W74Mbe/root_GST1T4S9TCgv/vroot_GSBCDFDZ1Zge/gvel_KN2J85R1D7gv/command_AbcPageHandler/theme_us_electricalcontractors_3_0

Working in the industry, where I spliced SUB (read underwater) connections, I would recommend the liquid form... comes with a brush or you can dip it.

3) Use heat shrink tube, that has the sealer/glue inside, evenly heat it without burning--yes, this requires patience.

Because we were submerssing the wire, sometimes under 100's of feet of water our method was to first make a good physical connection with a crimp or bolted fitting, seal it jacket to jacket with electrical sealant (gawd I wish i could remember the name of that brown shtuff we used to use) then we heat shrink it... tape it (tightly) from jacket to jacket over the heat shrink tube, then apply sealant again. I NEVER had a faulty connection doing it this way and, after pulling a pump that I had placed 4 years prior, we cut out and tore apart the splice... and the wire was as new and dry as the day we put it in.

so... after this incredibly long reply... you can use the welding wire... just make sure you take the time to finish off the connections and protect the wire, your car, and your system.

To sum up this post - by spending 5 hours with the welding wire, gluing your hands together, heat shrinking and taping - you can make it equal to any tinned cable, but you saved $10.....LOL

 

[photocrazy8 10+ year member]

To sum up this post - by spending 5 hours with the welding wire, gluing your hands together, heat shrinking and taping - you can make it equal to any tinned cable, but you saved $10.....LOL

true lol thats why im going to stick with kicker or stinger or knu....