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<blockquote data-quote="av83" data-source="post: 7943179" data-attributes="member: 640058"><p>When pure copper is exposed to our atmosphere, it oxidizes. Fairly quickly, at that. Oxidation is not only ugly(the wire turns black at first, and eventually green), but also decreases the amount of current that the wire is capable of passing through it. Normal copper wire, depending on environment, will begin to oxidize in less than five years, often much less. Tinned copper will last a lot longer. The tin coating will have to fully oxidize before the copper can even begin to oxidize. Here's a copy and paste from the BCAE website:</p><p></p><p>As you have probably noticed, wire designated as OFC wire usually has a clear insulation and the wire is bright and shiny underneath the transparent insulator. Well... It is nice and shiny for a while but after a short time (actually from the time it is drawn), it starts to oxidize (unless the wire is kept in an oxygen free atmosphere). When copper oxidizes, it becomes a less effective conductor. This means that, in time, the wire's current carrying capabilities will become significantly reduced. The problem is made worse by having many very small conductors. This creates even more surface area which makes the oxidation process even more efficient. In my opinion, if you are designing a system of any type for long term use, I think the better choice is a 'tinned' copper wire (often sold as marine grade wire or boat wire). In this type of wire, the copper is plated with tin or similar conductor (maybe a lead/tin or bismuth/tin alloy) which will not oxidize as quickly and never as completely as the bare copper. As a side note, this has nothing to do with the copper being 'oxygen free'. It has everything to do with the fact that the wire is unprotected (untinned) and is finely stranded. I used OFC wire in this example because most OFC has many fine unprotected strands.</p><p></p><p>The monster wire is available in red, black(both untinned), and silver(tinned), There is blue(tinned), as well, but I haven't seen any for sale at the discounted prices. Since the tinned is the same price as the regular wire, it was a no-brainer for me. Plus, my car is silver, so that was nice. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="av83, post: 7943179, member: 640058"] When pure copper is exposed to our atmosphere, it oxidizes. Fairly quickly, at that. Oxidation is not only ugly(the wire turns black at first, and eventually green), but also decreases the amount of current that the wire is capable of passing through it. Normal copper wire, depending on environment, will begin to oxidize in less than five years, often much less. Tinned copper will last a lot longer. The tin coating will have to fully oxidize before the copper can even begin to oxidize. Here's a copy and paste from the BCAE website: As you have probably noticed, wire designated as OFC wire usually has a clear insulation and the wire is bright and shiny underneath the transparent insulator. Well... It is nice and shiny for a while but after a short time (actually from the time it is drawn), it starts to oxidize (unless the wire is kept in an oxygen free atmosphere). When copper oxidizes, it becomes a less effective conductor. This means that, in time, the wire's current carrying capabilities will become significantly reduced. The problem is made worse by having many very small conductors. This creates even more surface area which makes the oxidation process even more efficient. In my opinion, if you are designing a system of any type for long term use, I think the better choice is a 'tinned' copper wire (often sold as marine grade wire or boat wire). In this type of wire, the copper is plated with tin or similar conductor (maybe a lead/tin or bismuth/tin alloy) which will not oxidize as quickly and never as completely as the bare copper. As a side note, this has nothing to do with the copper being 'oxygen free'. It has everything to do with the fact that the wire is unprotected (untinned) and is finely stranded. I used OFC wire in this example because most OFC has many fine unprotected strands. The monster wire is available in red, black(both untinned), and silver(tinned), There is blue(tinned), as well, but I haven't seen any for sale at the discounted prices. Since the tinned is the same price as the regular wire, it was a no-brainer for me. Plus, my car is silver, so that was nice. [IMG]//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif[/IMG] [/QUOTE]
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