What lower gauge wire do you guys use/like?
- Thread starter cohberg
- Start date
SamTexas
1 MW
I rarely buy wire. I use whatever I find in my garage. If I can't find a wire thick enough for certain application, I just double or triple up the thinner wire. My highest amp requirement is 60A (on my motorhome, not ebike) so I just use 4 regular 15A wires together.
100a.. you need 8 gauge minimum, maybe even 6 gauge and as short as possible for lowest resistance..
If you're OK with copper, your local car parts store or electronic store will sell it.
I found that the hobbyking stuff was a pain in the ass.
If you're OK with copper, your local car parts store or electronic store will sell it.
I found that the hobbyking stuff was a pain in the ass.
SamTexas
1 MW
Last time I checked, Home Depot sells some scary thick wires by the foot. 100A?!! Where? On your ebike?cohberg said:
contact ES member wojtek
yes, he is in europe but you'll get it far faster than HK and at the same or better prices.
here are a couple of his listings in the forsale section:
http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=30176#p436307
http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=32244
yes, he is in europe but you'll get it far faster than HK and at the same or better prices.
here are a couple of his listings in the forsale section:
http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=30176#p436307
http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=32244
SamTexas said:
I looked at that stuff. It generally consists of single strand, super thick, super heavy stuff.. meant for the internal wiring of homes.. not flexible at all so i'm not sure how well it will handle the vibration of bike duty.
The auto parts store stuff usually has a dozen or so strands, so it's fairly flexy.
nicobie
100 MW
neptronix said:
Really? I think their stuff is great. Every time I order from them I always add some to get to the total weight allowed in that bracket.
If you will be running less than 100a 10g is fine. Do the google for silicone wire.
Automotive wire's insulation is only rated for 12v and it is fairly stiff.
SamTexas said:
Yeah thats what i'm using right now. 8 gauge solid copper single strand. Not fun to work with. And yes 100A on my ebike, where else?
i'm pretty sure my home doesn't use that much continuously. I'm out of it though newb said:
I did. Hes actually selling 8 gauge at the same price and not much shipping time/cost differences between the two =/
neptronix said:
It works well, you need a large solder gun to make sure the joints aren't cold. Its a pain to route though
nicobie said:
Meh, I guess price and avaliablity is foremost in my mind.
I think i'm just going to go buy some used car jumper cables or something :lol:
Farfle
100 kW
Polar wire, google them. They are based out of Alaska and ship usps. Its fairly high strand cound and has a tough but flexible jacket good to 105C.
REdiculous
10 kW
I was in the local True Value Hardware Store the other day and they had some nice looking 8awg.
MadRhino
100 GW
If you can find locally the same quality silicon wire that HK sells, it is likely to be much more expansive.
This wire is perfect for our Ebikes, with very high strand count copper, corrosion resistant, heat resistant and flexible insulation.
This wire is perfect for our Ebikes, with very high strand count copper, corrosion resistant, heat resistant and flexible insulation.
Places that sell high powered car stereo amplifiers typically have nice heavy gauge wire but not that cheap.
I've also found industrial strength power cords (like type SJO) in 10ga. This might be found at an industrial electric supplier. Like the stuff you make extension cords out of. Most have 3 or 4 conductors with a reasonably high strand count. The trick is to strip the jacket off without nicking the wires inside, then separating them.
I've also found industrial strength power cords (like type SJO) in 10ga. This might be found at an industrial electric supplier. Like the stuff you make extension cords out of. Most have 3 or 4 conductors with a reasonably high strand count. The trick is to strip the jacket off without nicking the wires inside, then separating them.
REdiculous
10 kW
MadRhino said:
When you only need a few feet, I bet the price difference is negligible. For 20 feet, an extra 5 cents per foot means you spend an extra buck. Whoopdedoo.
That's not counting (sometimes free) shipping versus you having to find a local store, or the difference between waiting for your order to arrive in the mail versus going and getting what you want the moment you want it.
SamTexas
1 MW
That's true. I saw some thick flexible wires (don't know the exact size) in the car stereo section in Walmart.fechter said:
dogman dan
1 PW
Depending on what you call cheap, and how much you need, and how fast you want it, you might get what you need at the car parts store. Not sure how fat you can get it, but for sure 10 guage is always there.
In the scrounging category, some items have some fat wire, like the cord to a dryer or such. Could be bought at home depot too of course.
Brilliant to just fill the weight with wire on an HK order.
Here's 8 guage wire that should ship fast to US address.
http://epbuddy.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=26_28&products_id=230
In the scrounging category, some items have some fat wire, like the cord to a dryer or such. Could be bought at home depot too of course.
Brilliant to just fill the weight with wire on an HK order.
Here's 8 guage wire that should ship fast to US address.
http://epbuddy.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=26_28&products_id=230
10 kW
This place is good:
http://epbuddy.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=26_28&zenid=vbdq1u11q0mol358nk8k8tsfc0
http://epbuddy.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=26_28&zenid=vbdq1u11q0mol358nk8k8tsfc0
ddk
100 kW
- Joined
- Nov 4, 2011
- Messages
- 1,903
you might note that wire insulation of any type is good to go for under about 300 V
Above 300 V then the silicon and some other plastics are rated MUCH higher
like others have said
you can double/triple/ whatever up the wire for more current-carrying potential -
I've used paralleled 50 pair ribbon cable (26 gauge per wire) to carry 2kW (below 300V of course... more like 100V for that application)
with less than a 0.1% voltage drop over 75 feet (about 22 meters)
And also remember the shorter the length of a piece of wire, the higher it's current carrying capacity is.
you can google up all sorts of wire calculators on the interwebbies.
Some are based only on house wire calculations (AC 130-250V and a 10% loss) Others include lower voltage/dc calculations.
Above 300 V then the silicon and some other plastics are rated MUCH higher
like others have said
you can double/triple/ whatever up the wire for more current-carrying potential -
I've used paralleled 50 pair ribbon cable (26 gauge per wire) to carry 2kW (below 300V of course... more like 100V for that application)
with less than a 0.1% voltage drop over 75 feet (about 22 meters)
And also remember the shorter the length of a piece of wire, the higher it's current carrying capacity is.
you can google up all sorts of wire calculators on the interwebbies.
Some are based only on house wire calculations (AC 130-250V and a 10% loss) Others include lower voltage/dc calculations.
fizzit
10 kW
are you saying bare copper wire?neptronix said:
Kingfish
100 MW
I’ve been using 10-AWG Mil-Spec Silver-plated 37-strand for a couple years now; can’t remember what I paid for it, but it came as a 100’ spool. Great for just about all my cabling on the eBike. :wink:
~KF
~KF
dumbass
100 kW
This is the season for good sales on car jumper cables. They come in several lengths and gauge sizes. YOu might be able to find a good deal on some nice cables that would do the job.
Bob
Bob
Kingfish
100 MW
RE Jumper cables: From like my 3rd ES post... Power Connectors and Tools
Just a bit overkill... still, it was the cheapest dang cabling I ever bought!
O' the memories of noobnessness, KF :lol:
Just a bit overkill... still, it was the cheapest dang cabling I ever bought!
O' the memories of noobnessness, KF :lol:
John in CR
100 TW
Walmart doesn't have anything except maybe some too short and inadequately insulated battery mains for a car. If you're really going to be running 100A, that's at least 250-260A through the phase wires. Go look at a wire gauge chart and run the numbers yourself, and unless you can make quite short runs, the resistance loss numbers get big in a hurry, and overheating phase wires is easy to do at those currents. With the correct perspective it quickly becomes apparent that the economical thing to use is 4 gauge or larger welding cable. Then you get flexibility and low losses and heat generation. Take it from someone who's heated plenty of 10ga to the point that the insulation turns to goo, and that's running less than 100A battery side.
John
John
GMUseless
100 W
If you don't mine PVC or EPDM, I think www.BulkWire.com is pretty decent. They've got the welding cable John mentions in 25 ft rolls. I really like their ZIP cord: two conductor, red and black PVC jacket, and very flexible.
