I have noticed when taking apart one particular motor that pulling wires loose from eachother (they were varnished to eachother) took the insulation of the wires and left one of the wires with bare copper.
Apparently, the baked/dipped varnish adhered better to the wire lacquer than the lacquer adhered to the copper itself...
This was another confirmation of my plan to never ever bother with re-used copper wire. Others seem to get good results though. But apart from living on a (nearly-) deserted island (Hi Oz ;) ) I think it'd be much wiser to spend a few $$ and buy new wire.
At least, it's what I do.
Would be a shame after having spent dozens of hours building a generator having to arrive at the conclusion that it doesn't work because the wire insulation failed.
Also notice that the back-and-forth bending of the copper wire stress hardens it. It becomes harder and more brittle and may break when bent a few more times again. And become more susceptible for fatigue.
Anyone who knows me know I'm a scrounger, but sometimes one needs to use the best quality materials available. In the case of generators, that would be copper wire, magnets and epoxy. One could compromise a bit on the other parts, I suppose.
Peter.
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