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Welding wire or House Wire ? Need Help Thank you.
By HondaHills450, Section Mechanical Posted on Mon Apr 28, 2008 at 04:17:55 PM MST
Welding wire or House Wire ? Need Help Thank you.

Hi have been looking at 2/0 welding wire and it is just $$$ but was at homedepo the the other day and the have 2/0 house wire for like $1.75 a foot will you get the same kind of performace votls and amps it is only like 10 strands.
This could save me a bunch of money.
Thanks.

Welding wire or House Wire ? Need Help Thank you. | 8 comments (8 topical)

Re: Welding wire or House Wire ? Need Help Thank y (3.00 / 0) (#1)
by kurt on Mon Apr 28, 2008 at 11:27:50 AM MST

like how about telling us its intended use?? and what type of house wire was it was it double coated thnn wire like you would use in conduit??

IRC inst.
just a personal rant carry on.

Re: Welding wire or House Wire ? Need Help Thank y (3.00 / 0) (#2)
by tecker on Mon Apr 28, 2008 at 02:44:38 PM MST

I think you answered your question

Re: Welding wire or House Wire (3.00 / 0) (#3)
by wpowokal on Mon Apr 28, 2008 at 05:36:53 PM MST

You may like to read about what cables meet specification.
http://photovoltaics.sandia.gov/docs/John_Wiles_Code_Corner.htm

allan down under
"Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today." James Dean
[ Parent ]

Re: Welding wire or House Wire ? (3.00 / 0) (#4)
by richhagen on Mon Apr 28, 2008 at 06:05:55 PM MST

Welding cable tends to have a larger number of smaller conductors combined to make a cable generally than wire used for wiring a house. The main purpose for this in welding wire is to make a wire that you can move around easily as you work. If your wiring is to be fixed in location, such as inside conduit and boxes, then house wiring would likely be the preferred wiring, but check your local codes for what type of wire is acceptable for your specific application. Even if your installation won't be inspected, the codes are generally there for safety and function, so following them wouldn't likely be a bad idea. The new National Electric Code for 2008, published by National Fire Protection Association in the U.S. has a chapter on specifications for solar installations, it is not law, but it is usually the basis for local building wiring codes here in the U.S. Many libraries in the U.S. have a copy of this reference book. Rich
'A Joule saved is a Joule made'

Re: Welding wire or House Wire ? (3.00 / 0) (#5)
by HondaHills450 on Tue Apr 29, 2008 at 11:16:43 AM MST

Thanks. I should have gave more info sorry about that it is for some small windmills out back and have found that it is hard to run 12 volts very far and not have volt drop.

That is why was thinking if could run BIG cheap house wire.

Just have to get some 2/0 house wire and see how it works.

Thanks for the Replys.

[ Parent ]

Re: Welding wire or House Wire ? Need Help Thank y (3.00 / 0) (#6)
by zeusmorg on Tue Apr 29, 2008 at 11:34:05 AM MST

Well, that "house wire" or thhn, should be installed in conduit or some other form of protection. If you use it as a flexible downlead, it will FAIL rather rapidly.

Re: Welding wire or House Wire ? Need Help Thank y (3.00 / 0) (#7)
by PeterAVT on Tue Apr 29, 2008 at 04:57:37 PM MST

If you can get a deal on the house wire then I would for sure do it. And I say that as a welder by trade. Don't get me wrong, welding cable is good stuff. I measure Ohms resistance equals dollars in electric or diesel per hour. But its expensive and very few applications actually require it. Furthermore there is your local building codes to deal with.

Practical upshot is this: I would lose the welding cable and get the house wire if possible. Welding cable is made to get moved around a lot while carrying a few thousand amperes a a very few volts. House wire is likely gonna just sit there and be safely forgotten. Either way the thing to bear in mind is that its carrying the same amount of power,
AKA "inode_buddha" Power to the people!

Re: Welding wire or House Wire ? (3.00 / 0) (#8)
by ghurd on Tue Apr 29, 2008 at 05:08:51 PM MST

The big question is CU or AL.

I have been using AL USE.
No chance for 2/0 CU at $1.75/foot here.
The AL has 3 conductors. Needs no conduit. UV resistant. Etc.

Google search the board for 1/0 AL.
G-

Ghurd.info

Welding wire or House Wire ? Need Help Thank you. | 8 comments (8 topical)

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