Quote:
Originally Posted by lewster
As far as your 'qualified' source stating that AC devices are 'looking' for solid wire, I would love to know what the source of that advice is. The movement of electrons form electricity, and those electrons have actually been found to move on the surface of the conductors that carry them, so in reality, stranded cable will have more surface area and the ability to carry more electrons.
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Skin effect only really comes into play when you get into the Radio Frequency ranges. For 60Hz the effect is all but non-existent.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lewster
Any AC device doesn't 'care' how it gets it's required electrons for proper operation, it just needs the right amount. Be certain that your cables are of the right size to carry sufficient amperage to the device, and size your over-current protection (circuit breakers and fuses) to the wire gauge used in that circuit (14AWG =15 amps, 12AWG = 20 amps) and realize that the breakers and fuses are thee to protect the wire from an over-current event.
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True to a degree, but how the wire is hooked to the AC device can greatly determine if you should use solid or stranded. If you are pushing a push in type connection (which I would strongly advise against in all cases as it depends on the spring tension to make a good joint. Age and heat can lower the spring tension turning a good connection into a bad one) then solid wire is pretty much required. For a screw terminal where you are placing the wire under a screw that is then tightened, then solid is pretty much required, but strained will work with a good grade crimp connector. However, the crimp connector does add another possible point of failure to you connection.
IMO, if you are going to use strained then you want to insure you have an electrical device which uses a clamp type connection. These typically are made by having a screw push a moveable piece of metal against a fixed piece of metal. These provide a higher quality joint, with better compression that lasts than any other common type of connection. Since they are slightly more expensive to produce you will typically find them on your better grades of electrical devices. Likewise the guts also tend to be of a higher quality, so avoid the cheapest thing going, and get a bit more quality. The upfront investment will likely save you headaches down the road.
I would also suggest if you must use crimped connectors to stick with the better name brand stuff and avoid the cheap and/or no name connectors. Again they often compromise on quality to get the price down which means it's harder to get a good long lasting connection from them.
An amazing percentage of RV fires result from electrical issues, so dont cut corners. Spend a bet extra, taken your time and do it right. You will be much happier in the long run.
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