# Hookup Wire



## glen1971 (Oct 10, 2012)

Pretty much the only wire strippers I've used in years:

https://www.amazon.ca/Klein-Tools-11063-Katapult-Stripper/dp/B00BC39YFQ


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## MikeFL (Apr 16, 2016)

glen1971 said:


> Pretty much the only wire strippers I've used in years:
> 
> https://www.amazon.ca/Klein-Tools-11063-Katapult-Stripper/dp/B00BC39YFQ


Asking about the wire, not the tools.

I agree those are really nice strippers though.


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## glen1971 (Oct 10, 2012)

Ahh ok.. I don't know that I've ever noticed an issue with 14's, except with extremely old wiring.. Some #10's have given me some grief but I have no idea the manufacturer..


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## MikeFL (Apr 16, 2016)

Just making sure there's no bias against any particular manufacturer's wire. We have 2 different source options and may use one or the other depending on what's available or equitable or works better for us. We terminate one end and the sparky in the field terminates the other end. Wouldn't want to use anything that someone may deem inferior.


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## Helmut (May 7, 2014)

Mike, what's a hook up wire?


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## micromind (Aug 11, 2007)

Helmut said:


> Mike, what's a hook up wire?


I'm gonna guess it's type MTW. 

Real actual MTW, not THHN-THWN-MTW-RAT-DUM or any of the multi-purpose types that don't hold when they're formed like actual MTW does. 

I haven't seen a lot of difference between brands but I have seen a huge difference in what it's actually rated for. Straight MTW is best by far.


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## RePhase277 (Feb 5, 2008)

Anything you get from Southwire or Encore is going to be superior to any Chinese cheapo stuff you get at a discount.

Since you're here, let me rant a bit about the wire lengths on photocells. I know your product isn't a photocell, but it is basically in the same ballpark. I think the tails should be at least a foot long, instead of the 2 microns most come with. I get that a lot of photocells get mounted to bell boxes and the tap is made right there, but there are times when it is convenient to put one at the end of a nipple or conduit body and it would be nice to have longer wires.


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## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)

I cut up some old Pepsi cola quart bottles and stacked them in the back yard in order to save pieces of hookup wire for re-use on jobs. Those of you who don't are probably loosing thousands or millions of dollars in the long run.


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## RePhase277 (Feb 5, 2008)

macmikeman said:


> I cut up some old Pepsi cola quart bottles and stacked them in the back yard in order to save pieces of hookup wire for re-use on jobs. Those of you who don't are probably loosing thousands or millions of dollars in the long run.


The only problem with that is Pepsi.


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## MikeFL (Apr 16, 2016)

RePhase277 said:


> Anything you get from Southwire or Encore is going to be superior to any Chinese cheapo stuff you get at a discount.
> 
> Since you're here, let me rant a bit about the wire lengths on photocells. I know your product isn't a photocell, but it is basically in the same ballpark. I think the tails should be at least a foot long, instead of the 2 microns most come with. I get that a lot of photocells get mounted to bell boxes and the tap is made right there, but there are times when it is convenient to put one at the end of a nipple or conduit body and it would be nice to have longer wires.


That's what I was looking for. Thank you.

The shortest we've ever shipped on a wire-in device is 12" after the NPT thread. I've offered our customers longer whips and they say not necessary. I'm going to go to 18" anyway, and they can cut off what they don't need. If a customer wants custom lengths we can do that too but we're going to make our standard 18" or more. 

We'll stick with Southwire. It costs more than we can get other wire for but that's ok. We spend money on quality for a reason. Made in USA for a reason.

Thanks again.


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## MikeFL (Apr 16, 2016)

Helmut said:


> Mike, what's a hook up wire?


Sold as THHN but dual purpose as THWN which is the standard we use.


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## emtnut (Mar 1, 2015)

MikeFL said:


> Sold as THHN but dual purpose as THWN which is the standard we use.


I'm with micromind on this one. MTW or TEW is usually what I'd call hook up wire. MTW is often called AWM (appliance wiring material)
When I was working for a manufacturer building panels and devices, that's what we always used.
Belden was our go to brand... expensive, but worth it IMO.

This info is dated (30 yrs ago !) but we tried Carol cable one time because it was quite a bit cheaper ... The insulation was a real pain to strip off. Hopefully they have improved by now.

This link should take you to the Beldon catalog at the hook-up wire specs page.... https://www.belden.com/docs/upload/Cabling-Solutions-for-Industrial-Applications.pdf#page=127

As Rephase said ... stay away from anything Chinese made


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## MikeFL (Apr 16, 2016)

If I misspoke calling it hookup wire my appologies. To me hookup wire is any roll of single conductor wire that you cut to length and terminate. 

As to AWM, that's not wet location rated.
As to MTW & TEW they have lower wet location ratings than THWN.

If sparky is out on a jobsite pulling wire for a lighting circuit, it's likely THWN. It's what he's working with at the time and it's what he works with every day. No surprises means a better experience. 

Here's the comparison:
http://www.southwire.com/products/MtwTewAwmIA.htm
http://www.southwire.com/products/SIMpullTHHNCable.htm

edit: Cerrowire has better ratings than Southwire and it's made in 'bama, USA. http://www.cerrowire.com/thhn--thwn-2


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

Always used Baron brand wire, not sure if it's a territorial thing but never had any complaints with their products.


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

@MikeFL, I wouldn't think for your application the additional flexibility of some of the real MTW / AWM is really needed. 

I am VERY surprised to see that cerrowire rated higher than Southwire, where did you see that? The cerro wire web site is pretty mickey mouse if you need to find a spec sheet or etc. 



MikeFL said:


> If I misspoke calling it hookup wire my appologies. To me hookup wire is any roll of single conductor wire that you cut to length and terminate.
> 
> As to AWM, that's not wet location rated.
> As to MTW & TEW they have lower wet location ratings than THWN.
> ...


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## RePhase277 (Feb 5, 2008)

Trying to solder regular THHN to a circuit board would suck vs actual fine stranded MTW.


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## micromind (Aug 11, 2007)

MikeFL said:


> If I misspoke calling it hookup wire my appologies. To me hookup wire is any roll of single conductor wire that you cut to length and terminate.
> 
> As to AWM, that's not wet location rated.
> As to MTW & TEW they have lower wet location ratings than THWN.
> ...


Yes, if it's pulled in pipe, it'll be THHN/THWN. 

I thought that 'hookup wire' meant in a control panel of some sort.

It doesn't matter what wire a pigtailed device has, we just splice to it. If it's too hard to strip, short pigtails might occasionally be ripped out of the device though........lol.


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