What Wire Should I Use For Wiring HV Iron Primaries?

[W9ZSL]

I have nailed down my power supplies for the 4-65A amp and 811A modulator rig.  What do you recommend for primary/control wire; solid or stranded?  What gauge?  I'll be running 2KV @ 120 MA PA and 1200 V on the modulator.  I'm looking at 240 watts input max on the PA and around 200 peak on the modulator.  Solid #14 wire would be easy to work with.  I'd rather work with solid than stranded so I guess my question is solid the best choice?  According to my wire table, #14 solid should be sufficient.  I can't imagine the rig drawing more than 5 Amps at 120 VAC.  Your thoughts?  Mike - W9ZSL

[w1vtp]

Gary WZ1M would be the ultimate authority

Al

[KA2DZT]

14ga should be large enough, even 16ga would be OK.  Use stranded and Stagons where ever possible.  Stranded is easier to dress than unruly solid 14ga.

Fred

[WU2D]

Tape the core so no sharp edges can scrape the wire. Conventional # 14 enameled is my vote.

OR  Get an old MOT (Microwave Oven Transformer) and observe the primary winding. Those things have separate windings and are easy to mod. If you use MOT's don't forget to remove the shunts and I replace them with plugs made of FR-4 strips pounded in. After you are finished, give everything a coat of sealer.

[MikeKE0ZUinkcmo]

+1 for what Fred said,

I use stranded 16ga stranded, and either solderless crimp terminals, or solder connections for all the primary wiring for this multiple Tx/Rx supply.   Three circuits, 800W 1600V plate supply, a pair of 100W 50 - 500V supplies with a -20 to -150V bias supply, then 300 Watts of 28V and 150 Watts of 12 Volts.

[N2DTS]

It depends on the current, most 15 amp power cords are 16 or 18 gauge, and I use 16 stranded for the power stuff unless it is high current or a long run.
All the little control stuff I do with multi color 18 or 20 gauge solid wire, as I have a bunch I got out of a cable that has many colors.

I know someone who built something quite complex using black and white 14 gauge solid wire, it did not work, and with only two colors of the same wire running all over, we could not figure out why.

Black-ground.
Red-positive.
Blue-bias.
Orange-screen.
Green-filament.
White-audio.
Plus brown, slate, purple for other things.

Different gauge wires also help for tracing things, big fat filament wires are easy to trace, thicker AC power wires are also easy.

[W3RSW]

Fairly far into my novice career it dawned on me that white turned to black just inside the chassis at the AC power entrance.   . Magic.

My training in various physics fields led me to believe that if white is hot and black is cold, then red and other colors must be something in between.

The audio amp color code quoted almost matches the energy spectra implied, but sometimes inversely.  

At least the resistor value color code corresponds to prismatic dispersion in a logical way.
..almost said "rainbow" values.  

Interestingly, underground utility marking/flagging follows almost the same logic. Reds and oranges for the hottest, most dangerous and blue for lowly water. 

No a wonder a budding electrician wanting to learn electronics and vice versa can be confused.  And we thought English was a hard language to learn.

[W9ZSL]

Stranded 14 works for me!  I should be able to post some pix over the next couple of weeks.  Mike

[N2DTS]

I remember working in high school for a guy who did heating and air conditioning, and they had me wire stuff up.
That was when I found out that black was hot in AC power.
I thought it was really stupid after doing electronics...

I wonder how it got that way, you would think red would be hot, black ground, white neutral...

[KA2DZT]

I remember working in high school for a guy who did heating and air conditioning, and they had me wire stuff up.
That was when I found out that black was hot in AC power.
I thought it was really stupid after doing electronics...

I wonder how it got that way, you would think red would be hot, black ground, white neutral...

Not hard to understand,  AC wiring black is the hot leg and white in neutral,  green are AC grounds.  For DC wiring red is usually the highest DC voltage, orange might be a lower DC voltage and black are ground wires.  Other colors are for whatever.

Fred

[KB2WIG]

"I wonder how it got that way, you would think red would be hot, black ground, white neutral... "

Don't let this color code stuff  phase you.

 The way  a 'lectrician told me, "just remember that the color of death is black, and thats what will hapen if you are not carefull"


klc

[wd9ive]

FWIW here is another standard convention used in the electrical trade:

120/240 single phase: Black & Red hot / White neutral
120/208/240 3 phase: Black, Red, Blue hot / White neutral
277/480 3 phase: Brown, Orange, Yellow hot / Grey neutral

[KA2DZT]

"I wonder how it got that way, you would think red would be hot, black ground, white neutral... "

Don't let this color code stuff  phase you.

 The way I way a 'lectrician told me, "just remember that the color of death is black, and thats what will hapen if you are not carefull"


klc

Not always true, sometimes white can be the color of death.  In many light switch boxes, white is used to bring the hot lead from the fixture box to the switch box.  Then, after the switch, the black wire is used to return the hot lead back to the fixture box.

So, if you're replacing a light switch and you see a white wire and a black wire connected to the switch, the white wire is hot.

Fred

[VE3AJM]

As per the electrical code in Ontario, if the white is used as a hot wire as with the light switch example, then it has to be identified as such, by wrapping it with black electrical tape or a sharpie marker at both ends.

Exercising caution and the use a DVM will help if the wires are not properly identified.

Al VE3AJM

[wa3dsp]

I started using all Teflon wire for my wiring or replacement wiring in restorations. I bought 100 foot lengths of multiple colors of #22 and #18 and red,black, white, green #12 Teflon.

I have no problem striping it and soldering is so nice without melted PVC. A little expensive but well worth it. I bought from -

http://www.apexjr.com/

[W1ITT]

In a 4-65 and 811 rig the only proper wire type to use is DCC, double cotton covered.  And if you are rolling in dough, DSC, double silk covered is called for.
There are certain traditions to be maintained.

[KB2WIG]

Fred said,

"  Not always true, sometimes white can be the color of death.  "

Al said,
"
if the white is used as a hot wire as with the light switch example, then it has to be identified as such, by wrapping it with black electrical tape or a sharpie marker at both ends. "

I said nasty things "will happen if your not carefull". So we all are travelers in search of illumination. And 4 way switching is a lot of fun too.

 I replaced an outdoor garage lamp that had the metal box 'ground' wired to the neutral. The lamp was fed on a three way circuit. Lots of fun.


klc

[Steve - K4HX]

And cable lacing done with waxed linen cord.

In a 4-65 and 811 rig the only proper wire type to use is DCC, double cotton covered.  And if you are rolling in dough, DSC, double silk covered is called for.
There are certain traditions to be maintained.

[W9ZSL]

I'll color code if necessary but I started digging through my Jonque Boxes and one is nothing but wire.  I worked in a deli around the time of 9/11 and brought home a slew of those wax-coated boxes with handles which held 50# of chikkin.  I was never crazy about chikkin because mom and dad liked it A LOT.  After playing with 100 to 150 pounds of raw chikkin every day for a year, I've only eaten it twice in the past 10 years!

Anyhoo, I have at least 10 of those boxes full of parts including one with nothing but wire...much of which was salvaged from a Gates BC-1T.  I know, I should have brought the damn thing home and restored it.  After all, it was the first transmitter I ever broadcast on at the local station on my 16th birthday back in 1962.  I was on the air at the station when I worked there for the fourth time around 1997 when it died.  

The plate transformer secondary shorted out as I found when I brought it home after spending several Wisconsin winters outside covered by a tarp down by the dog house.  At that point, salvage was the best I could do.  Bringing the whole xmtr home was out of the question.  No place to put it and after 5 years outdoors play taps.

Just to give you an idea of how dangerous HV can be, consider this iron was built for 230 primary.  I took a 6.3 volt filament transformer and applied that 6.3 volts to the BC-1T iron primary and BLAM!  The 15 Amp breaker tripped and the tranny got instantly hot to the touch! I gave it to a salvage guy along with an old fridge and some burned out charcoal grills.

I've kept a lot of parts and a whole chikkin box full of wire that will go into my project including the BC-1T high voltage wire. As for color-coding, I have to dig through the box.

Hey, anybody need a high wattage resistor?  I have one of those chix boxes full of about 30 pounds of wire wounds and bathtubs!  FREE for the postage.  Since I've been culling, I'll have to inventory.  I've already listed some oil caps.  My problem is too many projects and not enough time or ambition.

[N2DTS]

I do not think I would build something with old dirty 50 year old wire.
I strip cables and cords to get most of my wire, its nice and clean inside cables.

[w4bfs]

I started using all Teflon wire for my wiring or replacement wiring in restorations. I bought 100 foot lengths of multiple colors of #22 and #18 and red,black, white, green #12 Teflon.

I have no problem striping it and soldering is so nice without melted PVC. A little expensive but well worth it. I bought from -

http://www.apexjr.com/

 

teflon has superior insulating and heat transfer qualities but also be aware that it will cold flow if pulled around a sharp corner …. if dressed and laced not too tightly, nothing better