Wire for plug wires

[MGL]

I've been wiring my own distributors but at between 3 and six dollars for 2 to 4 feet of the detail master or other brands of ignition wire it still adds up over time. according to my math 30 gauge wire should come out to between 7 and 8 mm, suitable for most of the stuff I build. so I went looking online and this is what I found, http://www.amazon.com/B-30-1000-30AWG-Plated-Copper-Wrepping/dp/B008AGUDEY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1461650071&sr=8-2&keywords=wrapping+wire Has anybody got any experience with this? Mainly, does it hold its shape and does it look correct? At 6 bucks for a 1000 feet I would almost be tempted to buy one of every color and never have to buy wire again.

[peteski]

But remember that the 30AWG is the measurement  of the wire itself, not of the insulation. The insulation makes the overall diameter much thicker.

So IIRC, 30AWG is 0.010" in diameter, but with insulation it is more like 0.016" diameter.  Having said that, I use 30 AWG wire-wrapping wire for my electronic projects and I also sell it to my model club members for model detailing. Here is a model where that wire was used as spark plug wire.

 

[MGL]

That is a crazy looking model! From the picture it looks about right, I think I'm going to go ahead and order a couple of rolls and see. I have also found 32 gauge artistic wire so maybe I will order a roll of that also.

[Kit Basher]

IMO, 30 gauge insulated wire is a bit big for stock plug wires. I bought some 32 gauge from http://www.micronmeters.com/c-46-insulated-wire.aspx. and really like it. Only $0.26 a foot. The 34 gauge might work as well. The lady I spoke to is really nice and very helpful, but please remember she has to make a living, and it takes time to process and ship a small order, so don't waste her time buying 10 feet. I bought 50 feet and should be set for life.

[Snake45]

Go to a craft store like Hobby Lobby or Michaels and look at the beading section. There are all kinds of wires there good for plug wires. You can buy a whole spool of the stuff for a couple dollars.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Go to a craft store like Hobby Lobby or Michaels and look at the beading section. There are all kinds of wires there good for plug wires. You can buy a whole spool of the stuff for a couple dollars.

Exactly. And because beading wire is labeled in its actual outside diameter, if you do your scaling math, you can get exactly the right scale-diameter for the application you're doing ('30s car, contemporary top-fuel, etc.)

Guaranteed to avoid the wired-with-noodles look some models get done with, too.  

[Jantrix]

All of these are using 30 gauge wrapping wire. Yes. They are a bit out of scale. But i think they look real good.

[Foggy 2]

Hi Mark / Guys,

I use Beading wire 28 Gauge, I order it on line and each real has 24 Yards / 22 Meters of wire, it's available in a large number of colours as well.

I'll try and attaché a photo to show you all.

Rgds,

Foggy 2.

Also a wise old man said "don't stand next to an idiot, people could think your with him" !!!!!!!

Edited April 26, 2016 by Foggy 2
to add words of wisdom

[Oldmodelmaker]

So what's the consensus here, 30?

Rob, you say it looks a little out of scale...you mean to big? I think it looks good too but how does it compare to battery cable?

 

Edited April 26, 2016 by Oldmodelmaker

[Kit Basher]

The Detail Master wire is probably 34 gauge insulated, maybe 36. I like 30 gauge insulated wire for race or custom wires, but I prefer 32 or 34 insulated for stock wires. 30 gauge without insulation would be fine for stock wires. I just like insulated wire because it looks like, well, insulation. 30 guage insulated looks good for battery cables.

[blunc]

"wire wrapping wire" is commonly used in electronics work for temporary and experimental work, the reason it is called wire wrapping wire is because the wire has a short  section of the insulator stripped off then tightly wrapped/coiled around a conductive peg.

This makes prototyping a quick process because there is no need to solder the connections which can be "unwrapped" easily for circuit modification.

Common suppliers of "wrap wire" would be Fry's electronics, Digikey, Mouser, Newark...etc, including Amazon and fleabay.

Wrap wire comes in various gages and many colors of insulation. You would only need to buy one spool of your favorite size/color to have a virtual lifetime supply.

Edited April 27, 2016 by blunc
spelling

[crazyjim]

You can get 30 ga wire and boot material from me.  Click below for my website.

[Jantrix]

So what's the consensus here, 30?

Rob, you say it looks a little out of scale...you mean to big? I think it looks good too but how does it compare to battery cable?

 

Yes. I think someone on the forums once crunched the numbers and it is technically too big. However I think it looks perfect. For battery cables I'd go at least two to three gauges larger. 

[Jantrix]

The Detail Master wire is probably 34 gauge insulated, maybe 36. I like 30 gauge insulated wire for race or custom wires, but I prefer 32 or 34 insulated for stock wires. 30 gauge without insulation would be fine for stock wires. I just like insulated wire because it looks like, well, insulation. 30 guage insulated looks good for battery cables.

Detail Master Ignition wire (per their website) is .012 which per this chart, http://www.engineersedge.com/copper_wire.htm, is roughly 28 gauge (wire diameter). Their battery wire is .019 which is between 24 and 25 gauge.

Edited April 27, 2016 by Jantrix

[Kit Basher]

Detail Master Ignition wire (per their website) is .012 which per this chart, http://www.engineersedge.com/copper_wire.htm, is roughly 28 gauge (wire diameter). Their battery wire is .019 which is between 24 and 25 gauge.

Rob, I'm not questioning your info. All I can say is that I have some Detail Master wire and a couple of their distributor kits, and that wire is definitely smaller than the 32 gauge insulated that I bought, which is smaller than the 30 gauge insulated wrapping wire that I got from Radio Shack.

[Lunajammer]

A little caution about beading wire... Some are heavy on the vinyl and thin on wire and are not as obedient to the demands of modeling. If possible, make sure you grab an end you can bend and see if it holds the bend the way you expect. 

[peteski]

Detail Master Ignition wire (per their website) is .012 which per this chart, http://www.engineersedge.com/copper_wire.htm, is roughly 28 gauge (wire diameter). Their battery wire is .019 which is between 24 and 25 gauge.

This is the mistake I warned about in my earlier post (just in reverse). DM ignition wire specs show the overall diameter (of the insulation, not the wire). The wire inside is much thinner than 30 AWG.  Remember that in electrical terms the wire gauge is just the wire diameter (not the outside diameter of the insulation) where as in modeling terms nobody cares about the diameter of the wire or its gauge but the overall diameter of the insulation.