Hoffman Amplifiers Tube Amplifier Forum
Amp Stuff => Tube Amp Building - Tweaks - Repairs => Topic started by: Shack on February 11, 2016, 05:04:58 pm
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I ordered wire from Doug, thought I used the PR parts list, ...but maybe not....ordered 22 gauge cloth wire in all colors......still have some cloth wire from last year, and the gauge is 20 and 18 from the looks of it.
What wire does everyone use for builds so I know what to buy.....regular hookup wire and heater wire/ cloth or PVC......sometimes, I just order willy nilly and not sure
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Oh man! Everybody else is using high tech Teflon stranded wire.
Just kiddin'. :icon_biggrin:
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lol.....think I built the 5e3 last year with all 18 gauge wire mostly, cause the 22 gauge radio shack wire seemed too small :)
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lol.....think I built the 5e3 last year with all 18 gauge wire mostly, cause the 22 gauge radio shack wire seemed too small :)
I use teflon on turret builds and cloth on Fender restos...
My 1 cent
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cool, thx....I was asking cause I want to to stock up on wire so its never an issue
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lol.....think I built the 5e3 last year with all 18 gauge wire mostly, cause the 22 gauge radio shack wire seemed too small :)
I use teflon on turret builds and cloth on Fender restos...
My 1 cent
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Use 22 gauge solid core everywhere except the power string which is usually 20 gauge solid core and the heater string which is 18 gauge stranded to the power tubes and 20 gauge stranded to the preamp tubes.
Thanks
Mike
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22 gauge for everything except primary ground and power tube heaters unless you've got some high current preamp tubes.
18 gauge solid for power tube heaters and poweramp ground. Maybe OT ground too.
Cloth covered wire is nice because you don't have to strip it at all. Short pieces can get difficult though. Singed cloth strands don't look professional.
Teflon is great if you're careless with you're soldering iron (just kidding Mike!). Stripping it is much more difficult than PVC.
Hoffman's 20 gauge solid core PVC would be good for general use. Just don't hit insulation with the side of your soldering iron. Solid core stays put/bent better than stranded. Don't nick the core when stripping though.
FWIW color coding wire by purpose helps me a lot. YMMV but "code yellow" is much more confusing. There are guidelines for color coding, but it doesn't matter as long as you're consistent.
IIRC this is what I've used:
Blue - plates
Yellow - cathodes
Orange or brown - grids
Black or green - grounds
White - controls (to & from pots)
Violet or purple - negative bias
Red - high voltage
Note - these weren't random choices but I can't find the source quickly tonight.
Hope this helps,
Chip
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All those replies helped alot. I want this amp to look and perform as good on the inside as it looks on the outside :)
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... What wire does everyone use for builds so I know what to buy. ....
{Dos Equis Man}: "I don't always use cloth covered wire. But when I do... I use Doug's.
I use whatever I have on hand, which is usually a mish-mash of things. Right now I have a good bit of teflon-insulated wire left over from another project.
That said, let me plug Doug's wire for a minute:
You might look around at some other sites & see what appears to be cloth covered wire for a few cents/foot less. Do yourself a favor... Forget that crap and buy Doug's cloth wire. Quite a bit of the other stuff out there (most if not all from my limited experience) is PVC insulated with a shoe-string like cloth cover, which frays and looks horrible when actually cut to length. It really has none of the good features of Doug's cloth wire (which is identical to the original Fender stuff), which is that original cloth covered wire doesn't fray and doesn't need stripping. You cut the stuff to the exact length you need, push the cloth back away from the wire end, solder, and push the cloth back over to cover the bare wire. You don't need to worry about melting insulation with a soldering iron hit (though it will darken at that spot).
Other than what I wrote above, there's really nothing magical about cloth wire. It is the right stuff for restorations or vintage-looking builds. And it's very easy to work with.
All that reminds me that I oughta buy a mess of it to have on hand for the next time I need it...
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I found that out last winter project.....was not impressed with the cloth wire that I got from either tube depot or AES.....was exactly what you said.....planning on getting all clth wire from here, just need to order the 20 and 18 ga , since I have 2 ft of 22 ga in all colors now :)
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I use Teflon and heat stripper. I get it from Steve at ApexJr. He has all colors and gauges you need and has a really good price on Teflon. The wire is pre-tinned and stiff, so it stays where you put it. I use it exclusively on builds.
I have used some of Doug's pushback wire and it is really easy to work with. I keep some of it for doing work on vintage amps
Attached is the colors I use and where I use them except when I am doing a color scheme and sometimes I do not use any. I recently have been doing Point to Point using component leads only, not even tagstrips. Here I use teflon tubing from McMaster Carr. It is in the sleeving section of their website and can be difficult to find. Here si the link.
http://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-cable-sleeving/=113ecbc (http://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-cable-sleeving/=113ecbc)
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I'm really new to all of this so I just have to ask; is there ever a reason to use stranded wire? It just seems like punishment.
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I'm really new to all of this so I just have to ask; is there ever a reason to use stranded wire? It just seems like punishment.
I don't use PVC wire cause I burn the crap out of it, comes with age
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I'm really new to all of this so I just have to ask; is there ever a reason to use stranded wire? It just seems like punishment.
Stranded wire can have a strand break and still be fine. Single core wire breaks and you are done. If you have ever fooled with old telephone wire you would know.
I prefer stranded in a lot of places like pedals where it help for the wire to be flexible. I have built complete amps using it, but I must day I like pretinned.
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Ed, can you elaborate on the heat stripper you mention ?
I'm in the market for new wire strippers and have some Teflon wire to deal with...
I use Teflon and heat stripper.
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http://www.teledyneinterconnect.com/products/wire_strippers/wirestrip.asp (http://www.teledyneinterconnect.com/products/wire_strippers/wirestrip.asp)
there's a bunch out there, haven't used any since my PACE unit in the Navy, but way better than old teeth :icon_biggrin:
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For your consideration:
wire size rate for continuous service
18 ga. 16 amps
20 ga. 11 amps
22 ga. 7 amps
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i use wire from computer PSU's for amps and effects. it's good quality, stranded and multiple colors :-)
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I use 20 gauge topcoat wire which, when it is used up I will switch to 22 gauge, everywhere except if there is more than 2 preamp tubes then I will use 18 gauge on the heater wires. The green heater wires I cut the excess off of Classic Tone PT's is 18 topcoat, the yellow wires going to the rectifier are also 18 gauge topcoat. The red wires going to the rectifier are 22 gauge topcoat however. I also have cloth covered 22 gauge which I use on Fender repairs which I might add is also from Doug, it is just better.
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agreed, im gonna order alot of that cloth wire....it is superior and so easy to work with
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http://www.teledyneinterconnect.com/products/wire_strippers/wirestrip.asp (http://www.teledyneinterconnect.com/products/wire_strippers/wirestrip.asp)
there's a bunch out there, haven't used any since my PACE unit in the Navy, but way better than old teeth :icon_biggrin:
This is the one I have. Found it at a garage sale and negotiated it to $3. They were asking $5. I have had them a long time and I wouldn't go back. If the one I have failed, I would drop the bucks for another used one. :icon_biggrin:
BTW, the teflon hookup wire Weber sells is much easier to strip. The insulation is thicker which makes is separate better when using strippers and you don't run the risk of nicking the wire. I have seen a lot of single strand teflon insulated wire break from this.