One "feature" I like about solid is when/if it breaks...it breaks..gone, switch to the spare pair, with stranded you may have 18 of 19 strands broken...leaving one lonely strand holding the circuit.
Besides, I hate working with stranded...takes longer to do makeups.
"Bob Worthy" wrote in message news:AkHLf.20140$ snipped-for-privacy@bignews2.bellsouth.net... | | "Bob La Londe" wrote in message | news: snipped-for-privacy@adelphia.com... | >
| > "Bob Worthy" wrote in message | > news:QcFLf.39534$ snipped-for-privacy@bignews8.bellsouth.net... | > >
| > > "Robert L Bass" wrote in message | > >
| > >
| > >> For most systems the wiring is simple enough. Using 22/4 solid | > >
| > > or stranded. I see more problems with solid down the road, than with | > > stranded, but that is open to opinions. Nothing says you have to use one | > > over the other. | >
| > There are advantages and disadvanatages. I can't say I have seen any | > problems with solid over stranded once an installation is complete. | | We used to use solid, as a standard, many years ago, when working for a | national company. I switched, when on one particular type of system, that we | were installing, required us to keep going into different areas of the | system and adding more buildings over the years. Eventually, we started | getting opens on the circuits. It seemed the problem was always at the | splice point. Not the new one, but the existing ones in the same area. | Granted, it wasn't the best application, but it was, as is in most of todays | applications, two wires spliced together with beans, beanies, crimps or what | ever other term people use. The crimps have very sharp little teeth inside | to penetrate the outer jacket of the wire. I think that it might be | possible, that with that style crimp, those teeth just may be scoring, | notching, or damaging the solid copper core, leaving it weaker than normal. | When people are back into the splice, where there is always that possibility | of bending or repeated movement of the wire, the copper could break within | the jacket at the splice. Maybe we were using the wrong crimps, or maybe we | should have been using blocks but in any case, the average installer is | going to use the most popular method and that is crimps. The problem went | away with stranded wire. | | > There | > are a couple things that enter in for a prewire during construction. Any | > wire tags that wind up hanging out of doors or windows tend to get torn up | > from opening and closing. The stranded tends to hold up marginally better | > to this abuse. | | Agreed | | Unfortunatley the stranded is much more limp making it | > difficult to leave a bit of slack up in the wall or ceiling. I use the | > solid because I can make an accordiin bend back and forth in my hand about | > five times and leave it inside the frame of the house. | | Here in Florida, we don't have that luxury. There is only a 3/4" cap between | the sheet rock and the cement block and we have to make a block shot | diagonally from the wall to the window. We need flexibility. | | This gives me abut 2 | > feet of slack to work with. | | Must be nice | | When I come back to do a tie down I grab the | > wire hanging out of the hole and pull it down. Then I completely cut off | > the stub that was sticking out. This totally eliminates any wire damaged | > from the opening and closing of the door or window. | | We have to drill either a 3/4" or 1" hole into the window or door buck and | curl our service loop up into that. Again, needing the flexibility. The new | hurricane codes have the doors and windows bolted tight tight tight to the | sub frame with no caps. Not as easy as the old days. | >
| > I don't imagine that many residential low voltage contractors carry and | > angle grinder and a cable locator in their truck. | | Working in S. Florida, where everything is concrete and steel they do. | | Bottom line is that you are right. I am sure there are advantages and | disadvantages to both from area to area and mostly boils down to preference. | |