Copper ? Wire

[john.p.clegg]

Dear All

Any budding electrical engineers/metallurgists/chemists etc out there? Hope you can help me?

Quite a while ago I bought on a well known auction site some twin , red/black copper wire for general use ,
speakers etc

All was well for a while till they went faulty...traced it to the wiring and both wires were faulty , so replaced them...all was well for a while again till....
So , after ripping the wiring out again , had a closer look at the cable and it seemed the copper wire was " disintegrating " for want of a better word , which brings me back to a problem a couple of years ago when I had problems sealing hydraulic fittings , multi-packs of various copper O rings were found to be steel , copper plated , so now I carry with me a small magnet....won't be caught out again!!

Back to the copper ? wire , how can one tell if it is copper wire or as suspected copper plated aluminium wire ?

Thanks

John

[oldelanman]

Apply a flame to it .....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rL5VUYe_uX8

[bitsobrits]

It's becoming increasingly important to buy from a reputable source, especially those products which are safety related. Having had two electrical fires in old cars, I'd argue wiring is a safety item.

And as my grandfather would say "low cost comes at a price".

[john.p.clegg]

Roger
Excellent...

Thank you..

John

[englishmaninwales]

Roger, thank you+1 !
Malcolm

[2cams70]

Note there's also copper clad steel wire which may not show up in the Youtube test previously posted. As has been mentioned you are best sourcing from a reputable supplier - eg. RS Components.

[john.p.clegg]

Thanks
That idea had gone through my head but it's not magnetic , and I don't think those cost-cutting oriental types would spend the extra on stainless...or would they ??
Then there's the " disintegration " of the conductors....

John

[Bud English]

I ran into the same problem a few years back. If they are misrepresenting it in the discription you can try for a refund. I know that's no help with the time wasted or potential problems.
viewtopic.php?t=30869&f=38&start=0#p206642

[Andy8421]

Although I don't think CCA (copper clad aluminium) is a great choice for car wiring, it may well have appealed to Colin had it been available in his day.

Aluminium is a better conductor than copper by weight, for the same resistance an aluminium conductor will be approximately half the weight of copper and significantly cheaper.

It gets used in overhead power lines with a steel core for strength, and (if the internet is to be believed) on the A380 to save weight.

It needs proper termination to avoid corrosion, and doesn't have the vibration resistance of copper, but it is a viable alternative to copper and in the right application superior.

[john.p.clegg]

" It needs proper termination to avoid corrosion, and doesn't have the vibration resistance of copper, but it is a viable alternative to copper and in the right application superior. "

Takes me back to my PO/BT days...Manchester Central " invested " in aluminium underground cables and paid the price many years later as they started to break down at the slightest touch...

Thank you Andy , in a nutshell.

John

[Elanman99]

--it seemed the copper wire was " disintegrating " for want of a better word--

John, have you thought of a better word yet?

By disintegrating do you mean, turning to dust? corroding (what surface colour texture?) evaporating? desolving into the insulation? or what?

Ian

[john.p.clegg]

Not really....

I think oxdising , losing it's strength and ending up as aluminium oxide powder..

John

[Elanman99]

Oh, so it is aluminium cored cable. I saw it mentioned earlier in the thread but thought it was a speculation.

Whilst that wire is utterly unsuitable for the purpose I still wonder what is causing it to degrade so rampantly, have you moved home to Glossop by the Sea!

Ian

[john.p.clegg]

Moved from Glossop to Manchester , much the same....

https://ilovemanchester.com/manchester- ... r-reality/

John

[Andy8421]

" It needs proper termination to avoid corrosion, and doesn't have the vibration resistance of copper, but it is a viable alternative to copper and in the right application superior. "

Takes me back to my PO/BT days...Manchester Central " invested " in aluminium underground cables and paid the price many years later as they started to break down at the slightest touch...

Thank you Andy , in a nutshell.

John

A few years ago when my hearing was better than it is now, I was a regular contributor to a forum on HiFi. In the spirit of 'the only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing' I tried to point out the absurdity of the some of the views on snake oil products, mains cables being a particular hobby horse of mine. When arguing about the merits of cryo treated oxygen free copper mains cables, I pointed out that the electricity arriving at the house had traveled along many hundreds of km of aluminium cables to get there and that any apparent improvement by replacing 1m of mains cable was all in the listener's head.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminium-conductor_steel-reinforced_cable

edit: Fixed the link.