On Tue, 17 Feb 2009 13:14:47 -0600, Bill Aycock wrote:
>Can anyone tell me, or give a reference to data, that compares the
>effectiveness of the different materials, with Copper as the base
>for comparison?
All of those materials are fine electrically, and they don't need
to be buried (except to protect them from mechanical damage). The
primary difference is a matter of how much the metal you choose
will chemically react with the earth or the atmosphere, and that
will depend on your soil. You do NOT want electrical contact with
the earth, you want to REPLACE the earth as a current path (because
the earth is lossy and the copper is not). SO -- insulated wire is
better, because it minimizes corrosion.
The best compromise between cost and performance is probably a
fairly small diameter insulated solid copper wire. Many folks who
have put in a lot of radial systems consider #18 a good compromise
between ruggedness and cost. Electrically, you'd be just fine with
#22, but it's more likely to get broken.
73,
Jim K9YC
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