> I have to comment that I've had very poor experience with #14 stranded
from
> the same source. It stretches and breaks very easily. I tore it out
after
> one year and replaced it with copperweld ladder line (I went
bidirectional)
> with excellent results.
>
> If you go the Home Depot route, I would recommend the solid wire over the
> stranded - stronger and easier to repair.
>
> 73,
> Barry N1EU
>
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Hi Barry,
You got my curiosity up concerning #14 stranded vs: solid #14 wire. I ran
some actual strength pull tests.
I compared black HomeDepot THHN 14AWG 16 strand 600V wire vs: the same
brand, but solid #14.
Both have a PVC plastic coating.
Using a 10' length for both with a pull bar on the end, I tested them
individually several times and found they both broke at close to the same
pull stress - maybe 150 pounds or so? However, the only difference I saw
was that after the critical stress point was reached, the stranded needed to
stretch a lot more BEFORE it finally broke...
Someone could probably calculate the strength of the 16 individual wires vs:
the one diameter solid, but it was about a wash by my feel.
I use #10 stranded THHN for all of my tower wire arrays here and find they
survive well- not a single failure yet. Though for longevity I know that if
there were NO PVC coating and both stranded and solid wire were bare and
exposed to the elements that the solid would last much longer than stranded
from corrosion effects.
However, given the fact that they are both coated with PVC, I personally
still prefer stranded wire for arrays due to the better flexibility before
work hardening fatigue sets in and also because of the danger of kinking
during installation. A kink doesn't seem to much hurt stranded, though in
solid it is a sure weak point later on.
Back to the subject at hand:
But, for the unique application of beverages with falling tree limbs in the
woods, I'm convinced your improvement of using copperweld is really the
best solution of all. If I replace mine, I may do just that later on.
73,
Tom, K1JJ
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