Best Wire for End Connections?

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Boans
 
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Best Wire for End Connections?

Post by Boans »

Hello you all, I will be powering 1 meter strips of this:
https://www.adafruit.com/product/1376?length=5

And I was hoping someone could tell me or link to the best type of Adafruit wire to solder onto the end connectors?

The project will call for pretty strong connections and I was assuming that the stranded core wire would adhere better than the solid core?

Also, what is a good all-around gauge to use for a 4A circuit?

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Best Wire for End Connections?

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

22AWG stranded wire is what we typically use.
The project will call for pretty strong connections
If there will be much stress on the wire, you should add some strain-relief to protect the solder joints. Both stranded and solid core wire tend to fail at the solder joint if it is repeatedly flexed.

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Boans
 
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Re: Best Wire for End Connections?

Post by Boans »

adafruit_support_bill wrote: Fri Nov 25, 2022 5:04 pm 22AWG stranded wire is what we typically use.
The project will call for pretty strong connections
If there will be much stress on the wire, you should add some strain-relief to protect the solder joints. Both stranded and solid core wire tend to fail at the solder joint if it is repeatedly flexed.
Thanks. It won't be continually flexed but it will be hanging vertically with limited support. Sorry, I'm new to this but what do you mean by strain-relief? Are there any type of brackets, elastic bands or glue that Adafruit carries that could help? All I saw was little silicone wall-mount brackets.

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Re: Best Wire for End Connections?

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

There are several ways to do strain relief. The main objective is to minimize any flexing of the wire at the point where it meets the solder joint.

A simple way is to wrap the joint in some tape. You can also cover it with a couple layers of heat-shrink tubing. That tends to make for a tidier looking assembly.

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Boans
 
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Re: Best Wire for End Connections?

Post by Boans »

Thanks for taking the time to advise!

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