Speaker Wire vs. Enameled Wire

MisterCasual · Post by **MisterCasual** » Fri Mar 22, 2013 6:07 pm

I have a science project to build a hydro generator, I went to home depot to get wiring for the coils and he gave me some copper wire, the copper wire was twisted and stuff and it looked fine, so I bring it home then i realized the wire had to be enameled, and I doubt he gave me enameled wiring and by the looks of it it doesn't look enameled. (Then again it might be)

So I was looking through my house and found some speaker wire, covered in plastic and it had 2 wires in it... If i strip both the pieces apart can those be used as wires to be coiled for the electricity generation?

Please if anyone knows anything about this sort of stuff please help me.

Thank you

volcanogeorge · Post by **volcanogeorge** » Fri Mar 22, 2013 6:57 pm

you need as many turns as possible, hence smaller diameter wire, hence enameled wire is usually used.

if you can solder to it, it's not enameled, you'll need to strip the enameling off with sandpaper/a knife

EliteLennon117 · Post by **EliteLennon117** » Fri Mar 22, 2013 8:20 pm

#loops / length

pembroke · Post by **pembroke** » Fri Mar 22, 2013 8:38 pm

Isn't the point of enamelled wire that you should be able to solder it without having to strip it?
Would it be possible to check with them? Perhaps posting a picture would be more helpful to someone trying to identify your wires.

Anything that can 'hold' a potential difference in order to deliver a current should be usable for what you're doing. So yes, the speaker wires should work.

Personally though, I could never bring myself to take a speaker apart hahaha.

volcanogeorge · Post by **volcanogeorge** » Fri Mar 22, 2013 8:59 pm

pembroke wrote:Isn't the point of enamelled wire that you should be able to solder it without having to strip it?
Would it be possible to check with them? Perhaps posting a picture would be more helpful to someone trying to identify your wires.

Anything that can 'hold' a potential difference in order to deliver a current should be usable for what you're doing. So yes, the speaker wires should work.

Personally though, I could never bring myself to take a speaker apart hahaha.

no the point is that its insulated without needing a really thick layer of plastic, thus enabling it to be wound into coils without shorting out on itself.

pembroke · Post by **pembroke** » Fri Mar 22, 2013 9:19 pm

I meant compared using actually thick layers of plastic for insulating.

volcanogeorge · Post by **volcanogeorge** » Fri Mar 22, 2013 9:27 pm

the main advantage it has is that you can fit more turns of wire in the same volume than you can with plastic insulation.

pembroke · Post by **pembroke** » Fri Mar 22, 2013 10:01 pm

Fair.

lovelydivot · Post by **lovelydivot** » Sat Mar 23, 2013 5:37 am

Isn't the point of coiling - to generate more surface area?
and if so - Why would you want it insulated at all?

I mean - Why do you need to coil - I don't understand what you are doing.

lovelydivot · Post by **lovelydivot** » Sat Mar 23, 2013 5:51 am

This is a full on science wind up thread isn't it..

It's 1:55...+4, -4

pembroke · Post by **pembroke** » Sat Mar 23, 2013 3:29 pm

Dunno about you, but I don't much like the thought of being electrocuted every time I try to touch my science project.

lovelydivot · Post by **lovelydivot** » Sat Mar 23, 2013 3:38 pm

but aren't you trying to cross the wire over a magnetic field to generate electon movement?

How can you do that if your wire is insulated against it?

Maybe you shouldn't be touching the wire - needs to be chambered...

But I could be wrong - maybe magnets work through insulation...

pembroke · Post by **pembroke** » Sat Mar 23, 2013 3:41 pm

Is there a reason that the coating alone should act to diminish the magnetic field?

Edit - wire to coating

dickman69 · Post by **dickman69** » Sat Mar 23, 2013 3:47 pm

isnt the point of electricty that u can run wires with it

lovelydivot · Post by **lovelydivot** » Sat Mar 23, 2013 3:56 pm

ok so, while generating - your coils do have to be insulated from each other...to control the shorting as you said...
- " but in all cases the individual turns must be electrically insulated from each other to ensure that the current travels throughout every turn."

and your answer - "For ease of manufacturing, most new magnet wire has insulation that acts as a flux when burnt during soldering. [1] This means that the electrical connections at the ends can be made without stripping off the insulation first. Older magnet wire is normally not like this, and requires sandpapering or scraping to remove the insulation before soldering."

I mean - Borax flux - is glass - as is enamel...

pembroke · Post by **pembroke** » Sat Mar 23, 2013 4:08 pm

rayman612 wrote:isnt the point of electricty that u can run wires with it

What do you mean by running wires?

And generally I think the point of electricity is to transport charge.

volcanogeorge · Post by **volcanogeorge** » Sat Mar 23, 2013 7:04 pm

what the fuck happened here

pembroke · Post by **pembroke** » Sat Mar 23, 2013 10:27 pm

Highschool

Speaker Wire vs. Enameled Wire

Speaker Wire vs. Enameled Wire

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