what is the real difference in pwr wire cca vs ofc vs copper weld

[corcraft]

I am in the market for some 1/0 cable and before I started looking I thought that every wire was the same. What is the real difference? I want to use black so welding cable is ok with me but what is the difference in that vs ofc? Also, I was getting ready to click the "buy now" button on ebay for a roll of metra install bay but it is CCA and I have read where 1/0 CCA is no better than 4g OFC so it gets a little confusing on what to buy. I don't want to spend allot of money on pwr wire but I will be running 180- 200 amps of current so I need something that will be sufficient for that amount and not stiff as a board. Will the cca do? Will welding cable work as good as ofc? Or do I need ofc?

[corcraft]

anyone?

[Wheres The Butta]

I'm curious to see what people think. The conventional wisdom that I'm familiar with is that 100% OFC is best, but probably unnecessary outside of competition setups.

[240sxguy]

Honestly dude, I am not so hung up on the OFC wire for power/ground. I understand the purpose of it but don't feel that the additional cost etc.. would be warranted.

Plus, welding wire is really easy to run due to its flexibility.

[corcraft]

Originally Posted by 240sxguy

Honestly dude, I am not so hung up on the OFC wire for power/ground. I understand the purpose of it but don't feel that the additional cost etc.. would be warranted.

Plus, welding wire is really easy to run due to its flexibility.

So what is the purpose of it over welding cable?

Is CCA wire that bad? If the myth is true that it's about the same as 4g OFC then what is the pupose of it being made? Isn't 4g ofc cheaper and easier to run? Or is that just a myth?

I want the wire to be safe with 180amps and not cause a current drop and the cheapest that will do that for me. Is CCA out of the question? A 50' roll of metra install bay cca is only $60. A 50' roll of knu is like $85 but it's still cca and then a 50' roll of weld wire is $100+.

Thanks for the replies!

[mattyjman]

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/...wer-wires.html

try the search button... it works.

[corcraft]

.......... well ya can't search OFC or CCA and not many people refer to CCA as copper clad aluminum....... and if I would have searched titles for copper clad aluminum then that post that you attached wouldn't have came up either because it just says copper clad. Therefor I made the executive decision to ask myself but thanks for the attachment!

[mattyjman]

sorry, i wouldn't normally do this.. but not searching and then making an excuse not to that's not even valid... meh... all i suggested is that the search feature works... look below.

[corcraft]

I just read the attachment and allot of good info there, Thanks! Basicly you need to get 1 gauge bigger in CCA so 1/0g CCA = 2g ofc.

Now that we got an answer to that what makes OFC better than pure copper welding cable other than the pretty colors?

[corcraft]

thanks but ya still cant search CCA or OFC and nor would the proper name for each have worked by searching title like I said. You started that thread (which has some good info) so of coarse you knew how to search for it. Thanks!

[cubdenno]

Welding cable is usually OFC. otherwise, unless the welding wire is listed as not being copper, then it totally depends on what you are wanting to do. generally car audio power wire is more flexible then welding cable due to the jacket.

[corcraft]

Ahhhh, thanks! That is exactly what I wanted to know.

[240sxguy]

Originally Posted by cubdenno

Welding cable is usually OFC. otherwise, unless the welding wire is listed as not being copper, then it totally depends on what you are wanting to do. generally car audio power wire is more flexible then welding cable due to the jacket.

I have found the opposite to be the case, so OP check out what you are buying.

[chad]

Originally Posted by cubdenno

Welding cable is usually OFC. otherwise, unless the welding wire is listed as not being copper, then it totally depends on what you are wanting to do. generally car audio power wire is more flexible then welding cable due to the jacket.

You work in the steel industry and are still using welding cable from the 50's?

The shit with the inner Teflon jacket just rocks. II used to buy Harris Welco-Flex but the rural king house stuff is comparable.

[arw01]

When I built my shop, I had to go to 000 aluminum wire to be the equivalent of 0 gauge copper. Eventually CCA will also oxidize which can affect your current flow. I would go copper and only grimace once on the price.

[danssoslow]

One neg to aluminum, in houses and commercial applications, is its low elastic modulus. Over time, it will loose tension under a lug or set screw. This will not only cause problems that can be hard to trace, but potentially a fire hazard.

[chad]

Originally Posted by arw01

When I built my shop, I had to go to 000 aluminum wire to be the equivalent of 0 gauge copper. Eventually CCA will also oxidize which can affect your current flow. I would go copper and only grimace once on the price.

Noalox FTMFW.

But I agree, I'm a fan of copper.

[Oliver]

Welding & Battery Cable

Coarse Strand Battery Cable

Coarse wire cable usually used in Cars and other applications that do not require the cable to be Flexible.


Fine Strand Welding Cable

Fine Stand Welding Cable is usually used on Electric Vehicles and other Mobil Electric Projects.

[sqshoestring]

The fine stranded on the welders I've used, and that is all I have ever seen on a welder (MIG usually), is like hair and far more limp than car wire. I'd guess part of this is because the casing is pretty thin on welding cable, but I can assure you it is durable and fairly fire proof lol. I have alum for the main wire into my house, thankfully nothing else. It is showing a ground fault, so I have to turn off all my power and crank down the lugs. That usually means the ground (neutral on the 220) is floating some. I have some special electrical spray to put on the lugs, I might as well pull the meter and do all of them what a pita. The previous owner told me he had to tighten them before. It is coarse wire and rock hard, you would never want to install that crap in a car, I would never put coarse copper in a car either at least the stuff used for houses. You can make coat hooks from it.

There are very few things I'd use aluminum wire for and in a car is not one of them, due to daily movement of a car. My rule is buy the cheapest copper you can find that fits the use be it looks or performance, copper is copper in most cases. I used bulk lamp cord for home and car speakers for years for hidden things, that stuff is really tough and works great long as the size is right for the use.

[dstaley]

The electrical conductivity of aluminum is 62% that of copper (google it if you don't believe me). Therefore, you will have to increase two AWG wire sizes to have the same resistance per foot of aluminum wire as you would have with a given size of copper wire (4 AWG vs. 2 AWG, etc).

I would just get the cable size you need in copper so as to avoid many of the corrosion and conductivity issues you have.

By the way, the conductivity of iron is far less than even that of aluminum- about 18% that of annealed copper.

If you are really running over 100A, it would be wise to run a separate large gage copper negative wire as your losses through the chassis (especially sheetmetal only as in modern unibody design cars) become significant. Even if you don't follow this advice, make sure the ground cable/strap between your engine block and whatever part of the chassis you are using as ground (frame if a full frame vehicle or body if a unibody) is up to the task, as are the fasteners on either end of the strap. A large sheetmetal screw is NOT sufficient to carry 100+ amperes from the engine block/alternator to the body where your amplifiers are connected!

[MTU_Husky]

Also, copper is copper for your purposes, OFC vs non OFC copper will do the same things. You have to get up into high frequencies, much higher than 20khz even for OFC to be needed.

[cubdenno]

Originally Posted by dstaley

The electrical conductivity of aluminum is 62% that of copper (google it if you don't believe me). Therefore, you will have to increase two AWG wire sizes to have the same resistance per foot of aluminum wire as you would have with a given size of copper wire (4 AWG vs. 2 AWG, etc).

I would just get the cable size you need in copper so as to avoid many of the corrosion and conductivity issues you have.

By the way, the conductivity of iron is far less than even that of aluminum- about 18% that of annealed copper.

If you are really running over 100A, it would be wise to run a separate large gage copper negative wire as your losses through the chassis (especially sheetmetal only as in modern unibody design cars) become significant. Even if you don't follow this advice, make sure the ground cable/strap between your engine block and whatever part of the chassis you are using as ground (frame if a full frame vehicle or body if a unibody) is up to the task, as are the fasteners on either end of the strap. A large sheetmetal screw is NOT sufficient to carry 100+ amperes from the engine block/alternator to the body where your amplifiers are connected!

Very well stated. Glad you posted this. Most people do not get this.

[ChrisB]

That is what I did in my sister's vehicle by running 4 gauge CCA instead of 8 gauge copper. Her amplifier only had 40 amps of fusing, but I figured it was better to be safe than sorry just in case I decided to upgrade her to a pair of smaller amps later. Also, the local Best Buy wanted in the neighborhood of $160 for their Kicker 8 gauge wiring kit whereas KnuKonceptz had the 4 Gauge CCA kit for less than $30 shipped at the time.

Don't get me wrong, I do like Kicker Hyperflex and have a 4 gauge Hyperflex kit in my wife's vehicle. I just didn't think it was worth spending that kind of coin on a college student's system. Furthermore, she's my sister and I know that she would NOT pull the wire prior to getting rid of her vehicle.

[Phreaxer]

this thread has made me decide to pull out the wire I have had sitting in a container in my garage for the last 5 years waiting for me to get another install put together and see how it's held up. Some stinger 12ga speaker wire, and mainly welding cable (2 gauge).... If it's pic worthy, I'll post them.

[andrave]

cca is lighter, cheaper, and ok for lots of people. I don't like it though. I'd compare it to using boss audio camps. 90% of the public wouldn't ever know. But I know they suck, so I just can't.