What gauge AWG wire does everyone use?

[-GFX-]

I just received some 26 AWG silicon-coated wire which is fantastically flexible but it looks very fine, and I'm thinking I'll get something slightly heavier gauge - some 22 AWG.

I'm just wondering what the experts and the seasoned builders are using?

And my second question is - Are all wires the same quality? ANy better quality recommendations?

I'm based in the UK in case that affects things...

[idy]

22awg is best for me. Larger is harder to fit in PCB, hard to fit two wires on a switch terminal, etc.

I use some heavier solid core sometimes to make a sort of armature of ground wires, wires from jacks to footswitch, etc.

Prebond is nice, holds together and doesn't splay, even without tinning.

[Mark Hammer]

I like #24.  A nice compromise between ruggedness and ability to turn tight corners.

[GibsonGM]

22

[digi2t]

22 or 24. Whatever is on special. I don't discriminate.

[blackieNYC]

 Is it stranded or solid?  Does silicon coating mean it won't melt when soldering?

[-GFX-]

Thanks for the replies, all.

Is it stranded or solid?  Does silicon coating mean it won't melt when soldering?

I went for stranded. Silicon sounded easier to work with - more flexible and higher heat resistance.

[digi2t]

Always stranded and sometimes tinned. Again, whatever's on special. Usually always PVC, it stays put better when you bend it.

[moid]

I prefer the solid wire to stranded - my builds seem to be more successful with that and I like the fact that I can bend it to shape and it stays where I want it to go when I'm not holding it... anything I build with stranded looks like a spaghetti explosion. I'm also in the UK and I like the cable that Bitsbox sell

https://www.bitsbox.co.uk/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=200_201

They say it is 22-23 AWG, I just know it as 1/0.6mm wire. I also find this is much easier to wire strip than stranded; I'm probably too heavy handed and always break stranded wire!

[Phend]

What is the smallest wire that can be used before becoming a fuse ?

[Mark Hammer]

Depends on how much current it has to handle.  Remember, fuses are fuses because they can't dissipate the heat from the current they are passing.  But when you consider how thin the leads are from the pins on a DIP chip to the active components under the epoxy, the answer is: pretty darn thin.

[PRR]

What is the smallest wire that can be used before becoming a fuse ?

"fusing current"

https://www.powerstream.com/wire-fusing-currents.htm

#40 Copper can carry 1.77 Amps, which is like 30X more than a greedy pedal and 1,000X more than a FuzzFace without LED.

#40 is about hair-size, impossible to handle in detailed wiring, snarls, won't take much of a yank to break it.

Most electronic wiring is about mechanical properties more than electric. In a 12V car, a coat of paint would stop the 12V, but auto wire sometimes has more plastic than house wire because cars are tough places to live.

How much "quality" do you want to pay for? On a related forum we had a guy who wired airplanes. Very specific wire and sophisticated strippers. If your pedal fails on stage you won't fall 55,000 feet.....

[Locrian99]

I use 24 AWG wire, both stranded and solid core.   Depending on what the wire is doing, if I'm wiring pots for a vero build that I know I'm going to be bending and contorting in all sorts of directions as I get it into the enclosure I'll use stranded, but if I'm just running the T/S wires from the jack to the switch or the +/- from the DC jack to the switch I'll use solid since they are never going to move once I have them in place and it's easier to work with IMO.

[ElectricDruid]

If your pedal fails on stage you won't fall 55,000 feet.....

But if I trip over the cable and fall off my platform shoes, I might!!

[GibsonGM]

But if I trip over the cable and fall off my platform shoes, I might!!

I did that once, 8th grade talent show.  Guitar strap popped off (no locks back then) on the edge of the stage. I went with it so it wouldn't get smashed on the floor 8 feet (not 55,000) below.  Broke my foot.  Finished the show.

Just posting to add...I have a lot of 22 ga.  because i bought a bunch from RS many years ago on sale.   Much of what I use in reality tho, is stuff harvested from dead computers and so on - much smaller gauge, stranded, and easy to work with!   Lots of nice colors too, for keeping track of what is what.    And Cat6 internet cable is AWESOME when you need solid-core!  All the pretty colors & stripes.

[amptramp]

I like 22 and 24 gauge but on occasion, I use wire-wrap wire which is 30 gauge.  Very little capacitive coupling to that.

As for current-handling capacity, a lot of televisions used a one inch length of 26 gauge wire as a fuse for the filament current and that would be many amps.