Wiring

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raider1

Senior Member
Staff member
Location
Logan, Utah
I always liked stranded for #10 and solid for #12 and #14. But that was just my personal preference. (#10 solid is tough to work with:))

Chris
 

gndrod

Senior Member
Location
Ca and Wa
Conditions

Conditions

What is good practice? - #10 and smaller wires solid or stranded?

Depends on what environment of physical conditions. Stranded is necessary when high vibration in equipment can cause wire fatigue. Termination can also be a factor when connections that have backstab solid conductor insertion such as residential receptacles or high quality stranded retention using commercial grade side screw termination devices. rbj
 

peter d

Senior Member
Location
New England
IMO for raceway installations #10 solid should be banned.

The biggest problem with solid is folding the wires back into the box. When you have a large j-box with multiple conduits coming and going it can be a real nightmare to get them all back in the box. So I would say upsizing boxes a few sizes larger than necessary can make things a whole lot easier.

For instance, a single conduit drop down to a switch or an outlet should be a 2 1/8" deep 4" sq rather than a 1 1/2" deep.
 
When I am inspecting and see solid, I have them pull it out and install stranded.

When I see stranded pulled in, I have them pull it out and install solid.

I believe this helps to build character in the guys. ;)











Actually, as you can see, it is generally a personal preference for the installer. As long as the conductors are 10, 12, 14 - it is not a code issue.
 
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