michaelbluejay
Member
- Location
- Austin, TX
- Occupation
- Rental property maintenance
A caution:
Several retailers list Southwire's regular THHN product as THWN-2 (Home Depot, Lowe's, Amazon). However, in common sizes like 10-14 AWG, it's *not* THWN-2.
Southwire's web page about their THHN says it's just THWN for 10-14 AWG, and THWN-2 only if:
(1) 8 AWG or larger, or
(2) 10-14 AWG in SIMpull BARREL and SIMpull CoilPAK flavors.
Southwire doesn't help matters because later on the same page, it says: "THWN-2: Wet or dry locations not to exceed 90°C", without the disclaimer. If you were skimming the website and that's all you saw, you'd think their regular #10-14 THHN is also THWN-2, but it's not.
In the case of Lowe's and Home Depot, they're using generic descriptions that describe an entire product line, not the particular product that you're looking at, although of course that's absolutely not obvious to the reader. "Southwire's type THHN or THWN-2 conductors are primarily used in conduit and cable trays..." This is probably Southwire's fault, providing generic descriptions to the retailers.
In the case of Amazon, it's worse, the title of the product says it's THWN-2 "Southwire 22973237 Simpull Thhn or Thwn-2 Standard Wire, 10 Gauge, 100' per Roll, Black".
I ordered that roll from Amazon, but the package says 22973284, not 22973237. I couldn't find the 22973284 product number anywhere (including on Southwire's website), but neither the product label nor the product wire jacket says THWN-2. So, looking up THHN on Southwire's website I found that Southwire's #10 THHN is usually not also THWN-2.
Southwire could make this clearer by putting on the product label "Not rated as THWN-2" (and even on the jacket, "NOT THWN-2"). Yeah, I know it's common for manufacturers to list what something *is* rather than what it *isn't*, but I've sure seen lots of products that say something like "Not suitable for XXX". That's entirely appropriate here.
Did you know about this non-THWN-2 issue with Southwire or did you not know?
Several retailers list Southwire's regular THHN product as THWN-2 (Home Depot, Lowe's, Amazon). However, in common sizes like 10-14 AWG, it's *not* THWN-2.
Southwire's web page about their THHN says it's just THWN for 10-14 AWG, and THWN-2 only if:
(1) 8 AWG or larger, or
(2) 10-14 AWG in SIMpull BARREL and SIMpull CoilPAK flavors.
Southwire doesn't help matters because later on the same page, it says: "THWN-2: Wet or dry locations not to exceed 90°C", without the disclaimer. If you were skimming the website and that's all you saw, you'd think their regular #10-14 THHN is also THWN-2, but it's not.
In the case of Lowe's and Home Depot, they're using generic descriptions that describe an entire product line, not the particular product that you're looking at, although of course that's absolutely not obvious to the reader. "Southwire's type THHN or THWN-2 conductors are primarily used in conduit and cable trays..." This is probably Southwire's fault, providing generic descriptions to the retailers.
In the case of Amazon, it's worse, the title of the product says it's THWN-2 "Southwire 22973237 Simpull Thhn or Thwn-2 Standard Wire, 10 Gauge, 100' per Roll, Black".
I ordered that roll from Amazon, but the package says 22973284, not 22973237. I couldn't find the 22973284 product number anywhere (including on Southwire's website), but neither the product label nor the product wire jacket says THWN-2. So, looking up THHN on Southwire's website I found that Southwire's #10 THHN is usually not also THWN-2.
Southwire could make this clearer by putting on the product label "Not rated as THWN-2" (and even on the jacket, "NOT THWN-2"). Yeah, I know it's common for manufacturers to list what something *is* rather than what it *isn't*, but I've sure seen lots of products that say something like "Not suitable for XXX". That's entirely appropriate here.
Did you know about this non-THWN-2 issue with Southwire or did you not know?
