Copper wire supplies

adrian

adrian

Flying Squad
Having got to the stage of piping up various lubricators and oil boxes on my 4MT I realised that I was deficient in copper wire supplies. Obviously Eileen's Emporium is good for a quick hit on short lengths and a one stop shop, however their range seemed limited for what I was after, i.e they have 24swg (0.56mm) and 38swg (0.15mm) but nothing in-between.

To cut to the chase after a bit of searching I found this website
http://www.sci-mart.com/Physics/Electricity

Which has a good range of bare copper wire - in 250g reels.

copper_wire.png
So sci-mart 24swg 250g £6 - yes that's correct only £6 for a 250g reel!
http://www.sci-mart.com/Physics/Electricity/bare-copper-wire-24swg

The only downside is the £7.50 p&p - they use DPD couriers so if you are going to order then do it all in one go to lessen the blow and spread the costs.

The wire is bare copper - I expected, despite the description for it to have a thin enamel coating given the suppliers but it is bare and solders fine. It does appear to be alloyed with something as it is slightly springy - not soft like pure copper - however in someways I think I prefer that for doing the pipework as it keeps it shape.

I now have enough copper wire for life as you get plenty on a 250g reel!! So if anyone would like a sample before placing an order then please let me know. I have reels of 20, 24,26,28 and 30 swg and I'll happily drop a short length in the post for you.
oil_box.png
 
adrian

adrian

Flying Squad
OzzyO said:
Have a look at Rapid Electronics
http://www.rapidonline.com/FFSearchResults.aspx?query=copper wire&filterSearchScope=1
This is a starting point.
Click to expand...

Yes I have looked at Rapid as I have an account with them for buying all the components for the MERG kits I put together. The reason I didn't go with Rapid was that I couldn't find any bare copper wire, the first items in your link are for enamelled copper wire so whilst they are 500g reels they are coated wires. Sci-direct can be cheaper e.g. £6 for 250g vs £15.25 for 500g from Rapid, this is sufficient for my needs and from Sci-direct it is bare wire and not enamel coated.
 
oldravendale

oldravendale

Western Thunderer
Small quantities in coils, ie not on cores, in 7 or 8 different gauges from Hobbyhorse too. I think it's £1 per coil, and for the quantities I use to spend under £10 on these I thought quite reasonable. Of course, if you need large quantities it makes sense to buy by weight on a core.

Brian
 
K

Kev T

Western Thunderer
I use wires.co.uk They do small quantities a sample pack and have various types of copper wire as well as enamelled wire, gold and iron wire as well as some sheet materials. They are a craft supplier so also sell beads and stuff.
I've used them a few times and have good service.
 
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