Welding Wire.. Thoughts?

[Bump4life]

Another thing I love about welding cable is how it will carry current up to 50' whereas car audio wire taps at out 20' before you're supposed to upgrade to the next size

A 14' run of 2 gauge welding cable will carry up to 250 amps

A 14' run of 1/0 gauge audio cable will carry 300 - 350 amps

My amp is rated for 180a

The pricing for 20' of 2 gauge welding cable is 37.10

20' run of 1/0 ofc is 72.80.

Damn near half the price with better ampacity capabilities??

Welding cable can't be beat

some of that information may or may not be true.

the "good" car audio wiring, such as from sky high or knukoncepts, is oversized wire. this means that the car audio 1/0 wire, is equal to a 2/0 welding wire. and the car audio 2/0 wire, is equal to the 4/0 welding cable.

those stats you posted, i disagree with them. there is no way a welding 1/0 will carry 350 amps at 14 feet without a voltage drop of over 5%. I bet even cold you will drop 1 volt. after heat youd probably be looking at a 1.5 volt drop.

generally a 1/0 good brand car audio wire or 2/0 welding is good for a relaible 300 amps with minimal drop after heat at around 15 feet.

ok cool you found a chart.

i would bet thats the max capable before danger/ melting of the wire.

but lets say you have 15 volts at one end of that 1/0 welding wire and you try to push a current of 350 Amps through 50 feet. what will the voltage be at the other end of the wire?

[FocusOn20s]

Another thing I love about welding cable is how it will carry current up to 50' whereas car audio wire taps at out 20' before you're supposed to upgrade to the next size

A 14' run of 2 gauge welding cable will carry up to 250 amps

A 14' run of 1/0 gauge audio cable will carry 300 - 350 amps

My amp is rated for 180a

The pricing for 20' of 2 gauge welding cable is 37.10

20' run of 1/0 ofc is 72.80.

Damn near half the price with better ampacity capabilities??

Welding cable can't be beat

some of that information may or may not be true.

the "good" car audio wiring, such as from sky high or knukoncepts, is oversized wire. this means that the car audio 1/0 wire, is equal to a 2/0 welding wire. and the car audio 2/0 wire, is equal to the 4/0 welding cable.

those stats you posted, i disagree with them. there is no way a welding 1/0 will carry 350 amps at 14 feet without a voltage drop of over 5%. I bet even cold you will drop 1 volt. after heat youd probably be looking at a 1.5 volt drop.

generally a 1/0 good brand car audio wire or 2/0 welding is good for a relaible 300 amps with minimal drop after heat at around 15 feet.

ok cool you found a chart.

i would bet thats the max capable before danger/ melting of the wire.

but lets say you have 15 volts at one end of that 1/0 welding wire and you try to push a current of 350 Amps through 50 feet. what will the voltage be at the other end of the wire?

yep. rated for 600v. You do know what welding cable is originally used for right?

Im not big on hypothetical situations because, quite frankly, hypothetically, they NEVER happen.

I just know for my application, and just about everyone car audio wise, unless you're tying knots in your cable, there's no clear advantage to using car audio cable

over welding cable.

Cheaper, more effective, and easier to run throughout the car. Im taking that all day, everyday

[SlamminBeats]

Another thing I love about welding cable is how it will carry current up to 50' whereas car audio wire taps at out 20' before you're supposed to upgrade to the next size

A 14' run of 2 gauge welding cable will carry up to 250 amps

A 14' run of 1/0 gauge audio cable will carry 300 - 350 amps

My amp is rated for 180a

The pricing for 20' of 2 gauge welding cable is 37.10

20' run of 1/0 ofc is 72.80.

Damn near half the price with better ampacity capabilities??

Welding cable can't be beat

some of that information may or may not be true.

the "good" car audio wiring, such as from sky high or knukoncepts, is oversized wire. this means that the car audio 1/0 wire, is equal to a 2/0 welding wire. and the car audio 2/0 wire, is equal to the 4/0 welding cable.

those stats you posted, i disagree with them. there is no way a welding 1/0 will carry 350 amps at 14 feet without a voltage drop of over 5%. I bet even cold you will drop 1 volt. after heat youd probably be looking at a 1.5 volt drop.

generally a 1/0 good brand car audio wire or 2/0 welding is good for a relaible 300 amps with minimal drop after heat at around 15 feet.

ok cool you found a chart.

i would bet thats the max capable before danger/ melting of the wire.

but lets say you have 15 volts at one end of that 1/0 welding wire and you try to push a current of 350 Amps through 50 feet. what will the voltage be at the other end of the wire?

yep. rated for 600v. You do know what welding cable is originally used for right?

Im not big on hypothetical situations because, quite frankly, hypothetically, they NEVER happen.

I just know for my application, and just about everyone car audio wise, unless you're tying knots in your cable, there's no clear advantage to using car audio cable

over welding cable.

Cheaper, more effective, and easier to run throughout the car. Im taking that all day, everyday

i use welding cable too and havent looked back as said before.

cant forget thought WS.com is not tinned wire. so with knu your getting tinned ofc which is still a plus

[Bump4life]

im not arguing whether welding wire is good wire or not. it is fine. its just has less strands making it less flexible and is not tinned like some car audio wires. to some that matters, to others it doesnt.

I am arguing that chart you posted. 1/0 welding is NOT carrying 350A of current with an acceptable voltage drop at 50 feet of wire nor will it carry 350A at 15 feet with an acceptable drop.

that HYPOTHETICAL question i asked you isnt hypothetical. in your car your alternator charges at 14.4 lets say to make it less hypothetical. if you are trying to transfer 350Amps from the front of your car 15 feet back to the rear of your car with 1/0 welding cable, i can guarantee you will see more than 1 volt of drop. so even though the alt and front battery are supply 350 Amps @ 14.4 volts, the rear where your battery bank is will only be seeing 13.4 volts or less due to the voltage drop of the wire. even less after we consider heat in the equation

[Colin - STAPUFT]

All welding wire in my rides as well.

I've been using welding wire so long that it was what everyone did, then I was mocked for it (when all the "name brand" wire came out), now everyone is doing it again. Oh well.

And second on heat resistance. Good OFC welding wire has good insulation with great heat resistance.

[Bump4life]

All welding wire in my rides as well.

I've been using welding wire so long that it was what everyone did, then I was mocked for it (when all the "name brand" wire came out), now everyone is doing it again. Oh well.

And second on heat resistance. Good OFC welding wire has good insulation with great heat resistance.

regardless of heat resistance. he will still drop around 1 volt with 1/0 welding wire. its not enough to carry 350A with an acceptable voltage drop. would you agree? I am not stating welding wire is bad. i am saying you need proper size to what you are drawing through it.

[dharris2488]

All welding wire in my rides as well.

I've been using welding wire so long that it was what everyone did, then I was mocked for it (when all the "name brand" wire came out), now everyone is doing it again. Oh well.

And second on heat resistance. Good OFC welding wire has good insulation with great heat resistance.

regardless of heat resistance. he will still drop around 1 volt with 1/0 welding wire. its not enough to carry 350A with an acceptable voltage drop. would you agree? I am not stating welding wire is bad. i am saying you need proper size to what you are drawing through it.

Unless I'm misunderstanding you, I don't see anywhere near a 1 volt drop. I'm running right at 15' from front to back as well. I run 1/0 welding flex wire throughout and I see no where near a 1 volt drop. I see 13.85 up front, and 13.81-13.82 in the rear. Now under load, there are too many factors to consider. The lowest I've seen my voltage drop, to the point where my amp clips is 12.85 volts. Typically during music, I'm in the 13.2 - 13.5 range... It's those BIG bass drops that I see the big drop, just like everyone else in my opinion. Now, if there is a way to help eliminate some of that big drop, I'm all ears!....

[SlamminBeats]

All welding wire in my rides as well.

I've been using welding wire so long that it was what everyone did, then I was mocked for it (when all the "name brand" wire came out), now everyone is doing it again. Oh well.

And second on heat resistance. Good OFC welding wire has good insulation with great heat resistance.

regardless of heat resistance. he will still drop around 1 volt with 1/0 welding wire. its not enough to carry 350A with an acceptable voltage drop. would you agree? I am not stating welding wire is bad. i am saying you need proper size to what you are drawing through it.

Unless I'm misunderstanding you, I don't see anywhere near a 1 volt drop. I'm running right at 15' from front to back as well. I run 1/0 welding flex wire throughout and I see no where near a 1 volt drop. I see 13.85 up front, and 13.81-13.82 in the rear. Now under load, there are too many factors to consider. The lowest I've seen my voltage drop, to the point where my amp clips is 12.85 volts. Typically during music, I'm in the 13.2 - 13.5 range... It's those BIG bass drops that I see the big drop, just like everyone else in my opinion. Now, if there is a way to help eliminate some of that big drop, I'm all ears!....

your not drawing 350 amps

and to eliminate drop. add alt or caps

[Colin - STAPUFT]

I'm confused on the voltage drop as well. IF you are talking about voltage drop without any draw (system off), the most I've ever had is 0.1-0.15 volts from the battery side of wire to the amp side (about 20 feet).

My preference is welding wire b/c of the reasons I stated earlier. Also I can get it cheaper than "branded" wire, and I can get it from my welding supply store locally. All of that and it is OFC. If it wasn't OFC, I wouldn't get it.

But, Bump4life I agree with you that It is all about proper wire size. I have 5 runs of 4 awg from the front battery. When I had just the one under-hood battery and dual alts, I popped fuses on a Street Beat run (after about 25 seconds & it was like 100 degrees). As it would seem, 5 runs of 4 awg will carry 400 amps, because I blew 5 separate 80 amp fuses.

Now, there are truly too many variables to add up to know what was what- because it was hot (heat builds resistance and more heat), and it was cranked at 12 volts. That's a lot to ask of fuses and wire. BUT- with my 2 big batteries in the back now- no problems.


Still love my welding wire.

[dharris2488]

If i need to carry 400amps of current, just to my sub system (thats max by the way), would 2 run of 1/0 welding cable be sufficient. My wire is rate for 275amperes, so I assume that 2 runs will be plenty. Double up from front to back, prolly change my fuses from 300 to 250 to be on the safe side, and call it good. Keep my rear battery bank the same, as the runs are no more than 2 feet and doubling up there will probably serve no purpose, other than to waste good wire. I will probably double up my grounds, just because all that power has to go somewhere. I don't want the bottle neck to be at my grounding sources... Sound ok?

It's hot as hell right now in the Houston area, so heat is almost always an issue for me... I've actually thought about yanking the 1/0 and just buying some 4/0 and doing one run... Maybe a cleaner install?