Things To Remember When Using Electrical Wire

Electrical wire is a very broad term used by electricians and most people in the wire and cable field. That just means that if a manufacturer already makes THHN wire then they will most likely manufacture Romex wire, UF-B Cable and Service entrance cables as well. However, something they might not manufacture would be welding cable because it’s made with rubber insulation and it’s under the category of Power Cable.

Here are some things to remember and/or ask your distributor when buying electrical wire from them.

1. What type’s of wire and cable do you sell the most?

If you’re looking for electrical wire and they mention Speaker Wire or power cables then it may not the best place to be looking. If they sell mostly speaker wire than they probably have outstanding pricing on it, and not so good of pricing on the electrical wire.

The best pricing comes in volume for distributors, just like anyone else for any product. The more you buy, the less you pay. So be sure to ask the question and figure out the type of business you’re buying from before buying their product.

2. Do you buy directly from the manufacturer and is your wire and cable made in the USA?

Sometimes distributors buy very little Electrical Wire and actually get their products from other distributors to resell because they don’t have the volume to buy direct. This doesn’t mean anything bad about the product you’re getting, it’s probably just at a higher price. There’s an extra mark up in price and an extra shipment involved.

Some cables are made cheaper overseas, shipped to the US and still sold cheaper than US made wire and cable. Beware of this cable and ask your distributor for a specification sheet from where the wire was made. Any manufacturer would be happy to give out this information.

3. Make sure you speak to an electrical contractor, or electrician, about what size wire you need.

Don’t let a sales associate at a distributor tell you what size wire you need because they’re salesmen. Some salesmen are greedy and would get more commission by selling you something that’s worth more money. They’re also not very knowledgeable about the amps and voltage like an electrical contractor to give you the correct information.

You don’t want to start a project and then realize you have the wrong size wire. Or worse off, if you complete the project and realize you put in a smaller awg than needed. That could cause some significant problems. It could also give you a bad reputation as an electrical contractor which is very bad for business.

Make sure to do all of your homework because copper is very expensive and it’s the only conductor in electrical wire. You will save money and end up with a better product if you make a few extra phone calls and ask a few extra questions.