How to know if copper wire is bad

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Jerry

Any problems if copper coating off of ground cable wire

In Wiring

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Babra

Ask your electrician to check the wire so he will tell you that the coper wire is bad.

This answer closely relates to:

Q. How to remove the anodizing on very small copper wires?
hi all, i have a new electric toothbrush with a bad wire; i can solder the copper, but the red coating on it will not solder nor conduct electricity. is there any way to effectively remove the coating? the wire is so small... thanx!

"Be successful because that's such a tiny wire..."

Nothing other than scraping it off with a sharp blade of some sort - but it's not likely to be successful because that's such a tiny wire . Don't be a cheapskate - replace the bloody toothbrush. If it's all that new, it should be under warranty and a replacement should be just a matter of taking it and your sales slip back where you got it. Oh - you're one of those dummies who tosses sales slips, eh? Sorry, you're S.O.L. Gotta pay for the new one, then...

Q. Is copper wire jewelry safe to wear?
i have been making handmade neckpieces and other wearable art and i love using copperwire in various thickness/gauges...they're really beautiful on murano glass beads.. anyway, this morning i was suddenly thinking if it's bad on the skin or something like avoid getting near electrically charged stuff...ridiculous, paranoid, but is it safe at all?

"I've really only had two problems with it..."

I also enjoy working with copper--it's beautiful, isn't it? I've really only had two problems with it. Firstly, it'll screw you up if you're sensitive to metals (i.e. not so good for ear wires) and I've found that it reacts badly with some people's skin chemistry (particularly my own--it turns me green). However, I've found that applying some sort of spray lacquer or fixative prevents the skin turning, although it does need to be reapplied periodically.

Q. What's the max amp can i run through thin copper wire if i don't wanna melt it?
hi i'm making an electromagnet and i only have around 6 meters of thin copper wire so i wanna make it as strong as possible! http://www.whimsie.com/copper%20jewelry%20wire%2026%20gauge%20.jpg approx. that thin.. what's a safe amp i could run through it so it won't heat up too bad?

"Heat in the inner portions of your coil..."

my guess is that the 26 on the spool is the wire gauge. remember two things, this is bare copper cable so even a 1/4 amp is going to cause a LOT of heat in the inner portions of your coil . Also you have to use AC current, not DC, to create an electromagnet.

Q. Any bad experiences with iud/mirena/paragard/copper wires?
did it get imbedded? perforate your uterus? how did you and your doctor solve the problem? if you used mirena, did the hormones have less side effects than the pill? i'm really considering this birth control method but i'm worried about the chances of infertility. tiffany b, i read mirena and paragard can both actually make periods heavier on this site: http://www.birth-control-comparison.info/iudinfo.htm brutally honest, did your doctor have anything to say about why those things happened and how they could be prevented? brutally honest, did you have any children before using them?

"With paragard..."

I used both, and sorry to say, I had BAD experiences with both. With ParaGard, I bled NON-STOP for the entire 5 months it was in. I hemorrhaged during periods, and my cramps were absolutely debilitating. Sex was absolutely nonexistent, as it was incredibly painful to have sex (GREAT means of birth control that way...no sex = no pregnancy!). After 5 months of nearly bleeding to death 12 days of a month and just having a period the rest of the time, I had it removed. With Mirena, I had cramping ALL the time, the hormones messed with my system (made me grow hair in places I shouldn't, made me gain weight, and turned me into a raging b**tch), and it eventually punctured my uterus, tore up my intestines, and I had to have emergency surgery to have it removed. No thanks. IUD=misery in my book.

Q. What is the hardware store version of 20 gauge pet fence wire?
we are moving to a new house, so i have to set up our innotek pet fence again. instead of buying some fancy brand wire, i was just hoping to pick up a spool at home depot/lowes. so i was wondering what i should look for at the hardware store .. just plain old 18 or 20 gauge copper wire? here's the "official" version of the wire http://www.americas-pet-store.com/details/prodid/87.html here is the fence we have http://www.americas-pet-store.com/details/prodid/262.html (i know there are people out there that say these fences are really cruel, but it would be far worse if my dogs dug under/went over the fence into traffic and we will be on a busy road.) i should add that this is not an electric fence. my understanding is that the wire basically transmits a radio signal and the dog wears a receiver that warns him when he gets too close to the fence.

"You could injure your dog if the wire you purchased did not carry the..."

The wire that is used with your pet fence is especially designed to carry a low voltage. Do not buy anything but the manufacturer's replacement wire. You could injure your dog if the wire you purchased did not carry the load evenly and he hit a hot spot in the wire. Is it really worth risking your dog's health to save a few bucks?

Q. What device can i build to stop my windshield from fogging up.?
i'm thinking of taking window tinting film slightly bigger than the windshield and sticking hair thin copper wires to the sticky side about 1 cm apart from each other (like the rear window). then sticking that to the inside of the windshield and trimming the edges. then painstakingly attaching each heating wire to a larger wire at the left and right sides of the windshield and suppling power to those wires. it should get warm enough to defrost or defog. but i'm worried about the plastic melting, bad visibility, wires breaking on installation or air bubbles. does anybody know where i can get something like this already made or better ideas on how to build this.

Just use your car's defroster. Leave a window open at least a crack for ventilation. If you have an air conditioner, use that as a dehumidifier. Wash the windshield inside and out with an ammonia-based window cleaner. For a little extra protection, after it's clean, spray a little of the cleaner on the inside of the windshield and leave it there.

Q. How to get rid of the smell of smoke (not cigarette)? one of the neighbors has burnt some copper wire outside.?
the smoke poured in our house, (we live in a double and thought the other side was on fire (just to picture how extreme it was, we called the fire department). i aired out the house for over 8 hours and to come home it is still there, not as bad but it's there. what can i do? just air it out everyday or sit some baking soda around or what? it is the most terrible smell. well we live in a rental and our neighbor lives on the other side of our double. i doubt he has any kind of insurance that would cover it and i doubt he would. he got mad that we called the fire department but we weren't sure where the smoke was coming from. i want to rid the smell not just cover it. i don't even think it is legal to burn something like that because of the fumes, i'm pretty sure the wire was stolen, and he claims it was someone else (a friend of his).

I don't know where you live, but if you're in the US, you can get some Febreeze to temporarily cover the odor. You might have to call in a professional to deal with the problem. It might be wise to inform your neighbor that his house insurance might have a claim for the fumigating bill!

Q. Is there a greener way to buy metal wire?
i make metal jewelry with copper, brass, nickel, and sterling silver. i use wire purchased from jewelry suppliers and hardware stores. am i supporting mines that are bad for the environment? is there an alternative? or is metal pretty well recycled?

"What we say is that use thing judiciously and do not waste things..."

We have to use what we require. No one says that we should go back to stone age. What we say is that use thing judiciously and do not waste things. Since you buy wire for jewelery making probably you know the cos of it and you are not wasting the metals. You can use nylon wire instead, but nylon is not as environmentally friendly as metals. Metals are completely recyclable and hence they are more greener than plastics. Some of the mines are not friendly to atmosphere but to get metals we have to do it. Not everything we do is going to be good for the environment. What we are talking is the sum of good and bad which should be neutral at the most.

Q. In an old home (1950) with no ground wire (only hot and neutral) how can i add a ground wire?
i am an engineer and have done a fair amount of new wiring myself, i'm looking for help from professional. is there a way to change from old two prong outlets to three prong (grounded) outlets? i'm trying to not rip out the walls and run new wiring. i've checked just grounding to the neutral (which i know is theoretically the same thing) and my tester reports bad ground. unless someone knows an easier way i'll have to drill through the floor and connect to a copper water pipe. i'm trying to avoid this because were talking about 20 outlets or so. thanks

"That is bonded to the panel service ground..."

You can install a GFCI IN the panel to feed the outlet circuits. You do not have to have a ground for the GFCI to work. You must then label all outlets "No ground conductor". You can install a GFCI in each of the beginning of each receptacle circuit and Label all outlets "No ground conductor" this will be a little tricky trying to find first recp. in ckt. You can run a single green wire from all the receptacles to a water pipe or something that is bonded to the panel service ground . Or you can install polarized two prong receptacles. My preference would be to if possible to change the service box out to a breaker box (if not already done) install GFCIs in Panel for all outlet circuits then reroute wires to panel.

This answer closely relates to:

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