Is Electrical Wire Flexible Or Should I Look at a Power Cable?

Most people seem to start at the basic type of electrical wire called THHN wire when discussing how flexible wire is. Electrical wire isn’t flexible at all and was actually made to specifically not be flexible. It needs to be pushed through conduit so the stiffer it is the better. It also has a nylon coating over the PVC insulation to help it slide through easier.

Diesel Locomotive Cable

Locomotive cable is also known as DLO cable which is just the abbreviation. It’s a flexible power cable that has more strands than electrical wire. It’s built for industrial use and outdoor use on job site for supplying large amount of power. If you just want something a bit more flexible than electrical wire then there are still better options available. DLO cable will be much too expensive as a slight jump from THHN wire.

Flexible Welding Cable

Welding cable is very flexible power cable because it has so many small strands of bare copper wire. They’re wound together in a perfect way to add even more flexibility. The rubber insulation over the copper is also more flexible than the stiff PVC insulation. This would definitely be the nest step up from electrical wire because it’s only a little bit more expensive. Even though it sounds much more complicated the it’s very basic. It’s just copper and insulation so the pricing on the cable is very volatile.

Extra Flexible Welding Cable

If the standard welding cable isn’t flexible enough for you then this cable has to be. It’s called Super Vu-Tron Welding Cable and it’s a brand name by General Cable. It only comes with extra flexible 34 awg strands instead of 30 awg strands. It also has a more flexible jacket with rubber insulation. You could wrap a 4/0 welding cable around your finger if you get this kind.

Most of the flexibility comes in the awg of the strands. The higher the number the better. The Super Vu-Tron has 34 awg strands, welding cable has 30 awg strands, DLO cable has 24 awg strands and the least flexible electrical wire has 19 awg strands. So make sure you ask that question before buying something that someone tells you is flexible.

WesBell Electronics is a distributor for wire and cable products. We sell the Flexible Welding Cable and any other type of Flexible Power Cable available. We can also help you out with types of wire that aren’t as flexible like Electrical Wire and THHN wire. Those types aren’t made for flexibility because they need to slide through conduit. Please call us with any questions you might have about wire and cable.