Where do you buy your wire from?

[NewShockerGuy]

Just wondering where everyone buys their different gauge wire from?

I like Coleman Cable and normally pick it up at amazon since it's usually a good price sometimes and prime, but I need wire for a project 10gauge... and I can only seem to find 100' spools which is just too much...

Where do you go to get wire that is of good quality and stranded and not necessary have to purchase long lengths or spools of it.... Ebay is out of the question because the majority of that I have seen is crappy speaker wire which I don't want...

The thinner stuff like 18 through 24 gauge or anything along that lines is fine because I can use a lot of it when linking up leds or just computer stuff so I feel it wasteful to purchase a large spool and then probably not use it again...


Thanks,
-Nigel

 

[sselander]

This is one of the places I have used.
They have the cross-linked wire (GXL & TXL) in smaller quantities than the large spools.
http://www.wirebarn.com/

There are other places I have used, but this is the first one that comes to mind.

 

[BillK]

Nigel,
I dont know exactly what type of wire you are talking about, but over here across the river in Southern Md, Home Depot and Lowes both sell it by the foot. Just about any size or type you could want. They also have small rolls of the most popular sizes. I just got 20 ft of 18ga 3 wire cable for a Ham Radio project I am working on.

Why mess with Amazon, waiting, not sure if you are getting the right thing ? HD and Lowes are both less than a 10 minute drive for me. My local Radio Shack also has a pretty decent selection in small rolls.

Besides, I prefer to support the local economy

 

[EOC_Jason]

+1 for Home Depot or Lowes

 

[Falcon67]

Guy next door works for an electrical supply house - said to buy at HD or Lowes because they buy so much common wire (romex, etc) nobody else can compete on price.

 

[pentavolvo]

How much you looking for I rly have what you need and will send if you cover shipping

 

[Highbeam]

Home depot. 250' rolls of 12/2, 2x4 studs, and sheets of OSB are loss leaders. They sell them at a loss just to get you in the door. Seriously, they have pallets of wire and price compete with lowes every day. For anything you have to buy by the foot, like THWN, I have found better deals at electrical supply places.

 

[Norcal]

Electrical supply houses are not going to sell 10,12,14 AWG wire by the foot, larger sizes like 4 AWG & up, hard to beat a supply house over a big box store.

NM cable is cheaper at big box stores.

 

[pattenp]

Not true here. I bought 30 feet of 10-2 NM-b by the foot from ECK Supply and it was a few cents cheaper per foot than the boxed wire at Lowes or HD.

Electrical supply houses are not going to sell 10,12,14 AWG wire by the foot, larger sizes like 4 AWG & up, hard to beat a supply house over a big box store.

NM cable is cheaper at big box stores.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Electrical supply houses are not going to sell 10,12,14 AWG wire by the foot, larger sizes like 4 AWG & up, hard to beat a supply house over a big box store.

NM cable is cheaper at big box stores.

On the other hand, OSH sells romex by the foot. But maybe thats why theyre bankrupt?

 

[Norcal]

On the other hand, OSH sells romex by the foot. But maybe thats why theyre bankrupt?

Blame Sears Holdings,just like GE Capital is the blame for Mervyn's going under.


If Lowes ends up w/ them I hope all the Crapsman junk leaves, it's too tarnished a brand, if I want Chinese junk Harbor Freight is across the street from the local OSH, then there is the dollar stores... You can guess Craftsman is not a fav of mine since they went off shore.


All the big box stores have "boutique" rolls of NM cable in 25,50,& 100 foot packages, just bend over & Vaseline is not a option.

 

[mobiledynamics]

100 footers is as low as you will find though.
How much you need. I might have some in 10awg if you want to entertain a PM...

 

[jeffmoss26]

I buy most of my wire from the local electrical supply houses. They sell and cut romex, SO cable and large sizes of THHN. I've even bought outdoor rated cat5e for camera jobs.
If I need a few feet of 12 gauge THHN I will go to a hardware store.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Blame Sears Holdings,just like GE Capital is the blame for Mervyn's going under.


If Lowes ends up w/ them I hope all the Crapsman junk leaves, it's too tarnished a brand, if I want Chinese junk Harbor Freight is across the street from the local OSH, then there is the dollar stores... You can guess Craftsman is not a fav of mine since they went off shore.


All the big box stores have "boutique" rolls of NM cable in 25,50,& 100 foot packages, just bend over & Vaseline is not a option.

Stupid assholes. Capitalism at work right? I used to love craftsmen because they were USA made! Are craftsmen wrenches, ratchets and sockets at least still made in the US?

 

[Norcal]

Stupid assholes. Capitalism at work right? I used to love craftsmen because they were USA made! Are craftsmen wrenches, ratchets and sockets at least still made in the US?

Nope, all ChiCom junk. That is why I tossed in the HF comment, as much as I dislike Sears, used to buy some CM tools because they were US made.

Now back to the wire discussion.

 

[theoldwizard1]

If you are a pro, and go through a lot of 14-2 or 12-2 NM or UF, buy it in 1000' spools. You will save a lot.

 

[Ryf]

in a similar but different discussion, when buying my MHF, I went to a local electric supply and it was cheaper to buy 200 ft than the 150ish ft I needed. so make sure you ask where the price points are and what the difference is. now what the heck am I gonna do with 50 ft of MHF? i dunno, but if my brother in law had waited 2 weeks to do his garage circuit he could have got his feeder wire for free.

I've still got pieces of 6/3 and I'm using that for the welder circuits because its leftover from the attached garage feeder. on the 6/3 copper I saved big bucks buying prepackaged 100ft instead of the 65ft I needed, money wise it would have been marginally cheaper to put a junction box in and adding to a 50ft prepackaged roll. but one piece of wire was easier to finish out for sure.

so point is, make sure your not wasting money getting the exact length.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Usually I buy mine at HD.

Yesterday I did buy some Cat5e at Menard's. The 500' box normally priced at $54 was on sale for $44.99 and it fit in the 15% off bag. I also had a rebate gift card for just under $19 which saved me even more, along with some 2" pvc conduit stuff.

 

[mobiledynamics]

FWIW....the data stuff, jacks, cabling, etc is not on the same quality or ease of install *jacks, etc* versus true datacom products - Belden, Berk Tek, Mohawk, etc...

 

[uniballer]

Restore here in lynchburg (if you find any) is half of lowes retail! But you better be there when it is put out.

 

[sberry]

I have been buying it from box stores lately. I got to buy a couple rolls of 12 single as it is and it makes a guy pucker anymore. I used up a bunch a while back on a building, in hinmdsight might have ran a couple simple circuits and added a lot of it as needed instead of having so much wire idle.

 

[sberry]

If its a common wire it would have to be a short piece for me not to buy a roll. A roll of 12 nmb will get used.

 

[wilddrhang1734]

One of the best places to get small amounts of color coded wire is the wrecking yard. Next time you go to a pull it yourself, strip some harnesses out with relay boxes and fuses.