Question for the electricians

[Tony G]

Can an electrician settle a bet for me? Can you use automotive multi strand primary wire in a 125 volt home lighting circuit like a table lamp? I maintain that all of the wire spools in my shop supplies says "not to exceed 50 volts."


Thanks in advance for your expert opinion.

 

[kd3pc]

wire is wire is wire, the insulation and coatings mark it approved for various uses.

So an "automotive multistrand wire" could be used in a lamp, IF the insulation is appropriate and connectors and sockets are approved for the expected current and temperature, etc.

 

[pattenp]

The insulation needs to have the proper rating for the intended use. So if the wire you have is marked 50V then it is not to be used for line voltage of 120V. Use common sense, 12V wire is not insulated to handle 120V.

 

[ishiboo]

An electrician does not work on a table lamp, they work on premise wiring. The NEC doesn't really have much to say about what you plug in, that's going to be handled by UL... and UL does not test or list a lamp once it's been certified.

If wire is rated for 50V, it should not be used for 120V and it would fail being UL listed. All of the GXL/TXL wire I have seems to be rated for 50V.

All of the non-SAE-spec primary auto and marine wire I have laying around, and it is all 600V. Even a crappy Gardner spool I had to buy in a pinch is rated for 600V.

 

[Norcal]

Automotive wire is not a listed product. For that reason alone would say no, there is fixture wiring for the purpose.

 

[sberry]

No. Not.

 

[Tony G]

Thanks guys. I thought so.

 

[Richard Cranium]

kind of answered your own question.

 

[sberry]

Someone can probably steer us to the section n labeling and listing of wire.

 

[theoldwizard1]

OSHA and most other safety organization use 50V as the threshold between "low" and "high" voltage. Typically "low" voltage will NOT give you a shock if you contacting the source with dry skin.

The proper cord for wiring a lamp is SPT1, SPT2 or SPT3. It is typically called lamp cord or zip cord (flat wire that can be zipped apart).

SPT1 and SPT2 typically come in 18 gauge, but SPT2 has thicker insulation and a slightly higher current rating (10A vs 7A). SPT3 comes in various gauges down to 10 gauge and 2 or 3 conductor. Still flat.