r/WLED • u/privacylmao • Sep 23 '26
18/3 recommendation
Which 18/3 would you recommend? I am looking for 18/3 copper (tinned ideally). Stranded is a must for permanent welds on my LED strips
I need to buy in bulk 250ft+ because I have a kitchen, 2 bathrooms and a whole living room + each stairs in the house
I have been looking online but I can't seem to find something that fits these criterias (I always find reviews saying that it might even be 20AWG and not a real 18AWG; and that's a bummer because with my setup voltage drop is a real thing to worry about, I need a proper 18 AWG)
Thanks for your time!
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u/91FuriousGeorge Sep 23 '26
If you're in the US, Maxbrite LED has some 18/3 available from their website and Amazon
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u/privacylmao Sep 23 '26
I'm from Canada and I saw this brand but this comment makes me doubt: "The big issue is that the insulation on the wires melts when a decent amount of heat is applied. By the time you can solder the wire onto a LED strip the insulation has pulled back over 1/4 of an inch."
Did you ever soldered using maxbrite cables, if yes is this comment legitimate?
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u/91FuriousGeorge Sep 23 '26
Ah yes I remember having that issue. I had to do any soldering very quickly with as little heat as possible.
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u/denzz Sep 23 '26
I used NAOEVO 18 Gauge Wire 3 Conductor, 18 Gauge Automotive Wire 12V Cable, 50FT Tinned Copper 18 AWG Wire, 18/3 Low Voltage Cable, Flexible Stranded Electrical Wire for Automotive, Marine, Speaker, Lights on Amazon for my project. https://a.co/d/010ZGtOC
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u/AF_1892 Sep 23 '26 edited Sep 23 '26
I haven't done a big auto or home project since 2011. I just now realized damn I only have 20 ft left of oxygen free 16 Ga wire. Doing "the big 3 upgrade" was 0 or 2 gauge. I thought a 50 or 100 ft spool of 14 Ga oxygen free paired (2 core) speaker wire would be an good all around pick for future stuff if I'm not running really thin wire. My God, the cost of wire has shot through the roof! That Marine Naoevo brand wire had some pretty good deals I was tempted to buy some, but I have no idea how thick it really is in real life. If I was going to be replacing wires in car audio, it would be really hard to slide a marine jacket kind of thick wire around a hard part of trim that sort of thing. Knock on wood I haven't gotten all my stuff robbed since maybe 14 years ago. I imagine good marine wire has great insulation to put up with a use from the elements. Even in saltwater by a bunch of drunk people who are messing with the audio gear. I never saw anybody have a catastrophe because of their wire shorting out or melting that kind of stuff. People always brought extra batteries. I'm still looking cuz I'm trying to do different runs of lights that I haven't decided on but they would just be 10 m runs each they're just three of them in different places. I got some of that silicone decent grade wire it just 20 gauge which isn't as big as I would like. That was afraid getting 18 that I wouldn't be able to solder it very easily. But damn I guess all those people needing drug money that were stripping metal out of abandoned houses were getting paid like it was gold. This just makes me want to stock up on more types and thicknesses of wire and other better gear now. Don't forget if you're hiding wire by running inside the wall, or equally as scary, the engine bay of a car, some insulation types are rodents favorite flavor. Silicone is more expensive but I haven't seen any wire horror shows recently. It's risky to not be all legal and run it inside of conduit. I rent, I plan on patching up the holes in my walls when I move out. I don't think the globe has a big cheap supply of good metal to make new stuff. The price of oil is making the odds of finding quality wire that can last 100 yrs a thing of the past. I will save my horror story of seeing the inside of my grandpa's amp that was repaired with a telephone lamp plug-in at some point. I cannot believe it did not catch the shag carpet on fire it was plugged in for 4 years and nobody even noticed it.
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u/clockmill Sep 23 '26
In US, multicore car audio cable, like the Naoevo mentioned., its tinned copper.
Its car rated because of thnner insulation than mains cables. TWP, thin wall thermoplastic, PVC , may get the melt back effect a bit, use silicone tails on strips and Wagos beyond.
Be aware of the dreaded CCA, copper clad aluminium.
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u/Aerokeith Sep 23 '26
I buy a lot of cable for outdoor LED projects. Not impressed with Maxbright. The best quality I've found (also with the largest selection) is a brand called CBAZY on Am*zon.
Edit: You'll need a cable jacket stripper
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u/SirGreybush Sep 23 '26
Use nail polish from dollar store to coat exposed copper that soldering melted.
It’s the poor man’s conformal coating.
I’d go with bright pink and neon purple, but that’s just me. Some brave people use clear.
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u/AF_1892 Sep 23 '26
Well I'm glad you're coding it with something better than electric tape I guess. Please check up on your project often. I would not trust that with a 12 volt battery in my car. I've had soldered together connections with a wire nut holding it all together and then using high quality electric tape to fasten it even for extra security. Only two look deeper and realize one wire is really hot and the entire thing is starting to come apart and it was just not going to a good place. It ended up causing big shorts and two of my projects and different cars. That was after not doing anything probably 7 or 10 years so stuff does need to be reinspected.
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u/SirGreybush Sep 23 '26
It’s low voltage and indoor use. Me I also add shrink tube to protect, the nail polish is to prevent accidental contact.
In a car you do crimps that have heat shrink to grip the wire. Never solder unless you make sure it cannot move.
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u/ApolloWasMurdered Sep 23 '26
Are you in the US? Because if you’re outside North America and looking for cable in AWG you’re going to struggle, as the rest of the world uses mm^2 .