Injun-ear wrote:
I need about 30 feet of #18 - 8 conductor thermostat wire so I can
add a
humidistat to my system. But Home Depot and all the others only
carry 7
conductor. And all the sources of 8 conductor wanna sell me a big
spool.
So, does anyone know where I can buy 8-conductor by the foot?

Would appreciate any help!
Injun Ear

i'm not sure if this would be of help but the furnace company i deal
with was more than happy to give me, at no cost, thermostat wire to
relocate one on my own.

if you do not find it, you could always run 2 - 4 conductor cables....
should be cheaper too.

m.

"Injun-ear" wrote in message
...
I need about 30 feet of #18 - 8 conductor thermostat wire so I can add a
humidistat to my system. But Home Depot and all the others only carry 7
conductor. And all the sources of 8 conductor wanna sell me a big spool.
So, does anyone know where I can buy 8-conductor by the foot?

Would appreciate any help!
Injun Ear

"Injun-ear" wrote in message
...
I need about 30 feet of #18 - 8 conductor thermostat wire so I can add a
humidistat to my system. But Home Depot and all the others only carry 7
conductor. And all the sources of 8 conductor wanna sell me a big spool.
So, does anyone know where I can buy 8-conductor by the foot?

Would appreciate any help!
Injun Ear

I believe any standard cat-5 cable has 8 wires in it.

I need about 30 feet of #18 - 8 conductor thermostat wire so I can add a
humidistat to my system. But Home Depot and all the others only carry 7
conductor. And all the sources of 8 conductor wanna sell me a big spool.
So, does anyone know where I can buy 8-conductor by the foot?

Would appreciate any help!
Injun Ear

Yes, I could... But figuring out what went where with the same colors would
be a nightmare!!

Thanks anyway...


"Martin" wrote in message
...
if you do not find it, you could always run 2 - 4 conductor cables....
should be cheaper too.

m.

"Injun-ear" wrote in message
...
I need about 30 feet of #18 - 8 conductor thermostat wire so I can add a
humidistat to my system. But Home Depot and all the others only carry 7
conductor. And all the sources of 8 conductor wanna sell me a big spool.
So, does anyone know where I can buy 8-conductor by the foot?

Would appreciate any help!
Injun Ear

I need about 30 feet of #18 - 8 conductor thermostat wire so I can add a
humidistat to my system. But Home Depot and all the others only carry 7
conductor. And all the sources of 8 conductor wanna sell me a big spool.
So, does anyone know where I can buy 8-conductor by the foot?

Would appreciate any help!
Injun Ear
---------
Any electrical supply or HVAC supply house in your area should be able
to help you.

In article , "JimmySchmittsLovesChocolateMilk" wrote:

"Injun-ear" wrote in message
...
I need about 30 feet of #18 - 8 conductor thermostat wire so I can add a
humidistat to my system. But Home Depot and all the others only carry 7
conductor. And all the sources of 8 conductor wanna sell me a big spool.
So, does anyone know where I can buy 8-conductor by the foot?

I believe any standard cat-5 cable has 8 wires in it.

Yes, but it's a lot smaller than18 gauge, and it doesn't have the same color
coding as thermostat wire. The latter isn't too much of a problem, as long as
the OP pays attention to his connections, but the former might be: the
resistance in cat-5 cable will be considerably higher than in 18ga thermostat
wire.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt.
And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?

Mark both ends of one cable and then run them. Magic marker would work
great.


Deciphering becomes fairly easy from there.


"Injun-ear" wrote in message
...
Yes, I could... But figuring out what went where with the same colors
would
be a nightmare!!

Thanks anyway...


"Martin" wrote in message
...
if you do not find it, you could always run 2 - 4 conductor cables....
should be cheaper too.

m.

"Injun-ear" wrote in message
...
I need about 30 feet of #18 - 8 conductor thermostat wire so I can add a
humidistat to my system. But Home Depot and all the others only carry 7
conductor. And all the sources of 8 conductor wanna sell me a big
spool.
So, does anyone know where I can buy 8-conductor by the foot?

Would appreciate any help!
Injun Ear

Well, yeah, but they want to sell me a 250-foot roll when I only need 30
feet. They don't sell by the foot. And Cat-5 cable is #24, too small to
handle the power.

Injun Ear

"Abe" wrote in message
...
I need about 30 feet of #18 - 8 conductor thermostat wire so I can add a
humidistat to my system. But Home Depot and all the others only carry 7
conductor. And all the sources of 8 conductor wanna sell me a big spool.
So, does anyone know where I can buy 8-conductor by the foot?

Would appreciate any help!
Injun Ear
---------
Any electrical supply or HVAC supply house in your area should be able
to help you.

All the humidifiers I have installed use 18-2. Haven't seen one yet that
requires 8 conductor.


"Injun-ear" wrote in message
...
I need about 30 feet of #18 - 8 conductor thermostat wire so I can add a
humidistat to my system. But Home Depot and all the others only carry 7
conductor. And all the sources of 8 conductor wanna sell me a big spool.
So, does anyone know where I can buy 8-conductor by the foot?

Would appreciate any help!
Injun Ear

Run the 18-7, plus a 18-2 along with it. Easier to sort out than 2, 18-4's.
Greg


"Injun-ear" wrote in message
...
Yes, I could... But figuring out what went where with the same colors
would be a nightmare!!

Thanks anyway...


"Martin" wrote in message
...
if you do not find it, you could always run 2 - 4 conductor cables....
should be cheaper too.

m.

"Injun-ear" wrote in message
...
I need about 30 feet of #18 - 8 conductor thermostat wire so I can add a
humidistat to my system. But Home Depot and all the others only carry 7
conductor. And all the sources of 8 conductor wanna sell me a big spool.
So, does anyone know where I can buy 8-conductor by the foot?

Would appreciate any help!
Injun Ear

On Wed, 11 May 2005 21:17:13 +0000, Doug Miller wrote:

Yes, but it's a lot smaller than18 gauge, and it doesn't have the same color
coding as thermostat wire. The latter isn't too much of a problem, as long as
the OP pays attention to his connections, but the former might be: the

Correct. It's usually 24 AWG.

resistance in cat-5 cable will be considerably higher than in 18ga thermostat
wire.

Wrong. The resistance is exactly the same (near zero ohms). What's
different is the current-handling capability, which is completely
different than resistance.

--
If you're not on the edge, you're taking up too much space.
Linux Registered User #327951

"Injun-ear" wrote in message
...
I need about 30 feet of #18 - 8 conductor thermostat wire so I can add a
humidistat to my system. But Home Depot and all the others only carry 7
conductor. And all the sources of 8 conductor wanna sell me a big spool.
So, does anyone know where I can buy 8-conductor by the foot?

Would appreciate any help!
Injun Ear

Did you try a real electrical supply store? The typical big box stores only
carry a fraction of what a real supply store would have in stock.

On Wed, 11 May 2005 16:26:11 -0600, "Injun-ear"
wrote:

Well, yeah, but they want to sell me a 250-foot roll when I only need 30
feet. They don't sell by the foot. And Cat-5 cable is #24, too small to
handle the power.

Injun Ear
--------
Sorry to hear that. They don't sound very friendly.

Not a humidifier. It's a humidiSTAT that goes next to my thermostat and
needs a wire running from the thermostat back to the air handler. It can
pick up 24V from the thermostat, but from there it runs to the "ODD"
terminal on the circuit board in the airhandler. I wanted to do it nicely
in case anyone ever followed me and said "What kinda wiring is this?"


"HeatMan" wrote in message
.. .
All the humidifiers I have installed use 18-2. Haven't seen one yet that
requires 8 conductor.


"Injun-ear" wrote in message
...
I need about 30 feet of #18 - 8 conductor thermostat wire so I can add a
humidistat to my system. But Home Depot and all the others only carry 7
conductor. And all the sources of 8 conductor wanna sell me a big spool.
So, does anyone know where I can buy 8-conductor by the foot?

Would appreciate any help!
Injun Ear

Dan,

No the resistance is NOT the same. That is why the current handling
capacity is different. Your meter is not sensitive to small fractions
of an ohm, but the relays he is controlling ARE if the wire is long
enough and the voltage is marginal. You could get a reference book on
wire and it would give you the ohms per thousand feet. It is different
for every gauge of wire. Then calculate the fraction of 1000 feet that
yopu are using to get the total ohms. Remember to measure the total
length, not just what you are adding. Then double it because the
current has to flow both ways, out in one wire and back in another.

Stretch

In article , Dan C wrote:
On Wed, 11 May 2005 21:17:13 +0000, Doug Miller wrote:

Yes, but it's a lot smaller than18 gauge, and it doesn't have the same color
coding as thermostat wire. The latter isn't too much of a problem, as long as
the OP pays attention to his connections, but the former might be: the

Correct. It's usually 24 AWG.

resistance in cat-5 cable will be considerably higher than in 18ga thermostat
wire.

Wrong. The resistance is exactly the same (near zero ohms). What's
different is the current-handling capability, which is completely
different than resistance.

The first thing to observe, when attempting to correct someone else, is to
make sure that you first have your _own_ facts straight. You unfortunately
omitted to do this.

Far from being "exactly the same", the resistance of a 24ga conductor is more
than _four_times_ that of an 18ga conductor of the same length.

Nor is it "near zero ohms" in either case, except for unusual values of "near"
or "zero".

Finally, it is precisely the resistance of a conductor (along with the
properties of its insulation) that determines its capacity to carry current.

18ga wi 0.00751 ohms/ft = 0.225 ohms in 30 ft (length cited by the OP)
24ga wi 0.0302 ohms/ft = 0.906 ohms in 30 ft

http://www.epanorama.net/documents/w...esistance.html

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt.
And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?

On Wed, 11 May 2005 18:34:30 -0700, stretch wrote:

No the resistance is NOT the same. That is why the current handling
capacity is different. Your meter is not sensitive to small fractions
of an ohm, but the relays he is controlling ARE if the wire is long
enough and the voltage is marginal. You could get a reference book on
wire and it would give you the ohms per thousand feet. It is different
for every gauge of wire. Then calculate the fraction of 1000 feet that
yopu are using to get the total ohms. Remember to measure the total
length, not just what you are adding. Then double it because the
current has to flow both ways, out in one wire and back in another.

I'll agree that (theoretically) there is a small variation in resistance
between bigger/smaller wire. However...... in this application, which has
a very short length, and a small difference in wire gauge, that is NOT the
reason for current handling differences. It is the diameter (gauge) of
the wire that makes that difference. Just like a larger water pipe can
handle more flow. Same thing. Only so many electrons can pass through a
given diameter of wire in a given amount of time. Larger diameter means
more current, and it's not because of any difference in resistance.

--
If you're not on the edge, you're taking up too much space.
Linux Registered User #327951

In article , Dan C wrote:
On Wed, 11 May 2005 18:34:30 -0700, stretch wrote:

No the resistance is NOT the same. That is why the current handling
capacity is different. Your meter is not sensitive to small fractions
of an ohm, but the relays he is controlling ARE if the wire is long
enough and the voltage is marginal. You could get a reference book on
wire and it would give you the ohms per thousand feet. It is different
for every gauge of wire. Then calculate the fraction of 1000 feet that
yopu are using to get the total ohms. Remember to measure the total
length, not just what you are adding. Then double it because the
current has to flow both ways, out in one wire and back in another.

I'll agree that (theoretically) there is a small variation in resistance
between bigger/smaller wire. However...... in this application, which has
a very short length, and a small difference in wire gauge, that is NOT the
reason for current handling differences. It is the diameter (gauge) of
the wire that makes that difference.

And the *reason* that makes a difference is that the larger the diameter, the
lower the resistance.

Sheesh.

Just like a larger water pipe can
handle more flow. Same thing. Only so many electrons can pass through a
given diameter of wire in a given amount of time.

Which is, of course, another way of stating that the *resistance* of a wire
depends on its diameter.

Larger diameter means
more current, and it's not because of any difference in resistance.

Of course it is *exactly* due to the difference in resistance.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt.
And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?

In article , "Injun-ear" wrote:
The ones I have tried want to sell me the whole 250 ft. spool. I only need
30 ft.

How does this compare to the prices you've been quoted locally?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=5960096242

$59 incl shipping for 250 feet - maybe you could use the 30' you need, and
re-sell the remaining 220.



--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt.
And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?

In article ,
says...
The ones I have tried want to sell me the whole 250 ft. spool. I only need
30 ft.

Google is your friend... found this in about 30 seconds:

http://www.electricsupplyonline.com/...thermostat.php

About $25 incl shipping for 30'. There are probably many other online
retailers as well.

I
E =----
R

I don't think this formula applies where he lives....


"Doug Miller" wrote in message
...
In article , Dan C
wrote:
On Wed, 11 May 2005 18:34:30 -0700, stretch wrote:

No the resistance is NOT the same. That is why the current handling
capacity is different. Your meter is not sensitive to small fractions
of an ohm, but the relays he is controlling ARE if the wire is long
enough and the voltage is marginal. You could get a reference book on
wire and it would give you the ohms per thousand feet. It is different
for every gauge of wire. Then calculate the fraction of 1000 feet that
yopu are using to get the total ohms. Remember to measure the total
length, not just what you are adding. Then double it because the
current has to flow both ways, out in one wire and back in another.

I'll agree that (theoretically) there is a small variation in resistance
between bigger/smaller wire. However...... in this application, which has
a very short length, and a small difference in wire gauge, that is NOT the
reason for current handling differences. It is the diameter (gauge) of
the wire that makes that difference.

And the *reason* that makes a difference is that the larger the diameter,
the
lower the resistance.

Sheesh.

Just like a larger water pipe can
handle more flow. Same thing. Only so many electrons can pass through a
given diameter of wire in a given amount of time.

Which is, of course, another way of stating that the *resistance* of a
wire
depends on its diameter.

Larger diameter means
more current, and it's not because of any difference in resistance.

Of course it is *exactly* due to the difference in resistance.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt.
And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?

Go to an agricultural supply house. They sell 5 or 8 or 12 conductor wire
for irrigation systems. They are for direct underground burial and 18 gauge
solid.


Walter
The Happy Iconoclast www.rationality.net


"Doug Miller" wrote in message
...
In article ,
says...
The ones I have tried want to sell me the whole 250 ft. spool. I only
need
30 ft.

Google is your friend... found this in about 30 seconds:

http://www.electricsupplyonline.com/...thermostat.php

About $25 incl shipping for 30'. There are probably many other online
retailers as well.

The ones I have tried want to sell me the whole 250 ft. spool. I only need
30 ft.

"George" wrote in message
...

"Injun-ear" wrote in message
...
I need about 30 feet of #18 - 8 conductor thermostat wire so I can add a
humidistat to my system. But Home Depot and all the others only carry 7
conductor. And all the sources of 8 conductor wanna sell me a big spool.
So, does anyone know where I can buy 8-conductor by the foot?

Would appreciate any help!
Injun Ear

Did you try a real electrical supply store? The typical big box stores
only
carry a fraction of what a real supply store would have in stock.

Okay.

The humidistat is 2 wire. The thermostat is 4 wire (unless it's a heat
pump). The humidifiers I've run use 2 wire with a dedicated transformer.

Does your system have a combo humidistat/thermostat?


"Injun-ear" wrote in message
...
Not a humidifier. It's a humidiSTAT that goes next to my thermostat and
needs a wire running from the thermostat back to the air handler. It can
pick up 24V from the thermostat, but from there it runs to the "ODD"
terminal on the circuit board in the airhandler. I wanted to do it nicely
in case anyone ever followed me and said "What kinda wiring is this?"


"HeatMan" wrote in message
.. .
All the humidifiers I have installed use 18-2. Haven't seen one yet
that
requires 8 conductor.


"Injun-ear" wrote in message
...
I need about 30 feet of #18 - 8 conductor thermostat wire so I can add
a
humidistat to my system. But Home Depot and all the others only carry
7
conductor. And all the sources of 8 conductor wanna sell me a big
spool.
So, does anyone know where I can buy 8-conductor by the foot?

Would appreciate any help!
Injun Ear

I hope it doesn't!!! Ohm's Law is: V = I * R. That is, voltage-
across equals current-in times resistance-of.
Also, current is not limited by cross section in the several-amp
currents we are talking about here. Rather, for a given size wire
the current is proportional to the voltage between its ends. --Phil

Oscar_Lives wrote:
I
E =----
R

I don't think this formula applies where he lives....


"Doug Miller" wrote in message
...

In article , Dan C
wrote:

On Wed, 11 May 2005 18:34:30 -0700, stretch wrote:


No the resistance is NOT the same. That is why the current handling
capacity is different. Your meter is not sensitive to small fractions
of an ohm, but the relays he is controlling ARE if the wire is long
enough and the voltage is marginal. You could get a reference book on
wire and it would give you the ohms per thousand feet. It is different
for every gauge of wire. Then calculate the fraction of 1000 feet that
yopu are using to get the total ohms. Remember to measure the total
length, not just what you are adding. Then double it because the
current has to flow both ways, out in one wire and back in another.

I'll agree that (theoretically) there is a small variation in resistance
between bigger/smaller wire. However...... in this application, which has
a very short length, and a small difference in wire gauge, that is NOT the
reason for current handling differences. It is the diameter (gauge) of
the wire that makes that difference.

And the *reason* that makes a difference is that the larger the diameter,
the
lower the resistance.

Sheesh.


Just like a larger water pipe can
handle more flow. Same thing. Only so many electrons can pass through a
given diameter of wire in a given amount of time.

Which is, of course, another way of stating that the *resistance* of a
wire
depends on its diameter.


Larger diameter means
more current, and it's not because of any difference in resistance.

Of course it is *exactly* due to the difference in resistance.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt.
And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?




--
Phil Munro Dept of Electrical & Computer Engin
Youngstown State University
Youngstown, Ohio 44555
------------ And now a word from our sponsor ------------------
Want to have instant messaging, and chat rooms, and discussion
groups for your local users or business, you need dbabble!
-- See http://netwinsite.com/sponsor/sponsor_dbabble.htm ----

In article , Phil Munro wrote:
I hope it doesn't!!! Ohm's Law is: V = I * R. That is, voltage-
across equals current-in times resistance-of.

And resistance varies inversely with the square of the conductor diameter.

Also, current is not limited by cross section in the several-amp
currents we are talking about here. Rather, for a given size wire
the current is proportional to the voltage between its ends. --Phil

And to the length of the wire. Further, the constant of proportionality is
different for different sizes of wire.

"Dan C" claimed that the resistances of 18- and 24-ga conductors are
identical. That is patently false.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt.
And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?

I had googled many companies. Most all I found wanted to sell the 250'
spool. Only one was willing to sell 30' and they wanted $10 extra for
orders under $50.

So THANKS TO DOUG MILLER for that find. I have ordered my wire.

Chief Thunderthud.

"Doug Miller" wrote in message
...
In article ,
says...
The ones I have tried want to sell me the whole 250 ft. spool. I only
need
30 ft.

Google is your friend... found this in about 30 seconds:

http://www.electricsupplyonline.com/...thermostat.php

About $25 incl shipping for 30'. There are probably many other online
retailers as well.