Just realized I should've gone with stranded wire instead of solid on this service call in Boulder

Went to swap out a dimmer switch at a house built in the 70s and those solid #12s were so brittle I snapped two trying to get them bent into the box. Stranded pulls around corners way easier, especially with older wiring that's lost its flexibility. Has anyone else made the switch and regretted it or am I just stubborn about sticking with what I learned in trade school?

2 comments

2 Comments

veraw4712d ago

You know, I actually read something just last week about this exact thing. It was on one of those home improvement blogs I follow, and they were saying stranded wire is way better for old work because solid wire gets work-hardened over time and just snaps. I guess the vibrations from the house settling or whatever makes it brittle. I've never tried stranded myself on a swap like that, but now I'm kind of curious if it's worth picking up a spool for the next time I run into a tough box in an older place.

rayc8912d ago

Honestly that's a really good point about the house settling vibrations making solid wire brittle over decades. I've been doing this long enough to see it first hand where you touch a wire and it just crumbles like a cracker. Stranded really is the way to go for old work because it doesn't get that work hardening issue and it bends way easier in tight boxes. Plus if you ever have to pull it back out for any reason stranded won't snap off at the screw like solid does. Tbh I switched a few years back and haven't looked back, especially on those 1970s builds where the insulation is rock hard anyway. Ngl it just makes the whole job less of a headache.