I am shopping to restock my wire and confused with my options. Can anyone help ?
I read that this "GPT" wire is bare copper, which means to me it will conduct and carry more than UL1007, which is TINNED copper. The UL1007 is rated at a 600v voltage, and GPT at only 60v. Is this because of the tin will reduce the heat that bare copper would have ? Probably 90% of everything I have ever worked with was 12v or under, some 24v, and rarely ever at 36-48v. The only time I need wire for anything over 48v was wiring my AC house electric.
Should I be using bare copper for my project wires (for data, not power)? Or try to avoid that and use UL1007 tinned copper ? Many of the things I make will go in motor vehicles, outdoor lawn, etc...
Does UL1007 specify the insulation, conductor material/tinned/untinned/copper/solid/stranded/copper/other or the voltage all of these or something else? Or, is the supplier of the cables just saying that it complies with some aspects. of UL1007. Perhaps a link to the specific wires/cable that you are considering would help.
Unless extreme, heat is not a problem for the conductor (appropriately sized for current) but is more of a problem for insulation. Manufacturers will make stuff that most folk want to buy, not worth putting in an extruder for 12V insulation if a 600V will do. The tinning is to inhibit corrosion, and nominally increases the price of the wire, but if more folk buy it, no point in making wires un-tinned.
The voltage rating is for the insulation. The current rating is for the copper.
I don't know why bare copper would have a voltage rating at all... If it's enamel insulated, the insulation has a voltage rating.
If you get two bare wires close together (or close to another conductor or close to your finger) you can get arcing, depending on the voltage & distance (and maybe depending on humidity).
Of course, if the wires are insulated, the wires can touch and you can safely touch the insulation as long as you don't exceed the voltage rating.
The current rating depends on the wire gauge (cross sectional area) which is related to resistance (Ohm's Law and the power formula). With long wire runs, the voltage drop (also related to resistance via Ohm's Law) becomes a factor rather than actual current carrying "capability" and heat.
Tinning doesn't make any practical difference in current capability. It helps to resist corrosion and it makes it easier to solder.
I think it has been lost in translation. I understand the differance between a wire and a cable, an insulated wire and insulated cable, strands and so on. I guessed that the op, referred to bare coppe, as the conductor being untinned. Digging further, I did not find an official spec for UL1007, but various manufacturers quoted different things, giving purchasers the choice of stranded, untinned/tinned, solid conuctors, and insulated to 300V or 600V, for example. All a bit meaningless, like CE marking.