Building Cables - Silicone wires ok?

Rune75 · Nov 30, 2016

I have a Corsair RM650i in an ITX build. For the fun of it, I will completely replace the actual wire on the SATA power cables, the 8pin CPU cable, and the 8pin PCIE cable to better fit my case.

I am looking at using flexible silicone wire to smoothly get around a few bends. Also, would 18AWG or 16AWG be a better fit to build those wires? I can't find any info on what size wire I should use with ATX/EPS pin connectors. Still trying to find out the Outside Diameter of those two wires, too. See any issues?

Any info will be helpful

RedWagnum · Dec 1, 2016

You should be fine with either gauge. Many PSUs 600w and under use the smaller 18AWG but I would use 16AWG just because. Just make sure the crimp pins that you use are for the same gauge of wire that you are using.

Riouken · Dec 1, 2016

Silicone wire sheathing is used for better flexibility, higher temps and other benefits but mainly the two mentioned. If you can live with the price bump then there is not really much of a downside between PVC and Silicone other than price.

http://www.awcwire.com/insulation-materials.aspx

Rune75 · Dec 2, 2016

RedWagnum said:
You should be fine with either gauge. Many PSUs 600w and under use the smaller 18AWG but I would use 16AWG just because. Just make sure the crimp pins that you use are for the same gauge of wire that you are using.

That's something I haven't seen yet... Got a link to 16AWG crimp pins?

Riouken said:
Silicone wire sheathing is used for better flexibility, higher temps and other benefits but mainly the two mentioned. If you can live with the price bump then there is not really much of a downside between PVC and Silicone other than price. http://www.awcwire.com/insulation-materials.aspx

I'm open to suggestions... 50ft of 16AWG for 30$ or less

RedWagnum · Dec 2, 2016

Rune75 said:
That's something I haven't seen yet... Got a link to 16AWG crimp pins?

See Mouser for a variety of crimp pins. Honestly I have never had any problems crimping either 16g or 18g with whatever generic connectors I have gotten from PPCS. That's for the main power connectors - for small load connectors (fans, floppy, etc.) you should use a smaller wire (22-24AWG I believe) because of the smaller connectors. I think SATA Power connectors will accept either 18g or 16g wire. Those are usually Insulation Displacement Connectors (IDC) so you may just have to press a little harder to make a good connection with 16g.

Good luck and post pics of your finished project! I am curious to know how the silicone wire works for you.

Rune75 · Dec 2, 2016

Here's a pic of my old system sans video card... I used the stock Corsair cables, shortened the wires, spaced the connectors about 1.5inch apart, and flipped the heads 180 degrees so they would align to the HDD connectors without flipping the cable. Had 4 drives on a cable as I recall. I'll be doing about the same thing with this build, but never crimped my own. Pics will be posted once I get everything =)

Rune75 · Dec 2, 2016

Thought I'd post a couple "before" pics...

I know it's not really SFF, but coming from a 10x5.25 bay case, it's small AF to me. Have 5x3TB HDD, ODD, & a Gigabyte GTX 1070 mini sitting here once I shorten my cables

Riouken · Dec 2, 2016

Rune75 said:
I'm open to suggestions... 50ft of 16AWG for 30$ or less

Sorry my post was not as clear as I could have been. There is nothing wrong with the wire you linked in your OP. Silicone is very good it's better than PVC except in a few small cases. The reason why you see so much PVC coated wire is due to cost. PVC is usually about 25-30% cheaper.

I have used a lot of Silicone in my RC projects.

Rune75 · Dec 3, 2016

Riouken said:
I have used a lot of Silicone in my RC projects.

Ditto... Silicone and Dean's everywhere in my eighth scale haha

Rune75 · Dec 15, 2016

Getting ready to measure & install my wires

larrymoencurly · Dec 17, 2016

The crimp tabs that hold on to the insulation probably won't grip as well, so you may need to use harder silicone or put a 1" length of heatshrink over the insulation near the end of each wire to give the connector tabs something to grip better.

Chapeau · Dec 17, 2016

I've been thinking for a while that instead of bothering with sleeving, I'd just swap everything out with Deans or similar. It has been a while since I played around with computer parts - astounding just how low quality the wiring was!
I wish PC connectors were also as easy as Deans... Too much RC time spoilt me..

RedWagnum · Dec 17, 2016

Chapeau said:
I've been thinking for a while that instead of bothering with sleeving, I'd just swap everything out with Deans or similar. It has been a while since I played around with computer parts - astounding just how low quality the wiring was!
I wish PC connectors were also as easy as Deans... Too much RC time spoilt me..

I've seen Dean's mentioned before. What is it? Link for more information?

pendragon1 · Dec 17, 2016

RedWagnum said:
I've seen Dean's mentioned before. What is it? Link for more information?

google not working for ya?! dean's + rc = http://wsdeans.com/index.html

RedWagnum · Dec 17, 2016

pendragon1 said:
google not working for ya?! dean's + rc = http://wsdeans.com/index.html

I googled Deans and looked through the first 3 or 4 pages but saw nothing relevant. Thanks for the link, though it looks like the site has not been updated in a REALLY long time.

Now I know when Dean's is mentioned in relation to computers it is most likely in reference to their wire.

Rune75 · Dec 18, 2016

larrymoencurly said:
The crimp tabs that hold on to the insulation probably won't grip as well, so you may need to use harder silicone or put a 1" length of heatshrink over the insulation near the end of each wire to give the connector tabs something to grip better.

The crimp looks pretty damn good if I say so myself... The wire is locked in and the silicone seems gripped well...

Rune75 · Dec 18, 2016

RedWagnum said:
I've seen Dean's mentioned before. What is it? Link for more information?

I used to do a lot of RC... Nitro and electric. Dean's sells connectors which I love and silicone wire that was too rich for my blood... Like 25ft of 14awg for 30$

Chapeau · Dec 18, 2016

I never used enough to really investigate alternative supplies ( aside from the hideously overpriced hobby shop quantities that is..).

Any idea where to get long lengths? Or generic brand?

Rune75 · Dec 18, 2016

This is the stuff that I'm using above...

18AWG wire:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01J3MR1MA

Chapeau · Dec 18, 2016

Great!!... thanks for the link. Appreciate it. (y)

RedWagnum · Dec 19, 2016

Rune75 said:
I used to do a lot of RC... Nitro and electric. Dean's sells connectors which I love and silicone wire that was too rich for my blood... Like 25ft of 14awg for 30$

Aside from the cost 14AWG would be a little big for PC work. Doubt it would crimp well with Molex pins and the IDC connections on SATA connectors probably would not like it.

BTW, your Molex crimps above look great! How did the SATA connectors come out?

Rune75 · Dec 20, 2016

Yeah, there's no way that 14awg silicone sleeve would fit in an atx pin crimp. I seriously doubt 16awg would fit either.

Haven't had time to wire the drives yet. Those will be done last since the drive cage blocks the back of the supply

AP2 · Dec 20, 2016

When I rewired my HDPlex 250, I used Deans Ultra wire 16 gauge purchased from here: http://www.robotcombat.com/products/0C-WSD16B.html . Just make sure you use the right size crimp for it.

Rune75 · Dec 31, 2016

Talked myself into keeping the original cables, but shortened them.

Building Cables - Silicone wires ok?

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