As at least one other commenter already pointed out, your silicone-coated wire appears to have finer strands (which makes a big difference in flexibility) than your PVC-coated wire, so we're not really getting an apples-to-apples comparison of the two types of insulation here.
Great comparison! I love using silicone wire in drone builds especially when I'm running a little more current than considered responsible for the wire guage.
I just received my first pack like this of silicone wire and like you, I at first thought oh no this wire is cheap! But after this video im relieved and excited to use this more flexible, more heat resistant wire to hook up sensors from my engine bay to the cabin of the car! Thanks!
thats what i noticed too. the pvc wire has less strands but thicker strands compared to the high strand count of the silicone wire. not a fair comparison
All well and good but it's not all roses. PVC is much much tougher both to cutting, and abrasion. In addition, it also performs better at not collecting static charge. For my money, I'll take PVC for most hookup situations because I value robust construction and good wire management technique. Nice video though and I do like to use silicone wire but I usually prefer rubber coated instead since it's tougher than silicone, for Test Leads for example. Silicone can't be beat when you need heat resistance though and the colors are outstanding :)
Silicone jacket is much easier to cut/pierce. You can easily break it with your fingernails. Something to keep in mind if you wires are at risk of getting pinched, scraped, cut, etc.
Worth it only for the free dowel! But I'd worry about how cut resistant it actually is, how hard silicone is, so it doesn't get cut or nicked by something accidentally...
I'm wondering how the silicone wires hold up over time. Like some of the USB sticks and cheap replica controllers that have a silicone shell, will the wires become sticky after some time, like a couple of years? I'd hate to find a project of mine all sticky and nasty on the inside, maybe even affecting a board of other plastics the wires were pressed against...
Cool stuff, it's important to recommend something safer, more fun to use, better quality and stop using pure lead solder. Silicone seem so much better for closing your box full of wires and safely manipulate without breaking at the solder end of the wire.
Cool stuff. Why do you use stranded wire instead of solid? Stranded always frustrated me when one small wire doesn't want to follow the rest through a hole and solid is a lot easier to breadboard with.
I love using silicone wire for the guitar pedals and guitars i build but it just doesnt look as neat as cloth push back wire or PVC wire cause it doesnt hold its shape. If you want all your wires to stay in place nice and neat then PVC can be a good thing but i prefer cloth push back over PVC if i want it to hold its shape cause i hate how PVC wire separates from the end of the wire if you need to solder a joint for longer than a second. I suppose if i used solid core silicone it would hold its shape better but theres disadvantages to solid core vs stranded also. They all work but i guess it really just comes down to application.
Softer flimsy insulation easier to get cut or punctured. Would not be a problem closing your cover if you laid out your wiring in a neat fashion instead of having that unorganized bird nest crap. The silicone more expensive. Also you get more for less on Ebay. PVC works just fine.
My old charger had that silicon wire it really doesn't burn easily but my charger still breaks because the copper wire inside was burned to coal while the silicon cover doesn't even look burned
@@therealb888 Silver "looking" I know it's not silver. Because You tin the wire anyway when you solder, I find the bare copper wire works best. Sometimes I have gotten cheap wire that didn't solder well, that was pre tinned.
i prefer PVC for breadboards and Silicone for messy projects, but... i never had to buy Silicone wire because its avalible in almost any cable on a old device that no longer works... so... in my opinion.... buy PVC
This stuff would probably be great for house wiring, too. Whenever I'm cramming a box back into the wall, it always feels like the amount of wire somehow doubled during my project. And all of that pushing and shoving just seems so... irreverant for something as important and potentially dangerous as home electrical wiring.
@@TizianoBacocco Yeah, when routing through tubes you might want the stiffness of plastic wires anyway. Especially for very short trips, where you can usually just push the wires through rather than pulling.
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As at least one other commenter already pointed out, your silicone-coated wire appears to have finer strands (which makes a big difference in flexibility) than your PVC-coated wire, so we're not really getting an apples-to-apples comparison of the two types of insulation here.
Great comparison! I love using silicone wire in drone builds especially when I'm running a little more current than considered responsible for the wire guage.
I just received my first pack like this of silicone wire and like you, I at first thought oh no this wire is cheap! But after this video im relieved and excited to use this more flexible, more heat resistant wire to hook up sensors from my engine bay to the cabin of the car! Thanks!
Your also comparing thick stranded wire to thin stranded wire, which probably makes as much difference in stiffness as the insulation.
thats what i noticed too. the pvc wire has less strands but thicker strands compared to the high strand count of the silicone wire. not a fair comparison
All well and good but it's not all roses. PVC is much much tougher both to cutting, and abrasion. In addition, it also performs better at not collecting static charge. For my money, I'll take PVC for most hookup situations because I value robust construction and good wire management technique. Nice video though and I do like to use silicone wire but I usually prefer rubber coated instead since it's tougher than silicone, for Test Leads for example. Silicone can't be beat when you need heat resistance though and the colors are outstanding :)
Silicone jacket is much easier to cut/pierce. You can easily break it with your fingernails. Something to keep in mind if you wires are at risk of getting pinched, scraped, cut, etc.
PTFE wire's even better as the insulation's even finer, permitting a higher current, along with perfect for ultra fine space.
I saw that wire for the first time some time ago in Tested, I haven't tried it because it's a bit expensive but it looks really cool.
You did not mention the cost difference. Silicone must be more expensive
Worth it only for the free dowel!
But I'd worry about how cut resistant it actually is, how hard silicone is, so it doesn't get cut or nicked by something accidentally...
I'm wondering how the silicone wires hold up over time. Like some of the USB sticks and cheap replica controllers that have a silicone shell, will the wires become sticky after some time, like a couple of years? I'd hate to find a project of mine all sticky and nasty on the inside, maybe even affecting a board of other plastics the wires were pressed against...
Are you sure that's silicone? I know stuff like butylene does that.
Cool stuff, it's important to recommend something safer, more fun to use, better quality and stop using pure lead solder. Silicone seem so much better for closing your box full of wires and safely manipulate without breaking at the solder end of the wire.
Cool stuff. Why do you use stranded wire instead of solid? Stranded always frustrated me when one small wire doesn't want to follow the rest through a hole and solid is a lot easier to breadboard with.
Thanks dude for the info, really important information.
I love using silicone wire for the guitar pedals and guitars i build but it just doesnt look as neat as cloth push back wire or PVC wire cause it doesnt hold its shape. If you want all your wires to stay in place nice and neat then PVC can be a good thing but i prefer cloth push back over PVC if i want it to hold its shape cause i hate how PVC wire separates from the end of the wire if you need to solder a joint for longer than a second. I suppose if i used solid core silicone it would hold its shape better but theres disadvantages to solid core vs stranded also. They all work but i guess it really just comes down to application.
thanks homie
Try heatshrink (non-adhesive) to silicone wire -- will it slip off?
OMG why i didnt know you have your own channel !!!!!
This is cool. Does it work for pc power supply cables by chance?
Softer flimsy insulation easier to get cut or punctured. Would not be a problem closing your cover if you laid out your wiring in a neat fashion instead of having that unorganized bird nest crap. The silicone more expensive. Also you get more for less on Ebay. PVC works just fine.
My old charger had that silicon wire it really doesn't burn easily but my charger still breaks because the copper wire inside was burned to coal while the silicon cover doesn't even look burned
Can anyone find Non tinned silicone coated copper wire online? All I can seem to find is the Silver looking pre tinned wire.
tinned wire is usually better, why non tinned though? btw it's not silver lol
@@therealb888 Silver "looking" I know it's not silver. Because You tin the wire anyway when you solder, I find the bare copper wire works best. Sometimes I have gotten cheap wire that didn't solder well, that was pre tinned.
i prefer PVC for breadboards and Silicone for messy projects, but... i never had to buy Silicone wire because its avalible in almost any cable on a old device that no longer works... so... in my opinion.... buy PVC
This stuff would probably be great for house wiring, too. Whenever I'm cramming a box back into the wall, it always feels like the amount of wire somehow doubled during my project. And all of that pushing and shoving just seems so... irreverant for something as important and potentially dangerous as home electrical wiring.
yeah , we will see if it is great when you will have to drag them inside tubes :D , silicone wires friction is like ten times more than pvc
@@TizianoBacocco Yeah, when routing through tubes you might want the stiffness of plastic wires anyway. Especially for very short trips, where you can usually just push the wires through rather than pulling.
CNET? Can we get a “why I left CNET” video?
Ha! Short video. I was there for 8 years and left to go work for Make: magazine.
seriously? torching a PVC wire? this *WILL* release *TOXIC GASES*
Love the stuff.. used and it's great. As far as rats nest.. maybe birds nest.. never seen a rat nest 🤣🤣