use of 16 awg automotive wire

Automotive wire is generally stranded wire, which would make it easier to bend. It still carries the same amperage as 16 gauge solid wire to my knowledge.

Some automotive wire has insulation that is rated to be around gas and oil. The insulation makes it harder to strip. Plus I think it may be a little thicker and less flexible than regular stranded wire.

Well I am no expert or genius at this stuff...but, I have always found automotive wire to be a great choice.

Like every subject ever brought up on this forum...some folks will like or love it...while there will be others who will swear it has too many deficiencies to possibly stand up to the rigors of model railroad use.

Wire is wire...if you like it...use it.

16 ga. wire is the same wire size no matter who makes it.  16 ga. stranded can carry the same current as 16 ga. solid.  16 ga. stranded is generally slightly larger in diameter as opposed to 16 ga. solid, simply due to the many smaller strands.  Stranded wire is generally preferred where the wiring must flex on a regular basis.  Solid wiring is usually preferred where very little to no flexing is involved.  I try and use solid wire for all my model train wiring, but have no qualms whatsoever in using stranded if I have some handy.

About the only other real difference in wiring is the type of insulated coating applied to it.  Automotive wiring coating is slightly different than lamp wire coating, which is slightly different than house wiring coating, which is slightly different than......etc., etc.

For our relatively low voltage, indoor model train use, virtually any type of electrical wiring is suitable.

Paul.

If I remember correctly, stranded is the preferred wire for DCS control if that is something you might be adding to in the future. 

16 awg would be fine for the track feeders. I would suggest 12awg for the bus or the supply from the transformers to the distribution boards or terminal blocks.

Will the layout work ok with all 16awg if that is what you have as you came into a few rolls. probably yes.

14awg would be the best choice for a one wire size approach.

I prefer the general automotive wire as the sheathing is more flexible than the other grades sheathing.

I use 16 AWG automotive stranded wire for my feeders from my track - I solder them to 14 AWG wire directly to a terminal block then to my TIU

Paul

I used 14 AWG stranded wire under each mainline  all around the layout. One wire to power the center rail and one wire to one outside rail of the GG track and  a 3rd wire that is used to power signals.   All negative wires are tried to a common lug.  The mainlines go under themselves along the walls.  Layout is approx. 700 sq ft.  No problems with TMCC signal.  Used 500 foot of green, red and black wire to wire the track.

I read an interesting piece, a few years ago, about stranded wire.  It seems that in theory stranded wire is more efficient than solid wire.  The reason given was that electrons flow only on the surface of wire.  So in theory stranded wire has much more surface area when compared to solid wire of the same gauge.

Are you running DCS?  Need more detail.  Stranded wire, 14 or 16 ga. transmits the digital signals more efficiently than solid wire.

For DCS you should be using stranded, twisted pair.  See Barry's book.

bruce

The place where I bought some of my wire had automotive wire and also marine wire. When I asked what the difference was, they said the marine wire was pre-tinned. The cost was a bit higher for the marine wire, but not crazy expensive, so I bought that, because it solders easier, and doesn't oxidize as much when it gets old.

Bill in FtL

Dan Padova posted:

I read an interesting piece, a few years ago, about stranded wire.  It seems that in theory stranded wire is more efficient than solid wire.  The reason given was that electrons flow only on the surface of wire.  So in theory stranded wire has much more surface area when compared to solid wire of the same gauge.

The article you referenced is likely discussing the skin effect of AC through a conductor:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skin_effect

However, the effect is negligible at low frequencies (like 60 Hz) and relatively small wire gauges (like anything we'd use on a layout).  So, for our purposes equivalently-gauged solid and stranded wire behave essentially identically and you can feel free to use whatever is most convenient for the application at hand.  I always prefer stranded wire as I run floor layouts that get remade on a regular basis, and I prefer the ability to re-use the wire in new situations.

In addition to the comments made by JTrains, in order for stranded wire to reduce the skin effect, each strand has to be insulated and woven in specific patterns. This special wire is called "Litz wire".

Litz wire

I only use 16-gauge if I'm building an 8x4 for grandchildren.  I would not use less than 14-gauge stranded.

16 gauge would likely work okay (automotive wiring generally has slightly different insulation on it, and is generally more expensive than general purpose wire), the only concern I might have would be power drop due to the narrower gauge over the longer runs. You might be better off using 14 gauge for the main run and use the 16 gauge for the drops to the track or accessory/lighting wiring where voltage/power drop wouldn't be an issue likely. 16 gauge might work fine over the length of your runs, but my concern would be you wire it then find out it causes problems and have to replace it. You could run the wires temporarily to the track where you were planning to put it and run engines around the layout and see if you see any signs of it slowing down, if not then you could probably use it. 

Keep in mind wire there is a lot of copper clad aluminum wire out there...may or may not be a factor.

Why knock yourself out. I would assume automotive type wire is readily available at an automotive supply store and therefore more expensive. The HD or Lowes is probably more readily available and stranded wire at all gauge and colored insulation is readily available there. Cheaper and closer rules the day for me.