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New Zealand, Wellington
1 Level
730 Review
46 Karma

Review on πŸ”Œ High-strength OCM Retractable Test Leads - 18 Gauge Copper Wire, Alligator Clips, Durable Case for Electrical Testing by Greg Horn

Revainrating 5 out of 5

The wires are definitely 18 gauge copper (or maybe even thicker)

Arrived with some of the wires tangled in it so it took about 5-10 minutes to work them clean and to unravel. After that, I was able to toggle on and off many times with no issues. You can remove the rivet holding them together and add a screw so you can access the inside if they are twisted again. I think that's -1 star. I don't need three wires for my application, but I had to make sure they were actually 18 gauge. I removed the green wire, cut it open and measured the copper with a very accurate caliper. The wires are in fact all copper and are actually thicker than 18 gauge, which is better in every way. +1 star for the advertised quality product. Maybe another +1 star because it's even thicker than an 18? The person who gave a one-star review after trying to charge a "motorcycle battery" in an "18v environment" and found it "overheated in just a few seconds." Serious? We're talking amps, not voltage. The motorcycle battery can deliver 300 amps. Even "dead" it will still be able to source or draw more than the 4-8 amps that 18 gauge wire can handle. Take one look at any legitimate car charger and you will see that its cords are much thicker than 18 gauge. Car chargers with "thin" cables, like those that run from cigarette lighter to cigarette lighter, limit the current so as not to burn the cables. My guess is that you connected two batteries directly together and instantly overheated the wires due to too much current. In any case, you clearly pumped more than 8 amps through the line. Before you give a seller a one-star rating, do some homework! These are ideal test leads for a variety of applications including automotive. Just remember to consider the current limit for 18 gauge wire. The diameter of the insulated wire is 0.1 inch or 2.54 mm without pressing the caliper (to avoid wire stretching). The diameter of the copper inside is about 0.05 inch or 1.27 mm, making it look more like 16 gauge wire. Then the thickness of the insulation is about 0.025 inch (0.025 + 0.05 + 0.025 = 0.1 inch). Last note. When I cut the wire lengthwise and measured the thickness of the insulation, I found it to be 0.03 inches, which actually corresponds to a wire diameter of 0.04 inches (0.03 + 0.04 + 0.03 = 0 .1 inch) so maybe it really is 18 gauge and my caliper might read more due to the twist I had to make with the wire to measure. In any case, it's definitely at least 18 gauge as advertised. Much luck!

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