Home
Cloth/Cotton Covered Wire
This is quality reproduction wire. The patterns used are the same patterns that were used in early automotive wiring. This wire has been made by the same company for over 60 years. All use a cotton woven jacket over a modern wire insulation material. The copper conductor is high-grade and is easily tinned. All colored cable has a shiny lacquered finish. The black is available in a shiny and a dull finish.
The oak color is kind of a dull orange color (the picture to the right shows several rolls of it and is very close to the real color.) This wire is what you would have found at a hardware store in the 20's, 30's & 40's. It is very appropriate in all applications.
All prices for under 100' are per foot. 100' comes wound on a spool.
For most applications, the 7mm sparkplug wire is adequate. Very early engines used 9mm wire. 9mm is also usefull if you are going a very long distance (over 4 feet.) For long runs, the capacitance of the wire to the engine becomes quite significant. The larger diameter outer casing puts the conductor further away from the engine (the smaller the spacing of the wire core to the engine, the greater the capacitance. If there is too much capacitance, the spark will be reduced and timing delayed.)
My latest addition is the yellow with dual green cross tracers. There are actually 4 tracers, 2 going one direction, and 2 going another. It is designed to look very sharp on John Deere tractors and engines.
Also, I have a limitted supply of 8mm spark plug wire. If this s popular, I may add some additional colors.
I have started making solid core 12 gauge wire for igniters. All igniters originally used solid core wire. It makes better contact to the Fahnstock clips and is much easier to work with. One thing to keep in mind when using solid core wire is that you must add a couple of loops (like a pig tail) in the wire to prevent vibration from fracturing the wire. Always order 1 foot longer than the length that you need to accomodate the loops. This wire can be used on any engine that has an igniter and will improve the performance of the ignition system (I have observed this in my shop, it really works!) Wire for Webster magnetos is different and may be found in the Webster section.
Oak with black and red dual cross tracers, shiny lacquer finish
Yellow with black and red dual cross tracers, shiny lacquer finish
Red with black dual cross tracers, shiny lacquer finish
Yellow with dual green tracers crossing dual green tracers, shiny laquer finish
A note about carbon filament wire: DON'T USE
IT!! I have "repaired" many flaky ignition systems by
replacing a piece of carbon wire with good copper wire (I only sell copper
cored wire.) Carbon filament wire is designed for modern 12
volt ignition systems where the output of the coil is significantly
hotter than most of these old mags can produce. The carbon filament acts as a
resistor and cuts down the rise time of the high tension voltage reducing interferance with radios. These old mags simply can't drive
this wire. Carbon filament wire can be identified by a black fiber-like core
that feels like silk. It also frequently has a modern silicone outer jacket.
Some of the earlier carbon filament wire is almost unidentifiable from the
outside. If you are having problems with your ignition, pull the wire and look
at the end. It is worth the effort.
Order number |
Description |
1' - 10' |
11' and up |
100' roll |
Shipping |
|
|
|
|
|
|
WIR01 |
9mm
Sparkplug wire , black, dull lacquer finish |
2.00/ft |
1.75/ft |
110.00/roll |
6.5
lbs |
WIR02 |
9mm
Sparkplug wire, oak with black & red dual cross tracers |
||||
WIR03 |
9mm
Sparkplug wire, yellow with black & red dual cross tracers |
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
WIR08 |
8mm
Sparkplug wire, oak with black & red dual cross tracers |
1.80/ft |
1.40/ft |
100.00/roll |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
WIR10 |
7mm
Sparkplug wire, black, high-gloss |
1.50/ft |
1.25/ft |
95.00/roll |
4.25
lbs |
WIR11 |
7mm
Sparkplug wire, black, dull lacquer |
||||
WIR12 |
7mm
Sparkplug wire, oak with black & red dual cross tracers |
||||
WIR13 |
7mm
Sparkplug wire, yellow with black & red dual cross tracers |
||||
WIR14 |
7mm
Sparkplug wire, red with black dual tracers |
||||
WIR15 |
7mm
Sparkplug wire, yellow with dual green cross tracers |
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
WIR20 |
#10
Primary wire, black, high-gloss |
1.30/ft |
1.10/ft |
85.00/roll |
5 lbs |
WIR21 |
#10
Primary wire, black, dull lacquer finish |
||||
WIR22 |
#10
Primary wire, oak with black & red dual cross tracers |
||||
WIR23 |
#10
Primary wire, yellow with black & red dual cross tracers |
||||
WIR24 |
#10
Primary wire, red with black dual cross tracers |
||||
WIR25 |
#10
Primary wire, yellow with dual green cross tracers |
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
WIR30 |
#12
Primary wire, black, high-gloss |
1.20/ft |
1.10/ft |
65.00/roll |
3.25
lbs |
WIR31 |
#12
Primary wire, black, dull lacquer finish |
||||
WIR32 |
#12
Primary wire, orange with black & red dual cross tracers |
||||
WIR33 |
#12
Primary wire, yellow with black & red dual cross tracers |
||||
WIR34 |
#12
Primary wire, red with black dual cross tracers |
||||
WIR35 |
#12
Primary wire, yellow with dual green cross tracers |
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
WIR81 |
#12
Igniter wire, solid conductor, black, dull finish |
1.50/foot,
all lengths |
|
||
WIR82 |
#12
Igniter wire, solid conductor, oak with black & red dual cross tracers |
|
|||
WIR83 |
#12
Igniter wire, solid conductor, yellow with black & red dual cross tracers |
|
|||
WIR84 |
#12
Igniter wire, solid conductor, red with black dual cross tracers |
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
WIR40 |
#14
Primary wire, black, high-gloss |
1.00/ft |
.95/ft |
65.00/roll |
2.25
lbs |
WIR41 |
#14
Primary wire, black, dull lacquer finish |
||||
WIR42 |
#14
Primary wire, oak with black & red dual cross tracers |
||||
WIR43 |
#14
Primary wire, yellow with black & red dual cross tracers |
||||
WIR44 |
#14
Primary wire, red with black dual cross tracers |
||||
WIR45 |
#14
Primary wire, yellow with dual green cross tracers |
||||
WIR48 |
#14
Primary wire, red, dull lacquer finish |
||||
WIR49 |
#14
Primary wire, brown, dull lacquer finish |
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
WIR50 |
#16
Primary wire, black, high-gloss |
1.00/ft |
.95/ft |
65.00/roll |
1.75
lbs |
WIR51 |
#16
Primary wire, black, dull lacquer finish |
||||
WIR52 |
#16
Primary wire, oak with black & red dual cross tracers |
||||
WIR53 |
#16
Primary wire, yellow with black & red dual cross tracers |
||||
WIR54 |
#16
Primary wire, red with black dual cross tracers |
||||
WIR55 |
#16
Primary wire, yellow with dual green cross tracers |
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
WIR60 |
#18
Primary wire, black, high-gloss |
.80/ft |
.70/ft |
55.00/roll |
1.25
lbs |
WIR61 |
#18
Primary wire, black, dull lacquer finish |
||||
WIR62 |
#18
Primary wire, oak with black & red dual cross tracers |
||||
WIR63 |
#18
Primary wire, yellow with black & red dual cross tracers |
||||
WIR64 |
#18
Primary wire, red with black dual cross tracers |
||||
WIR65 |
#18
Primary wire, yellow with dual green cross tracers |
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
WIR71 |
#20
Primary wire, black, dull lacquer finish |
.80/ft |
.70/ft |
55.00/roll |
1.25
lbs |
WIR72 |
#20
Primary wire, red, dull lacquer finish |
||||
WIR73 |
#20
Primary wire, green, dull lacquer finish |
Wire Gauge Table
The following table give approximate dimensions for the conductors and outer jackets of my reproduction wire. The number size is standard American Wire Gauge (AWG), also known as Brown & Sharp Gauge. The outer jacket dimensions are non-standard due to the cloth & varnish overcoating. The current capacity is an approximation. You may think these numbers are rather low, but keep in mind that the cotton and varnish jacket will prevent the wire from dissipating as much heat as it would if the jacket were not there. When used is a bundle, the capacity must be derated by a factor of .8 for bundles of 2-5, and .7 for bundles of 6 or more.
|
#10
stranded |
#12
stranded |
#14
stranded |
#16
stranded |
#18
stranded |
7mm
spark plug |
9mm
spark plug |
Conductor
diameter (inches) |
.116 |
.093 |
.073 |
.059 |
.047 |
|
|
Conductor
diameter (mm) |
2.946 |
2.369 |
1.854 |
1.499 |
1.194 |
|
|
Conductor
area (inches2) |
.0078 |
.0048 |
.0030 |
.0019 |
.0013 |
|
|
Conductor
area (mm2) |
5.038 |
3.105 |
1.954 |
1.327 |
0.830 |
|
|
Jacket
outer diameter (inches) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jacket
outer diamter (mm) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Current
rating |
50
amps |
38
amps |
28
amps |
20
amps |
16
amps |
N/A |
N/A |
source: Alpha Wire Co.