mryan23 Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 I just bought 18 gauge spt 1 wire from home depot. Now I'm trying to order vampire plugs for it. The cheapest website I've found does not specify what gauge the plugs are for. I've emailed them to ask what gauge they are but I'd like to order asap. If anyone knows what gauge the vampire plugs from Holiday Technologies or if the gauge even matters as long as it is spt 1 please let me know.Thank you in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Hurrle Posted May 27, 2011 Share Posted May 27, 2011 SPT1 but I have used them on spt 2 and they work just a tighter fit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mryan23 Posted May 27, 2011 Author Share Posted May 27, 2011 I know they're spt1 but does it matter if they are designed for 18 awg or 16? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cray Augsburg Posted May 27, 2011 Share Posted May 27, 2011 mryan23 wrote: I know they're spt1 but does it matter if they are designed for 18 awg or 16?All I have used is 18-gauge SPT-1. SPT-2 has a thicker insulation, so it seems to me that the SPT-1 wire might be a little loose in an SPT-2 vampire.I can only imagine that 16-gauge wire might be too heavy for an SPT-1 vampire. . . but I could be wrong.I have picked up all my vampires at http://actionlighting.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james campbell Posted May 27, 2011 Share Posted May 27, 2011 mryan23 wrote: I know they're spt1 but does it matter if they are designed for 18 awg or 16?how much did yoou buy and how much was it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mryan23 Posted May 27, 2011 Author Share Posted May 27, 2011 james campbell wrote:mryan23 wrote: I know they're spt1 but does it matter if they are designed for 18 awg or 16?how much did yoou buy and how much was it?250 ft was $41 in store at home depot, cheapest I've seen for small quantities. I did not see any spt 2 which is what i was looking for but the spt1 was cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travis p Posted May 27, 2011 Share Posted May 27, 2011 was the wire black i know you said it was spt 1 but does it have the uv coating? i work for lowes and ours does not even tho its marked spt 1 we carry it for low power yard lights 24 volt dc or less just askin yes its cheap but did you get apples when you were looking for grapes if you know what i mean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgardner518 Posted May 27, 2011 Share Posted May 27, 2011 mryan23 wrote: I just bought 18 gauge spt 1 wire from home depot. Now I'm trying to order vampire plugs for it. The cheapest website I've found does not specify what gauge the plugs are for. I've emailed them to ask what gauge they are but I'd like to order asap. If anyone knows what gauge the vampire plugs from Holiday Technologies or if the gauge even matters as long as it is spt 1 please let me know.Thank you in advanceTo the best of my knowledge, the SPT1 and SPT2 is the same 18 gauge wire. The ONLY difference between the two is the insulation. SPT2 has a thicker insulation on it, and in turn can carry more electricity. But not much more.Some companies add UV protection to their SPT2 wire so its better outside. But they are all 18g gauge, from my experience.Hope this helps!On a side note, in October, Home Depot Online sells SPT1 male and female plugs at prices NO ONE ONLINE can touch! They usually sell them for $35-$40 for 100 pieces. If you can wait until then , its your best cost effective option! Attached files Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surfing4Dough Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 mryan23 wrote: I just bought 18 gauge spt 1 wire from home depot. Now I'm trying to order vampire plugs for it. The cheapest website I've found does not specify what gauge the plugs are for. I've emailed them to ask what gauge they are but I'd like to order asap. If anyone knows what gauge the vampire plugs from Holiday Technologies or if the gauge even matters as long as it is spt 1 please let me know.Thank you in advanceThe difference between 18AWG and 16AWG wouldn't really make a difference (hardly noticeable), whereas the difference between SPT1 and SPT2 is more significant. I have broken quite a few C9 SPT sockets trying to force closure of a SPT1 vampire socket on SPT2 wire, though less of an issue with male/female end plugs. Have had problems with a few loose connections when using the wrong size plug or socket, though often can make it work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surfing4Dough Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 ny_yankee_25 wrote:To the best of my knowledge, the SPT1 and SPT2 is the same 18 gauge wire. The ONLY difference between the two is the insulation. SPT2 has a thicker insulation on it, and in turn can carry more electricity. But not much more.Some companies add UV protection to their SPT2 wire so its better outside. But they are all 18g gauge, from my experience.They make both 18 gauge and 16 gauge SPT1 and SPT2 wire. The more common is 18 though. You can order both online, but have seen both at Home Depot before too.Sometimes the SPT2 with UV protection is called SPT3 (such as Paul's at CDI). However never assume this, since sometimes SPT3 can mean heavier insulation yet, or even heavier gauge wire (14, 12, or 10AWG). Unfortunately I have even seen SPT3 be used to describe 3 conductor wire rather than 2 conductor wire (which more accurately should be listed at 16/3 and 16/2).So what most of us use is either:SPT1 18/2SPT2 18/2SPT3 18/2 from CDI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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