# Where to get 3 conductor wire



## Suamico Pete (Jan 3, 2015)

I recently purchased a couple of pairs of Post-war Lionel remote switches. They are in fairly good condition but the wiring is bad. The old insulation on the wires is cracked and there are numerous places with exposed conductors. I want to replace the wired with a similar type of wire with updated insulation (the stuff I have is roughly 60 years old). Ideally what I would like to find is a 22 gauge 3 conductor flat wire. I don't need more than 30 to 40 feet of it. I found one website that had such a product but the website was funky and would not let me complete the purchase on line. 

The product I found is 22 AWG Corsair Style 3-Conductor Flat Ribbon Cable Wire (22 AWG Black). It was over $1.50 per foot so price was a bit of a concern.

Any help would be appreciated.


----------



## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Here's #22 ribbon with 6 conductors, just split it down the middle and you have 100 feet of 3 conductor #22 ribbon for $50 shipped. That gets it down to 50 cents a foot.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/6-Cond-22-A...ranes-50-ft-/331615136828?hash=item4d35cd6c3c


----------



## Bwells (Mar 30, 2014)

Or this. The conductors are solid but the gauge is larger.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Southwire-50-ft-18-3-Thermostat-Wire-Brown-64168840/204862206


----------



## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Well, that's not flat wire, and I think flexible stranded wire is a much better fit for the application.


----------



## Suamico Pete (Jan 3, 2015)

Thanks to gunrunnerjohn and BWells for your responses. I will consider both options. I like the idea of the flat wire approach - just don't know if I want so much wire - probably could find other uses for what I don't need for my switches.
Thanks again.


----------



## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I'd certainly want stranded wire for this application unless nothing is going to move after installation.


----------



## Suamico Pete (Jan 3, 2015)

To gunrunnerjohn: I did find some 3 conductor 18 gauge round, not flat, wire at an electrical supply company in my area. This was after looking for quite a while on-line. The wire I purchased is multi-stranded wire so it is flexible. I decided that being flat wasn't necessary because it will be essentially hidden except for what has to be exposed at the switch unit itself. Thanks again.


----------



## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Sounds good.


----------

