I'm looking for help in straightening out a controversy about wire.
Tin-coated copper wire is required by UL for certain boat applications. They don't allow the use of all-copper wire because the tin-coating protects against corrosion.
A funny thing though, copper is more corrosion-resistant that tin (according to tables of Standard Electrical Potential and Galvanic properties.)
Countering that, however, it seems that copper oxides are terrible at conducting electricity while tin oxides do it pretty well.
In short, while the tin-coating may be oxidizing faster than the copper, it maintains the electrical conductance through its skin better. In other words, you can't cut and re-splice an old oxidized copper wire while you can a tin-coated one.
Am I right so far?
I'd really appreciate links to where I can find accurate info on the conductivity or resistance of copper oxides and tin oxides.
Thanks
Tin-coated copper wire is required by UL for certain boat applications. They don't allow the use of all-copper wire because the tin-coating protects against corrosion.
A funny thing though, copper is more corrosion-resistant that tin (according to tables of Standard Electrical Potential and Galvanic properties.)
Countering that, however, it seems that copper oxides are terrible at conducting electricity while tin oxides do it pretty well.
In short, while the tin-coating may be oxidizing faster than the copper, it maintains the electrical conductance through its skin better. In other words, you can't cut and re-splice an old oxidized copper wire while you can a tin-coated one.
Am I right so far?
I'd really appreciate links to where I can find accurate info on the conductivity or resistance of copper oxides and tin oxides.
Thanks