Does Romex 10/3 Come In A Stranded Version?}

Does Romex 10/3 Come In A Stranded Version?

by

ChristopherG Bell

No, Romex 10/3 only comes with solid strand conductors in order to limit flexibility for a few reasons that benefit contractors, electricians and installers. Mainly for installation reasons the solid strand of copper keeps the cable stiff in order to hold its form when snaking it through walls of homes and buildings.

There are 3 THHN electrical wires and a bare copper ground wire that all come solid rather than stranded. The option one would have to acquire stranded 10 AWG wires would be to buy three individual stranded THHN wires and run them separately without a jacket. When you buy THHN wire in 14, 12 and 10 AWG you have the option of solid or stranded copper. Dont forget the ground wire which you can buy without insulation or as a green THHN wire which most commonly designates a ground.

There are also more flexible versions of electrical wire if Romex 10/3 is too stiff for your application. Be very careful when switching cables for similar installations because the approvals change drastically as to where it can be placed in terms of its application. Romex, MC cable and UFB cable are all very common types of building wire used in, and outside of, homes and buildings. Each cable comes with THHN wires and the stranding is the same which only changes as the gauge sizes get larger.

When you decide to switch to a more flexible cable you have to realize that it was engineered and manufactured for a different application. For instance, SOOW cable is much more flexible because it has very small copper strands and a rubber jacket. However, that cable is flexible because its being handled by people while its hooked up. It consistently gets coiled and uncoiled for portable machines and tools. It also gets dragged across concrete or pavement on a regular basis so it needs the strong rubber jacket for added protection.

The point is that you might pay quite a bit more by just looking for a more flexible cable than Romex because of all the other tests and approvals processes it needs to go through to be approved for an application that youre not even going to use it in. Make sure you speak to your electrician or your supplier to discuss more flexible options that will help you get what you need without over paying for the product. They will walk you through a few options with different prices and let you choose between them.

WesBell Electronics is a wire and cable distributor that stocks

Romex

and all types of hook up wire.

Romex 10 3

wire is a common item that we have in our inventory in 2 or 3 conductor with an additional ground wire included. Romex is a brand name of Southwire Company which is their signature NM-B cable product.

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Does Romex 10/3 Come In A Stranded Version?
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