I've only terminated stranded to a breaker a handful of time and unless it's me, solid does seem to be a more *solid* connection.

I am running wire from transfer switch to the panel.

Any benefits going with stranded over solid for this application ?

 

Stranded is easier to pull through conduit but plenty of lube and maybe a bit oversized conduit and either is fine.

 

Conduit or cable? What size wire? How many wires? What do you need to go around or through between the transfer switch and the panel?

The tricky part with stranded conductors is making sure that all of the strands are intact after stripping the insulation and making sure all of them are inserted and clamped in the lug.

 

I'm not a fan of tinning the leads of this application. I got to my my EE hat on, but something like strands may be lossened over time under the tin, resistence, etc, etc.


8 Pairs of 12AWG
Another pair of 10AWG for the neutral and Ground
Flex run straight shot about 5-6 feet.
It's on the same plane as the panel....flush with the concrete wall.

 

Stranded or solid will work quite fine. Any breaker will be able to accept stranded wire without an issue. No need to tin the strands.

 

Why would you want to so that? I've never done it, never seen it done, and wouldn't even know how to start.

As I said earlier, just make sure that all of the strands are intact after stripping the insulation and make sure all of them are inserted and clamped in the lug. This is one of the few times that I actually bother to re-align the strands before terminating - never with a splice anymore. One point I forgot to make earlier is to make sure the conductor reaches the bottom of the lug and that the insulation comes to within a whisker of the opening. Also follow the torque schedule. (You may already know this, and some of it better than I do, but lots of folks read these posts for information.)

This sounds like a transfer panel. How many circuits are you backing up? Putting on *my* EE hat for a moment, is this a case where you need only half as many neutrals as hots? And I know you need a ground through that flex. I always bond that at both ends.

 

Yep, sounds like an eight circuit transfer panel with a maximum generator size of 7200 watts. One #10 for a common neutral and the other #10 for the equipment ground. Obviously NOT switching the neutrals.

 

BTW, just curious....
HOW do you guys organize/label such wires ?
Just the regular A-Z sticker Book ?

I've got to grab the Brady printer from work which should be perfect on the cables.

 

I have a Kroy Tubemarker that prints on heat-shrink tubing. My experience with stickers is that the eventually fall off. Some brands are worse than others.

 

I use the number books. I prefer the ones made by Gardner-Bender. For labeling wires and cables by purpose, I use either my Brother label printer or my write-on labeler from 3M.

 

Why not hard pipe? Easier to pull through and doesn't require bonding.

 

At the approach I'm coming in, I'm thinking the KO required will most likely be on the bottom - a smigen right off the meter.

I don't have one of the fancy schmancy Greenlee knockout cutters...

 

Neither do I, not even a slug-buster. What I do have is a set of hole saws and a couple of center punches.

That said, the company that made your transfer panel may have designed it so that the various conductors should come in at certain points, and provided KOs there. I would look over the panel and the Funny Papers that came with it to determine the best internal wiring path before making any openings in it.

FWIW, I noticed recently that I can buy pre-bent 90s in several different sizes of EMT at my local Big Orange.