Flexable wire from the transformer to the home run wiring on a Murphy bed layout.

That sounds ok. Look for the maximum number of strands for the gauge. And crimp when anywhere near the bending, do not solder.

Consider a long tightly wound but flexy spring or spiral plastic loom (solidly attached to suefaces at the ends) to encase them, preventing kinks while being moved about.

  And maybe another light spring to pull excesses out of the way like the spring on a household screen door's limiting chain.

I would suggest building a contact plate for the folded down position. Wiring would be permanent in the wall frame and on the layout.

Split wire loom is an option to protect the wire. Look under the hood of your car. It is available in small diameters and is held closed with cable ties.

You don’t say how many wires, but if just coming from the transformer, industrial lamp cord would work for your lifetime. It comes in multiconductors and you shouldn’t need heavier than 14awg for your bed sized layout. 

Hi

Thank for the advise, this is still in the planning stage and will probable asking more question in the future.

Dear John, there are 6 power districts for this lay out, powered by two PWZW and two MTH TIU to control it all.

Dear Chuck I am looking into 12 WG strand, I was planning on crimping the wiring. I did not thing about the

"the maximum number of strands for the gauge".

Dear Adriatic Interesting I never thought of that.

Dear Carl I was planning something like that. I was going to have the transformer and all the control units mounted on the wall permanently and the layout would move up and down. I would run the  wiring from the wall control board to the Murphy style layout. Like the contact idea but I do not think it would work in my case. The wall has to be reinforce to able to take the weight of the layout. Also the layout when fold up would going into a case just like a Murphy bed.

Not exactly sure how expensive aviation wire is, but you may try using Marine Stranded wire.

Hi Kris,

As John mentioned, lamp cord should work for your application, and your idea of using speaker wire will work as well, Keep It Simple.  I have been in the professional Audio/Visual industry for 30+ years and professional speaker cable is extremely flexible and the vinyl jacket is both tough and flexible.  It gets CONSTANTLY  wrapped (over/over which is the wrong way), yanked, kinked, pulled, dragged, ran over, etc. in all sorts of environs and I have never had any fail due to breakage.  If you do decide to use speaker cable look for a jacket that is PVC as some contractor/install grade cable may be too stiff for your application since it is designed to be fished through walls so the jacket is usually much tougher but not all.  Another advantage to choosing speaker cable is that you can get 4 conductor if that would be a benefit to you.  One other tip is to stay away from aluminum clad wire as it has a much higher resistance.  Generally OFC (oxygen-free copper) is basically all that is used in pro-grade speaker cable.  Also, since speaker cable is designed for high-current applications 12-16 gauge should work for most applications.

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=2747

https://www.glsaudio.com/All-S...r-Cables_c_1015.html (check near the bottom of the page)

http://hosatech.com/product-ca...cable/speaker-cable/  (either type is fine, zip is going to be cheaper and lays/staples flat)

You may also be able to find cable at Home Depot, OSH or Lowe's.  If you have any in your are you can also check with local pro audio stores.

Craig

Another suggestion...How about the electric cord connector that goes from a tractor trailer to the truck.  They have 7 different color wires and are made to constantly flex thru the pig tail.  You might be able to cut 1 in half to get 2.

cjack posted:

That sounds ok. Look for the maximum number of strands for the gauge. And crimp when anywhere near the bending, do not solder.

Hi cjack

Quick question what is the "code or designation" for the maximum number of strands for the gauge? I am looking on line and I am seeing all kinds of 12 and 14 AW gauge wiring that is stranded, I am completely lost with the stranded.

Kris-

all the above suggestions are great ones. If you are looking for the most flexible wire, I am really a fan of “silicone” wire that is used in the Radio Controlled hobby and robot building. The strand count is extremely high and you can get it in many colors and sizes. 

Heres an example from google image search 

The wire strands themselves are very small copper strands and the insulation is where it gets the silicone name. 

I would use it only where you need the flexible connections. Use a cheaper wire for the runs that won’t be flexing a lot   

its available at many online retailers  I believe that one of the best prices is from a place called Hobby King  

I really think you are overthinking this. If you are able to leave some slack at the bend, there probably might be a 90 degree flex at the most, and a wide one at that. If you take speaker wire or 4 wire  lamp cord and flex it with your hands a foot apart or more, you wouldn't have a broken wire after thousands of flexes. How many times is this layout getting folded up and down?

nvocc5 posted:

cjack posted:

That sounds ok. Look for the maximum number of strands for the gauge. And crimp when anywhere near the bending, do not solder.

Hi cjack

Quick question what is the "code or designation" for the maximum number of strands for the gauge? I am looking on line and I am seeing all kinds of 12 and 14 AW gauge wiring that is stranded, I am completely lost with the stranded.

That data is usually not stated. You have to ask. They would state 14 ga awg stranded as  "40 strands of awg 50" or some such.

How about using wire connectors as seen here.  Simply disconnect when taking it down no flex in the wire.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/50-Fe...045573.c100508.m3226

Thanks for the replies, I will look into this and let you know the outcome.

Those single wire connectors are not meant to be a frequent disconnect. They are best for easy connections to things like relays and switches. I think you would be more satisfied with a cord arrangement that will just flex with the fold up. 

If it's only a transformer, you can get an industrial coiled cord power cable from a supplier like Grainger or any Industrial Electrical Supplier. They flex nicely and look good. The least expensive ones have 3 conductors (Black-White-Green) but I have seen up to 6 conductors to use with switch boxes or to power industrial automation items that move. Amazon even lists a bunch.

Despite all the talk on the forum, I doubt that based upon the size of your layout, you would need any more than 16 gauge wire in the cord. Consider the size of wire used by MTH in it's banana jack cables.

Lad

WOW, talk about complicating a bologna and cheese sandwich.

enginEErjon posted:

Kris-

all the above suggestions are great ones. If you are looking for the most flexible wire, I am really a fan of “silicone” wire that is used in the Radio Controlled hobby and robot building. The strand count is extremely high and you can get it in many colors and sizes. 

Heres an example from google image search 

The wire strands themselves are very small copper strands and the insulation is where it gets the silicone name. 

I would use it only where you need the flexible connections. Use a cheaper wire for the runs that won’t be flexing a lot   

its available at many online retailers  I believe that one of the best prices is from a place called Hobby King  

 

I second the idea of silicone coated wire.  I use it for almost everything.  You can solder right up to the coating because it is extremely heat resistant, and it's extremely wear resistant.  The strands are very flexible and with the silicone coating the wire itself is very, very flexible.  Amazon has it; that's where I buy it.