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Guage and ampacity of wire for amp


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joeydada 
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Joined: December 27, 2006
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Posted: December 27, 2006 at 11:03 PM / IP Logged  

Ok I have 6 guage going to a dist. block. Will be feeding 2 amps - 150 watts rms each. That means each load has a max draw of 12.5 amps.

in theory, would 14g be enough because it can handle an ampacity for 15amps (and 12.5 amps is approx 80% of load capacity for 14g).

I will prob use 10 or 12 to each amp, but wanted to hear anyone elses opinion.

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DYohn 
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Joined: April 22, 2003
Location: Arizona, United States
Posted: December 27, 2006 at 11:07 PM / IP Logged  
Yes, 14 AWG would be fine.  16 AWG would be fine too.  14 AWG copper wire will handle up to 25 amps, by the way.
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joeydada 
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Joined: December 27, 2006
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Posted: December 27, 2006 at 11:12 PM / IP Logged  

DYohn wrote:
Yes, 14 AWG would be fine.  16 AWG would be fine too.  14 AWG copper wire will handle up to 25 amps, by the way.

Really? In the code book it rates 14 g at 15 amps max (which is solid core). Is it 25 amps with a high strand count?

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DYohn 
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Joined: April 22, 2003
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Posted: December 27, 2006 at 11:30 PM / IP Logged  
National Electrical Code copper wire ampacity.  It has nothing to do with strand count.  Insulation type will increase ampacity (for example, Teflon insulated wire increases ampacity significantly, which is why that's what I always use even if it is more expensive.)
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joeydada 
Member - Posts: 22
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Joined: December 27, 2006
Location: United States
Posted: December 28, 2006 at 2:11 AM / IP Logged  

DYohn wrote:
National Electrical Code copper wire ampacity.  It has nothing to do with strand count.  Insulation type will increase ampacity (for example, Teflon insulated wire increases ampacity significantly, which is why that's what I always use even if it is more expensive.)

Wow! I was unaware that the insulation could raise the ampacity by such a large margin. I was refering to R90 & RW90 in the code book which is used for residential wiring which rates 14g at 20a.

thnx

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