Typically how much current could 18g wire carry??
Also how much current does a typical cigarette lighter draw to heat the coils??
15-24 amps can be carried depending upon the insulation being used to shield the copper wire.
The lighter will draw from 5-10 amps for short durations.
Regards
EVIL Teken . . .
Thanks.. I basically wanted to hook up 5 l.e.d.'s , dome light and a cigarette lighter to a 12V constant. I was thinking of using my 12V constant that is used to provide memory to my radio and other such things (which I will no longer need to power the radio memory). Its fused at 10A. I wanted to run an 18 g wire to run to the dome light but wanted to make sure it was protected on the 10A fuse.
If this is for only short durations than what you intend to use is fine. But if the circuit is intended for long durations and you live in a very hot climate.
Than you will want to increase the wire guage to 14-16 guage. The reason is that all copper cable insulation is rated based on a ambient temperature, which affects the current load the wire can carry prior to saturation / burning.
That is why you will see the KAPTON TEFLON SILICONE material in engine compartments, opposed to simple
POLYURETHANE insulation as is the case for simple hook-up wire.
Either use a larger wire guage, or spend the extra money for higher quality cables which are protected with the proper insulation / dielectric material.
Regards
EVIL Teken . . .