How do you determine the size of a conductor?
Divide the voltage running through the cable by your target current. If, for instance, 120 volts will act on the cable, and you want 30 amps to run through it: 120 / 30 = 4. This is your target resistance, measured in ohms. 30,000 x 1.724 x 10^-8 = 0.0005172 ohm sq.
What is the minimum size conductor?
As noted in Sec. 720.4, “Conductors shall not be smaller than 12 AWG copper or equivalent. Conductors for appliance branch circuits supplying more than one appliance or appliance receptacle shall not be smaller than 10 AWG copper or equivalent.”
What is the largest conductor size?
American wire gauge (AWG) is a standardized wire gauge system for the diameters of round, solid, nonferrous, electrically conducting wire. The larger the AWG number or wire guage, the smaller the physical size of the wire. The smallest AWG size is 40 and the largest is 0000 (4/0).
What is conductor explain the selection of size of conductor?
Some of the factors which decides the size of the conductors designed for distribution system are given below: Current carrying capacity of the conductor or distribution line. Allowable voltage drop or line regulation. Breakdown strength of the conductor.
How many amps can a 10 AWG THW carry continuously?
40 amps
We go from a 10 AWG conductor to an 8 AWG conductor (6 AWG if the equipment does not have the allowance for 75°C terminations). Now that is just one customary conductor size, but look at it from the device manufacturer’s perspective. A 10 AWG carrying 40 amps continuously is a continuous 90°C heating load.
What size conductor is used for a 40a branch circuit?
8-gauge
“Twelve-gauge wire is good for 20 amps, 10-gauge wire is good for 30 amps, 8-gauge is good for 40 amps, and 6-gauge is good for 55 amps,” and “The circuit breaker or fuse is always sized to protect the conductor [wire].”
What does gauge mean in wire?
thickness
What is the definition of Wire Gauge? Wire/cable thickness is defined in terms of gauge. Generally speaking, the smaller the gauge number, the thicker the cable. The standardized method of measuring the thickness of a cable (American Wire Gauge or AWG) was established in 1857 in the United States.
Why is gauge measured backwards?
Beyond international standards, another source of confusion is why wire gauge sizes appear to be backwards of what they should be—as the physical width of the gauge increases the numerical value assigned to it decreases. In doing so it also reduces the current that can flow through the wire.
