wire gauge?

[Gary68]

going to do some behind the wall pre-wiring for a couple lights,water pump,fan and 17-20 inch 12v tv,what gauge would be appropriate and should i do individual wires or would zip core style work?

grazie,gary

 

[SternWake]

Would need to know max amperage draw of all the devices and the length of the circuit to give a precise answer.

Look a the 10-2 and 12-2 landscape wire sold at home depot/lowes. for the fan and pump

Better oversize than undersize

 

[Gary68]

thanks,i will go 10-2 for the known stuff and if need in the future just run exterior wires

 

[Gary68]

home depot wire
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Southwir...C-_-NavPLPHorizontal1_rr-_-NA-_-204812493-_-N

am i close?
want to keep it black and red because i am stupid and i have 100' of 3/8 flexible conduit inbound so going 2 wires isnt that much of a big deal

 

[SternWake]

Joined 12-2 or 10-2 wire has one smooth wire and one ridged wire.

I always used ridged as +

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Southwire-250-ft-10-2-Landscape-Lighting-Wire-55213501/204210683

They sell it by the foot in store.

 

[Gary68]

would this work?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/10-GAUGE-RE...ash=item3f280cf83a:g:d~EAAOxyyF5RT0F1&vxp=mtr
its a speaker wire so i have been passing on it

 

[SternWake]

It would work. It says copper, but it could be copper clad aluminum wire.

If the price is too good, it likely is. My buddy bought some cable and th eseller swore up and down it was solid copper wire. When it arrived it weighted half of what it should have.

He got his money back but it was a process and the seller was obviously hoping he'd give just up.

http://www.genuinedealz.com/marine-wire/flat-duplex-dc-boat-wire/10-awg-gauge-marine-duplex-dc

Some circuits you just shold not screw around with. If you need 10 awg wire, use the good stuff.

http://www.genuinedealz.com/12-awg-gauge-duplex-round

LED lights sometimes cause radio interference and the power leads can become antennas.

I would buy thinner wire for led lights and twist it tightly in a drill to mitigate the RFI

 

[Gary68]

ok,i will go with the home depot red and black individual (because i am stupid) k.i.s.s.
10 for pump and fan.12 for lights

thanks stern

 

[SternWake]

The 10-2 landscape wire is not very flexible, but I would prefer it to a single black and a single red wire. But you can do the twist them in a drill thing to keep them together, but it does make the circuit longer than if they were straight.

The ridges on the 10-2 wire are quite obvious. It is hard to screw up polarity as long as one sticks to a standard. Ridged red/ striped red. I like to slide red heatshrink over the positive on any 2 wire as well to eliminate the possibility of confusion.

But red black is certainly more foolproof. Whatever makes you most comfortable. Also CCA (copper clad aluminum) wire is acceptable on low amperage circuits were voltage drop is not a concern, or if it is oversized for the load anyway.

best of luck.

 

[blars]

The insulation on speaker wire is not rated for the high temperatures produced by passing current through the wire. So it's current carrying capacity has to be derated a lot, otherwise the insulation will melt and the wire will short out.

 

[ccbreder]

I would worry about using landscape or speaker wire in a vehicle 12 volt system. Residential wire as sold by Home Depot is fewer heavier strands and is very hard to work. It is even difficult to crimp. I recommend marine grade, tinned copper. http://www.genuinedealz.com/marine-wire/marine-primary-wire