DIYbanter - View Single Post - What is the gauge rating of the four wires for a four pin oven pigtail

Mike Hartigan

In article , says...
WHOA, don't listen to this guy, that is crap!

50 amps usually call for 6 gauge wire, in a short run like is used for a
stove, you could probably get by with 8 gauge, but I would stick with 6
gauge...just go to Home Depot or Lowes and buy one.

The ground wire can usually be 1 gauge below the other wires. It is really
only there for safety, if you get a short it can follow the ground path
instead of a person.

The neutral is the return path, it has to be the same guage. If you have
two hots that are the same phase, then the neutral would have to be up a
gauge...but that won't happen. They are always opposite phase by
approximately 180 degrees and therefore partially cancel each other out.

If you look in your main breaker, the neutral and ground buses are tied to
eachother.

Think of the voltage/current like water. It flows in through your hot wire,
then into your appliances, then back through the neutral line and into the
ground.

But that's not the case with the 240V heating elements - the heavy
hitters in an electric range. They don't use the neutral for return.
As Doug correctly stated, the neutral is used only for the
electronics, lights, fan, etc. And since 120V outlets on ranges have
gone the way of cigarette lighters in cars, the maximum current that
the neutral will see is predictable. Indeed, Thermador specifies 10
for the hots, 12 for neutral and 10 for ground for their dual fuel
ranges (although I'm not sure why ground needs to be 10, in this
case).