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John Smith[_5_] November 18th 07 01:29 PM

Power cable thickness q:
 
What kind of cable should I use to connect seven 50 W light. The cable draw power
from a 10A supply.

One thing I do not understand is that I have to use pretty thick wire but table
lamps have thin cables. What's the story here?

RBM November 18th 07 01:55 PM

Power cable thickness q:
 
You have 350 watts. If you are operating a 120 volts, you've got less than 3
amps. The smallest recognized building conductor size is #14, which is good
for 15 amps




"John Smith" wrote in message
...
What kind of cable should I use to connect seven 50 W light. The cable
draw power
from a 10A supply.

One thing I do not understand is that I have to use pretty thick wire but
table
lamps have thin cables. What's the story here?




Ralph Mowery November 18th 07 01:56 PM

Power cable thickness q:
 

"John Smith" wrote in message
...
What kind of cable should I use to connect seven 50 W light. The cable
draw power
from a 10A supply.

One thing I do not understand is that I have to use pretty thick wire but
table
lamps have thin cables. What's the story here?


The size of the wire will depend on how far your lights are from the power
source.

In simple terms there are low voltage/high current circuits and high
voltage/low current circuits. The larger the current , the bigger the wire
will need to be to carry the same ammount of power. If the wire is not big
enough or too long for the size , the voltage will drop in the wire and the
light will not be as bright.

A 50 watt light operating on 120 volts will take about .4 amps and you can
run small wire a long distance. The same light operating on 12 volts will
about 4 amps. That is a 10 times differance so the wire will need to be
much larger.



[email protected] November 18th 07 01:58 PM

Power cable thickness q:
 
On Nov 18, 8:29 am, John Smith wrote:
What kind of cable should I use to connect seven 50 W light. The cable draw power
from a 10A supply.

One thing I do not understand is that I have to use pretty thick wire but table
lamps have thin cables. What's the story here?


If this is a typical house wiring job, say to install some ceiling
lights in a dining room, then 14 gauge Romex is what would typically
be used. But it can also depend on the location and other details of
the install. Since this circuit is only 10amp, it must be fairly old
wiring.

The cable for 7 lights has to be a heavier gauge than the wire for one
table lamp because it must support the load of 7 lights, not just one.

Caesar Romano November 18th 07 07:28 PM

Power cable thickness q:
 
On Sun, 18 Nov 2007 15:29:49 +0200, John Smith wrote
Re Power cable thickness q::

What kind of cable should I use to connect seven 50 W light. The cable draw power
from a 10A supply.

One thing I do not understand is that I have to use pretty thick wire but table
lamps have thin cables. What's the story here?


Use #14


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