Ross365
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I'm not sure that selecting cable based on diameter is the best way to go. For one thing, in recent years, improvements in plastics have enabled reduction of insulation thickness, so for a given max current, such wires are narrower than they used to be.
Isn't a better way of rating cables to looking at the spec for the number of stands (of copper wire) and the diameter of the stands, e.g.
Overall Diameter ..... 3.5mm .... .. 3.1mm ........... .. 2.8mm ............ 2.4mm
Stranding ..... 41/0.254mm...... 26/0.254mm ....... 34/0.178mm ... 17/0.16mm
(number of strands/ diameter of each strand)
(sorry but forum is not allowing me to format those lines as I wanted to)
It's the total cross section of the copper that really counts. Each stranding spec has a corresponding max current rating which will be on goggle somewhere.
Isn't a better way of rating cables to looking at the spec for the number of stands (of copper wire) and the diameter of the stands, e.g.
Overall Diameter ..... 3.5mm .... .. 3.1mm ........... .. 2.8mm ............ 2.4mm
Stranding ..... 41/0.254mm...... 26/0.254mm ....... 34/0.178mm ... 17/0.16mm
(number of strands/ diameter of each strand)
(sorry but forum is not allowing me to format those lines as I wanted to)
It's the total cross section of the copper that really counts. Each stranding spec has a corresponding max current rating which will be on goggle somewhere.