RECOMMENDED WIRE GAUGE TABLES
Find the amperes or watts the circuit is expected to carry on the left and the distance the wiring must run at the top.
Follow the columns until they intersect (for example, a 12 volt circuit which is 15 feet long and carries 10 amperes
should use at least 16 gauge wire). As a rule of thumb, the smallest wire to use on power amplifiers is 10 gauge.
POWER WIRE GAUGE SELECTION TABLE |
Circuit Ampheres |
Circuit Watts |
Wire Gauge (for length in Feet) |
| 12V |
12V |
3' |
5' |
7' |
10' |
15' |
20' |
25' |
8 |
48 |
18 |
18 |
18 |
18 |
18 |
16 |
16 |
10 |
60 |
18 |
18 |
18 |
18 |
16 |
16 |
16 |
11 |
66 |
18 |
18 |
18 |
18 |
16 |
16 |
14 |
12 |
72 |
18 |
18 |
18 |
18 |
16 |
16 |
14 |
15 |
90 |
18 |
18 |
18 |
18 |
14 |
14 |
12 |
18 |
108 |
18 |
18 |
16 |
16 |
14 |
14 |
12 |
20 |
120 |
18 |
18 |
16 |
16 |
14 |
12 |
10 |
22 |
132 |
18 |
18 |
16 |
16 |
12 |
12 |
10 |
24 |
144 |
18 |
18 |
16 |
16 |
12 |
12 |
10 |
30 |
180 |
18 |
16 |
16 |
14 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
40 |
240 |
18 |
16 |
14 |
12 |
10 |
10 |
8 |
50 |
300 |
16 |
14 |
12 |
12 |
10 |
10 |
8 |
100 |
600 |
12 |
12 |
10 |
10 |
6 |
6 |
4 |
150 |
900 |
10 |
10 |
8 |
8 |
4 |
4 |
2 |
200 |
1200 |
10 |
8 |
8 |
6 |
4 |
4 |
2 |
270 |
1600 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0/0 |
300 |
2000 |
4 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0/0 |
0/0/0 |
365 |
2500 |
4 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0/0 |
0/0/0 |
0/0/0/0 |
American Wire Gauge (AWG) - determined by measuring the diameter of the conductor (the bare wire) with the insulation removed.
Note that you can always use thicker wire (lower gauge number) than is recommended .
WIRE GAUGE DIAMETER IN INCHES |
American Wire Gauge |
Diameter in Inches |
20 |
0.03196118 |
18 |
0.040303 |
16 |
0.0508214 |
14 |
0.064084 |
12 |
0.08080810 |
10 |
0.10189 |
8 |
0.128496 |
6 |
0.16202 |
5 |
0.18194 |
4 |
0.20431 |
3 |
0.22942 |
2 |
0.25763 |
1 |
0.2893 |
0 |
0.32486 |
00 |
0.3648 |
