Electrical Cabling Size Table

Soldato
Joined
16 Apr 2007
Posts
23,474
Location
UK
Hey all,

The engineers at my work know how to calculate the current by dividing the Wattage by the Voltage, however they don't know what cable sizes are required for certain jobs...

So... I need a table which shows you cable size and how many amps it can take to stamp on the wall so they don't have to keep bugging everyone else :p

Anyone know something like this on the net?

Many thanks,

Marky
 

From a quick look over them - They're not what I'm looking for. I need to know how big the cable is. I.e. 6mm cable will be okay for up to 22amps etc.

I was about to say that you need to divide power by voltage (not multiply) to get current but you ninja edited your post.;)

Haha you almost caught me :p Had to do the triangle in my head - Shocking, I'm getting rusty already :p
 
R=pL/A

1.68×10−8 x (Length) Divided by the cross sectional Area of the cable to make sure you dont exceed 4% volt drop on the length of cable. Correct me If I'm wrong :D
 
Depends on so many factors tbh, sparks use the 17th regs book about £65-80 squid or cheaper alternative the on-site guide about £20, which have current carrying capacity tables inside organised by cable type, size in csa and installation method etc

What are you trying to work out? cos electrical regs figures might not apply, Afaik they are pretty conservative and specific to approved cable types, basec approved, its mostly to do with the insulation rather than the copper itself as the copper will carry tons of current no probs its the insulation that will fail first and burn / melt off the copper.

Also the sparks regs only cover copper and aluminium conductors so if your project uses something else they wont apply and wont apply to non basec approved cables.

Maybe get the engineers to go back to first principles to calculate for the exact situation you are using the cables for or contact the manufacturer of the cables you will be using and get their spec sheets / infoz.
 
Guys I'm not looking for the calculation - it really doesn't need to be as complicated as you're making it sound :p Our engineers rarely fit cable - but when they do they are told the phase (single or three) of the supply and the wattage the equipment will require. From that they need to know what size cable they require for the job. The length of cable they use is usually two meters max.
 
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