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Wire Gauge
and Current Limits |
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Custom design and manufacture of state-of-the-art
battery chargers, DC/DC Converters, and power supplies for OEMs in a Hurry
AWG Wire Sizes (see table below)
AWG: In the American Wire Gauge (AWG), diameters can be calculated by applying the formula
D(AWG)=.005·92((36-AWG)/39) inch. For the 00, 000, 0000 etc. gauges you use -1, -2, -3, which makes more
sense mathematically than "double nought." This means that in American wire gage every 6 gauge decrease gives a doubling of the
wire diameter, and every 3 gauge decrease doubles the wire cross sectional area. Similar to dB in signal and power
levels. Metric Wire Gauges (see table below) Metric Gauge: In the Metric Gauge scale,
the gauge is 10 times the diameter in millimeters, so a 50 gauge metric wire would be 5 mm in diameter. Note that in AWG the
diameter goes up as the gauge goes down, but for metric gauges it is the opposite. Probably because of this confusion, most of
the time metric sized wire is specified in millimeters rather than metric gauges.
Load Carrying
Capacities (see table below) The following chart is a guideline of ampacity or copper wire current carrying capacity
following the Handbook of Electronic Tables and Formulas for American Wire Gauge. As you might guess, the rated
ampacities are just a rule of thumb. In careful engineering the voltage drop, insulation temperature limit, thickness, thermal
conductivity, and air convection and temperature should all be taken into account. The Maximum Amps for Power Transmission uses
the 700 circular mils per amp rule, which is very very conservative. The Maximum Amps for Chassis Wiring is also a conservative
rating, but is meant for wiring in air, and not in a bundle. For short lengths of wire, such as is used in battery packs you
should trade off the resistance and load with size, weight, and flexibility.
| AWG gauge |
Conductor Diameter Inches |
Conductor Diameter mm |
Ohms per 1000 ft |
Ohms per km |
Maximum amps for chassis wiring |
Maximum amps for power transmission |
Maximum freqency for 100% skin depth for solid conductor copper |
| OOOO |
0.46 |
11.684 |
0.049 |
0.16072 |
380 |
302 |
125 Hz |
| OOO |
0.4096 |
10.40384 |
0.0618 |
0.202704 |
328 |
239 |
160 Hz |
| OO |
0.3648 |
9.26592 |
0.0779 |
0.255512 |
283 |
190 |
200 Hz |
| 0 |
0.3249 |
8.25246 |
0.0983 |
0.322424 |
245 |
150 |
250 Hz |
| 1 |
0.2893 |
7.34822 |
0.1239 |
0.406392 |
211 |
119 |
325 Hz |
| 2 |
0.2576 |
6.54304 |
0.1563 |
0.512664 |
181 |
94 |
410 Hz |
| 3 |
0.2294 |
5.82676 |
0.197 |
0.64616 |
158 |
75 |
500 Hz |
| 4 |
0.2043 |
5.18922 |
0.2485 |
0.81508 |
135 |
60 |
650 Hz |
| 5 |
0.1819 |
4.62026 |
0.3133 |
1.027624 |
118 |
47 |
810 Hz |
| 6 |
0.162 |
4.1148 |
0.3951 |
1.295928 |
101 |
37 |
1100 Hz |
| 7 |
0.1443 |
3.66522 |
0.4982 |
1.634096 |
89 |
30 |
1300 Hz |
| 8 |
0.1285 |
3.2639 |
0.6282 |
2.060496 |
73 |
24 |
1650 Hz |
| 9 |
0.1144 |
2.90576 |
0.7921 |
2.598088 |
64 |
19 |
2050 Hz |
| 10 |
0.1019 |
2.58826 |
0.9989 |
3.276392 |
55 |
15 |
2600 Hz |
| 11 |
0.0907 |
2.30378 |
1.26 |
4.1328 |
47 |
12 |
3200 Hz |
| 12 |
0.0808 |
2.05232 |
1.588 |
5.20864 |
41 |
9.3 |
4150 Hz |
| 13 |
0.072 |
1.8288 |
2.003 |
6.56984 |
35 |
7.4 |
5300 Hz |
| 14 |
0.0641 |
1.62814 |
2.525 |
8.282 |
32 |
5.9 |
6700 Hz |
| 15 |
0.0571 |
1.45034 |
3.184 |
10.44352 |
28 |
4.7 |
8250 Hz |
| 16 |
0.0508 |
1.29032 |
4.016 |
13.17248 |
22 |
3.7 |
11 k Hz |
| 17 |
0.0453 |
1.15062 |
5.064 |
16.60992 |
19 |
2.9 |
13 k Hz |
| 18 |
0.0403 |
1.02362 |
6.385 |
20.9428 |
16 |
2.3 |
17 kHz |
| 19 |
0.0359 |
0.91186 |
8.051 |
26.40728 |
14 |
1.8 |
21 kHz |
| 20 |
0.032 |
0.8128 |
10.15 |
33.292 |
11 |
1.5 |
27 kHz |
| 21 |
0.0285 |
0.7239 |
12.8 |
41.984 |
9 |
1.2 |
33 kHz |
| 22 |
0.0254 |
0.64516 |
16.14 |
52.9392 |
7 |
0.92 |
42 kHz |
| 23 |
0.0226 |
0.57404 |
20.36 |
66.7808 |
4.7 |
0.729 |
53 kHz |
| 24 |
0.0201 |
0.51054 |
25.67 |
84.1976 |
3.5 |
0.577 |
68 kHz |
| 25 |
0.0179 |
0.45466 |
32.37 |
106.1736 |
2.7 |
0.457 |
85 kHz |
| 26 |
0.0159 |
0.40386 |
40.81 |
133.8568 |
2.2 |
0.361 |
107 kH |
| 27 |
0.0142 |
0.36068 |
51.47 |
168.8216 |
1.7 |
0.288 |
130 kHz |
| 28 |
0.0126 |
0.32004 |
64.9 |
212.872 |
1.4 |
0.226 |
170 kHz |
| 29 |
0.0113 |
0.28702 |
81.83 |
268.4024 |
1.2 |
0.182 |
210 kHz |
| 30 |
0.01 |
0.254 |
103.2 |
338.496 |
0.86 |
0.142 |
270 kHz |
| 31 |
0.0089 |
0.22606 |
130.1 |
426.728 |
0.7 |
0.113 |
340 kHz |
| 32 |
0.008 |
0.2032 |
164.1 |
538.248 |
0.53 |
0.091 |
430 kHz |
| Metric 2.0 |
0.00787 |
0.200 |
169.39 |
555.61 |
0.51 |
0.088 |
440 kHz |
| 33 |
0.0071 |
0.18034 |
206.9 |
678.632 |
0.43 |
0.072 |
540 kHz |
| Metric 1.8 |
0.00709 |
0.180 |
207.5 |
680.55 |
0.43 |
0.072 |
540 kHz |
| 34 |
0.0063 |
0.16002 |
260.9 |
855.752 |
0.33 |
0.056 |
690 kHz |
| Metric 1.6 |
0.0063 |
0.16002 |
260.9 |
855.752 |
0.33 |
0.056 |
690 kHz |
| 35 |
0.0056 |
0.14224 |
329 |
1079.12 |
0.27 |
0.044 |
870 kHz |
| Metric 1.4 |
.00551 |
.140 |
339 |
1114 |
0.26 |
0.043 |
900 kHz |
| 36 |
0.005 |
0.127 |
414.8 |
1360 |
0.21 |
0.035 |
1100 kHz |
| Metric 1.25 |
.00492 |
0.125 |
428.2 |
1404 |
0.20 |
0.034 |
1150 kHz |
| 37 |
0.0045 |
0.1143 |
523.1 |
1715 |
0.17 |
0.0289 |
1350 kHz |
| Metric 1.12 |
.00441 |
0.112 |
533.8 |
1750 |
0.163 |
0.0277 |
1400 kHz |
| 38 |
0.004 |
0.1016 |
659.6 |
2163 |
0.13 |
0.0228 |
1750 kHz |
| Metric 1 |
.00394 |
0.1000 |
670.2 |
2198 |
0.126 |
0.0225 |
1750 kHz |
| 39 |
0.0035 |
0.0889 |
831.8 |
2728 |
0.11 |
0.0175 |
2250 kHz |
| 40 |
0.0031 |
0.07874 |
1049 |
3440 |
0.09 |
0.0137 |
2900 kHz |
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Voltage Drop Calculator by electrician.com The following calculator calculates the voltage drop, and voltage at the end of the wire for American Wire
Gauge from 4/0 AWG to 30 AWG, aluminum or copper wire. (Note: It just calculates the voltage drop, consult the above table for
rules-of-thumb, or your local or national electrical code or your electrician to decide what is legal!) Note that the voltage
drop does not depend on the input voltage, just on the resistance of the wire and the load in amps.
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This chart of American Wire Gauge (AWG) wire sizes and rated
ampacities is data intended for the pleasure of our readers only. Typographical errors, etc. are probable, since the typist is
not a professional (our CEO). Please point out errors. The data listed are incomplete and should be used as a guideline only.
Please contact manufacturers for the latest data.
We hope that this information is helpful. Now go out and design
something that needs a charger, power supply, or battery pack! |