[Elecraft] Proper K2 power cord?

[N2EY at aol.com]

In a message dated 7/14/07 10:08:03 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
claylj at gmail.com writes:


> Here is a chart of wire gage versus current capacity for power 
> transmission.
> 
> Gage   Amps
> 12         9.3
> 14         5.9
> 16         3.7
> 18         2.3
> 20         1.5
> 

Where does this chart come from?

In the USA, general 120 volt house wiring uses the following standard:

#10  30 A circuit breaker
#12  20 A circuit breaker
#14  15 A circuit breaker

That's for copper wire in a conduit or multiwire cable like NM or UF. The 
National Electrical Code (NEC) is very conservative, because a minor mistake can 
mean lives and property lost.

IMHO, for applications like a power cord for the K2, you can't simply specify 
a wire size except to specify a minimum size for the current drawn. You also 
need to figure out the resulting voltage drops for the cable length used.

73 de Jim, N2EY

 




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