Doctorbass
100 GW
Hello,
Wire size generally refer to current rating.. not power..
In low-medium voltage area, ( i would say 1000V or less) the volt just refer to the insulation of the wire...
on Electric vehicule no mather the volt or power you have, the wire size will be selected according to the current that travel thru it.
That is why you can pass 1000Watts in a tinny 24AWG wire size.. ( 1A at 1000V for exemple)
The current rating of the wire depend of many factors, like:
-Wire conductive material, copper, aluminum, etc
-the environment where it is used ( in a box, or suspended in the air).. etc
-the skin material of the wire, silicon, teflon, pvc etc
A wire dissipate heat when current travel thru it. The amount of heat is proportional to the amount of current, not power.
The heat limit is depending on the wire insulation skin. Ex, 200degreeC silicon wire can take more heat ( more current) than the pcv skin wire that are made for 105 degree C max. It is also depending on how easy it can evacuate the heat it produce. If it is confined in a box or in a cable (bundle of wire) his current rating will be lowered. on another hand, if it is exposed to blowed air ( box with blower or suspended around an ebike frame) the current rating will be favorized.
Heat lost is not necessarely a good thing.. for sure it is better to choose a wire with less ressistance that wil dissipate less heat ( bigger wire).. but in RC world, the weight is something important and copper weight alot! so they preffer lighter wire ( smaller wire)
The quality of the wire is also important. Poor quality wire will have less conductive material and bigger skin than quality wire. IT CAN BECOME DANGEROUS so pay attention to that!
Another factor to consider is the current peak duration.
On an electric bike that run let say 25A continuous or average but that burst 200A 5% of the time for short 4-5 sec burst, a gauge 8 wire is enough.
Pay also attention to the connector!!.. the connectors like the good popular Anderson powerpole need the appropriate wire size to carry their max current rating!
The max current rating of these connectors depend on how they can dissipate the heat they produce due to the contact heat lost. The heat their contact produce dissipate thru the wire conductive part and the bigger it is the more heat they will evacuate from the contact.
My personnal Thumb rules:
On my experience, a good crimped and or soldered Anderson Powerpole PP30 connector can take 30A continuous ( burst to 70A) when installed on a gauge 12 wire and 40A( burst to 100A) on gauge 10 wire.
The also popular SB50 Anderson connector rated for 50A can take 75A continuous( 250A burst) on gauge 8 and 100A on gauge 4 ( burst to 400A)
The quality of the crimping, contact orientation ( great parallel match orientation on both connector) and wire size and quality are all important factors
The Turnigy 12, 10 and 8 gauge wire are surprisingly good wire quality and the very high number of stands they have make them flexible and to tend to have more conductive material for the same cross sectional area than other same size existing wire.
Doc
Wire size generally refer to current rating.. not power..
In low-medium voltage area, ( i would say 1000V or less) the volt just refer to the insulation of the wire...
on Electric vehicule no mather the volt or power you have, the wire size will be selected according to the current that travel thru it.
That is why you can pass 1000Watts in a tinny 24AWG wire size.. ( 1A at 1000V for exemple)
The current rating of the wire depend of many factors, like:
-Wire conductive material, copper, aluminum, etc
-the environment where it is used ( in a box, or suspended in the air).. etc
-the skin material of the wire, silicon, teflon, pvc etc
A wire dissipate heat when current travel thru it. The amount of heat is proportional to the amount of current, not power.
The heat limit is depending on the wire insulation skin. Ex, 200degreeC silicon wire can take more heat ( more current) than the pcv skin wire that are made for 105 degree C max. It is also depending on how easy it can evacuate the heat it produce. If it is confined in a box or in a cable (bundle of wire) his current rating will be lowered. on another hand, if it is exposed to blowed air ( box with blower or suspended around an ebike frame) the current rating will be favorized.
Heat lost is not necessarely a good thing.. for sure it is better to choose a wire with less ressistance that wil dissipate less heat ( bigger wire).. but in RC world, the weight is something important and copper weight alot! so they preffer lighter wire ( smaller wire)
The quality of the wire is also important. Poor quality wire will have less conductive material and bigger skin than quality wire. IT CAN BECOME DANGEROUS so pay attention to that!
Another factor to consider is the current peak duration.
On an electric bike that run let say 25A continuous or average but that burst 200A 5% of the time for short 4-5 sec burst, a gauge 8 wire is enough.
Pay also attention to the connector!!.. the connectors like the good popular Anderson powerpole need the appropriate wire size to carry their max current rating!
The max current rating of these connectors depend on how they can dissipate the heat they produce due to the contact heat lost. The heat their contact produce dissipate thru the wire conductive part and the bigger it is the more heat they will evacuate from the contact.
My personnal Thumb rules:
On my experience, a good crimped and or soldered Anderson Powerpole PP30 connector can take 30A continuous ( burst to 70A) when installed on a gauge 12 wire and 40A( burst to 100A) on gauge 10 wire.
The also popular SB50 Anderson connector rated for 50A can take 75A continuous( 250A burst) on gauge 8 and 100A on gauge 4 ( burst to 400A)
The quality of the crimping, contact orientation ( great parallel match orientation on both connector) and wire size and quality are all important factors
The Turnigy 12, 10 and 8 gauge wire are surprisingly good wire quality and the very high number of stands they have make them flexible and to tend to have more conductive material for the same cross sectional area than other same size existing wire.
Doc