Ypedal said:
regarding gauge and amps.. i beleiv voltage makes a difference here too.
The lower the voltage.. the bigger gauge you need in order to cary X amps !
Yes? No ?
Voltage can make a difference, as long as you keep the work the same.
It only makes a difference in that the highter the voltage *for a given task* the smaller the wire diameter can be. And this is because you are reducing amps proportionally.
E.g. Lets say a 2HP motor pulls 4 amps at 230 volts, to move a box of widgets that weighs 30 pounds. It will "only" pull 2 amps at 460, if you carry the same box of widgets on the conveyor. Therefore you can run smaller wire on the 460 setup. Just don't exceed the 2 amp ceiling. Contractors love 460 cause they can low bid the wiring and starters.
So if you have some work to do with electricity and you can provide higher voltage and the work stays constant, you could run smaller wire. If you give more voltage, yet then you decide to climb a new hill that you never climebed before, causing a situation where you will pull more amps- you better make sure that wire is capable of pulling this new value. And of course, we can't forget about resistance.
This is why the power company charges us by the watt-hour.
This at least is my laymans understanding of 'liktricity.
I guess what I always am amazed at, is the very small guage wires that we all see on the power poles that are slung aound town that feed various transformers, that has the power to run the whole town. 1. There is no insulation on it. 2. It's about 13,600 volts. I can imagine that the amperage is quite low. But i don't know what it is.
