How thick is 18 gauge wire?
It is very important to know the gauge of your electrical wire. Using the wrong size wire to supply electrical current can be dangerous. 18 gauge wire has a current rating of 10-16 amps. It is used in low-voltage circuits such as lighting fixtures - 10 amperes.
How to find out the thickness of 18 gauge wire? You can check the ampere rating or actual ampere thickness indicated on the insulation cover. 18 gauge wires are 0.048 inches thick. This can be converted to 1.024 mm. And the maximum number of watts that 18 gauge wires can handle is 600 watts. You can also use the NEC Wire Thickness Calculator to calculate 18 gauge wire thickness.
In this guide, we will provide tables and charts to help you check the wire thickness. We will also explain and illustrate the wire thickness calculator.
Wire thickness 18 gauge
As I just mentioned, 18 gauge wires are 1.024 mm (0.048 inches) thick. They have a rated current of 16 amps. However, the length of the wire also affects the ampere rating. 18 gauge wires can handle 16 amps for 12" wire. It is important to note that the use of larger wires increases the current potential. This is due to the fact that the gauge of the wire changes in proportion to the thickness.
I recommend that you use larger gauge wire in lighting fixtures and other electrical circuits in your home. Larger gauge wires contribute to proper house wiring because they can handle higher amperage ratings. Small wires can overheat and in this case lead to electric shock.
The number of watts that 18 gauge wire can handle is 600 watts (also called power, the amount of current that a gauge wire can carry). Current ratings for 18 gauge and other wire gauges are shown in the table below.
Wire thickness table
In the AWG - American Wire Gauge system, the dimensions and diameters of the wire gauge are calculated by the formula:
From the formula, we can conclude that for every six gauges the wire diameter doubles. And for every three calibers, the cross-sectional area (CA) also doubles. Metric AWG wire gauge is shown in the table below.
Wire Thickness Calculator
Open for Wire thickness calculator.
The wire thickness calculator will help you calculate the wire thickness. All you need to do is enter the values and select the type of wire - for example, copper or aluminum. The wire thickness calculator will give you accurate results to help you solve problems related to calculating wire thickness. (1)
Wire Gauge Calculator Features
- Voltage source - here you can select the source voltage - 120, 240 and 480 volts.
- Number of phases - usually single-phase or three-phase. Single-phase circuits require 3 conductors, and three-phase circuits require 3 conductors. NEC determines the thickness of conductors.
- Amps - The current drawn from the load is provided by the equipment manufacturer. One of the NEC requirements is that for single-phase circuits, the current must be 1.25 times the load current.
- Permissible voltage fall, AED - you can enter AVD into the calculator and get 18 gauge wire thickness.
Attention: You must follow the NEC guidelines when using the calculator to get good results.
Take a look at some of our articles below.
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Recommendations
(1) copper - https://www.britannica.com/science/copper
(2) aluminum – https://www.britannica.com/science/aluminum
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