Posted by George Marsh on January 02, 2010 at 08:33:43 from (205.188.116.74):
In Reply to: too small a wire posted by Dan-IA on January 02, 2010 at 07:47:29:
The rule is very simple, 14awg should handle 15 amps, 12 awg 20 a. Power loss is calculated P= amps squared times ohms, I squared x R. However this doesn't mean much to the average person. The longer the wire the more R becomes. Another simple way to determine if you are overloading wire is to determine if it is getting hot. Electrical power losses are converted into heat energy. When it comes to motors, you have what is called lock rotor amps, the starting amps, which is many times the running amps. If your motor struggles to get started you need heaver wire. My advice is to buy only 12 guage extension cords. They may cost more, however they are cheaper than buying motors. As for battery chargers, most of them use very little current. However, heavy duty chargers, like those used on golf carts do. Go to Harbor Freight and when their voltmeters are on sale for $2 get one. Simply measure the voltage at the end of the extension cord when nothing is turned on and then measure it when it is under load. My rule of thumb is if you drop below 105 vac, you need a better extension cord. I'm sure that other people may have longer or shorter thumbs.
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Today's Featured Article - Third Brush Generators - by Chris Pratt. While I love straightening sheet metal, cleaning, and painting old tractors, I use every excuse to avoid working on the on the electrics. I find the whole process sheer mystery. I have picked up and attempted to read every auto and farm electrics book with no improvement in the situation. They all seem to start with a chapter entitled "Theory of Electricity". After a few paragraphs I usually close the book and go back to banging out dents. A good friend and I were recently discussing our tractor electrical systems when he stated "I figure it all comes back to applying Ohms Law". At this point
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