Any 12 V electricians

[timlsalem]

I've got the PD4045 mini all-in-one power system and it calls for 8G wire to hook to the battery. My question is, I bought more then I needed of 10G stranded to hookup my ax. batt. to my tow vehicals charging system. I need about 2 feet of wire to hook my converter up to the battery and was wondering if I could strip two lengths of the 10G and wrap them together and insulate them to use as my hookup wire. Welcome your feedback.

[MceeD]

I'm not a 12v electrician in the sense I don't work on cars, but I'am one in the other sense I work on high voltage .

PARALLEL FEEDERS is the terminology for what you are doing. Normally this is only done for service feeder over 1/0.
______________________________________
from the web...
SIZING PARALLEL FEEDERS

Parallel Feeders are feeders with more than one conductor per phase. The ampacity of the parallel conductors is equal to the ampacity of one multiplied by the number of conductors in parallel. Parallel conductors shall be of the same size, length & type.

Parallel feeders must not be misunderstood as “equivalent conductorsâ€

[Greg M]

You can double up the 10ga wires, and they'll handle the current that an 8ga would. Don't bother stripping the entire jacket off though. Just enough to twist the ends together nicely will do. You'd never get as good insulation as comes on the wire already by wrapping electrical tape around them.
With a run as short as two feet you might even be able to get away with just a single piece of the 10ga. It all depends on how much current you'll be pulling.

-Greg

[Miriam C.]

You could always go to an auto parts store and get a battery cable. Should be long enough and certainly big enough. They might even make an 8........

[AZSpyder]

From what I can tell from the net the PD4045 is a 45 amp converter, 8 gauge is about right. We run up to 50 amps on aircraft on 8 gauge. One thing that can't be certified for aircraft is replacing a 8 gauge with two smaller. If one wire breaks or gets cut somehow that puts the entire load on the other conductor. If this is actually running at near maximum power you could overtemp the wire and melt the insulation and end up shorting it out or even set it on fire. With a smaller wire shorted on the far end it may not pull enough current to open a fuse and just act like a heater element. Big problem for aircraft but at least with a trailer you can stop right away and investigate the smoke. If you make good connections and route the wire to prevent chafing this may never happen. Do you feel lucky?

Now on the other side are you really going to support a 45 amp requirement? That is a lot of kick. If you won't be using the maximum output the 10 gauge may do it. I'm running my standie with a 20 amp converter with power to spare but I have no idea what your system looks like.

Jerry

[asianflava]

;) You could always go to an auto parts store and get a battery cable. Should be long enough and certainly big enough. They might even make an 8........

Yep, or try a car stereo store. 8ga is pipsqueak stuff for them. You can even try a welding supply shop. Any of them will probably have the terminals for them also

[AZSpyder]

Battery and welding cables are a couple of good ideas. My local Ace Hardware also sells wire by the foot. I haven't look but they may have 8 gauge stranded. I personally stay away from solid conductor house type wire in anything subjected to vibrations but I know many do run it in trailers including the past owner of mine.

[timlsalem]

Yes, that's exactly my concerns---over heating the wire and starting a fire---. I did have a brainstorm last night though. Maybe I could use the 10G to run all my 12V accesories (LED lights, fan, radio, ect.) and just hookup my converter the manufacturers instructed way. I don't believe running bigger wire would be anything to worry about, would it? Running smaller wire would always be in the back of my mind and I would be constently worried about it.

[Shadow Catcher]

Even though the PD 4045 is rated at 45A I found that it does not actually draw that. I run a 10Ga extension cord to the garage to charge the battery and it gets plugged into a 20A circuit. BUT spend a couple of buck and be comfortable.

[timlsalem]

What really confussed me was the alt. in my car puts out 132 amps and it called for 10G and the PD4045 is 45 amps and calls for 8G. I don't understand why the differences in wires.

[Wolfgang92025]

Some things to keep in mind.......

How long is the wire?
Is it in open air, in a conduit or raceway?
Duty rating, will it only run for 1 minute at a time with 10 minutes zero load, or have 24 hours continuous load?

Copied this chart for a previous post. Sorry but I can not identify author.



As you can see, run length has a huge impact on wire size. Hope this helps..

[synaps3]

Yes, that's exactly my concerns---over heating the wire and starting a fire---. I did have a brainstorm last night though. Maybe I could use the 10G to run all my 12V accesories (LED lights, fan, radio, ect.) and just hookup my converter the manufacturers instructed way. I don't believe running bigger wire would be anything to worry about, would it? Running smaller wire would always be in the back of my mind and I would be constently worried about it.

Bigger wire = less resistance. Running all your accessories off of higher gauge wire is actually safer.

You'll be fine with the 10ga wire, especially at only 2'! There's no way you'll be drawing max amperage out of that thing...

[Miriam C.]

Yes, that's exactly my concerns---over heating the wire and starting a fire---. I did have a brainstorm last night though. Maybe I could use the 10G to run all my 12V accesories (LED lights, fan, radio, ect.) and just hookup my converter the manufacturers instructed way. I don't believe running bigger wire would be anything to worry about, would it? Running smaller wire would always be in the back of my mind and I would be constently worried about it.

I have some 10 and some 12 because I had so much of it. Not as flexible but works....

[asianflava]

I did have a brainstorm last night though. Maybe I could use the 10G to run all my 12V accesories (LED lights, fan, radio, ect.) and just hookup my converter the manufacturers instructed way.

Whew! 10Ga wire for LED lights that's overkill. Look at the wiring in your car, it's relatively small stuff. Even the wiring to the headlights is probably only 12Ga. Everything else is probably 14Ga-16Ga.

I used, 16ga for the lighting and 14Ga for the Fantastic Fan for the DC wiring. All my AC circuits were made from a cut up extension cord, I can't remember what size wire though.

[S. Heisley]

My WFCO converter requires 8 ga wire for the battery also. I'm going to do exactly that because I figure these converter companies must have good reason. Both the orange and the blue big box stores sell many sizes and kinds wire by the foot, as do many smaller hardware stores, and it doesn't cost that much.

As for your excess 10 ga, I often use my leftover wire for other non-electric things, like twist cord ties for large extension cord storage or plant ties or quick, temporary repairs on fences, or to wrap up fire wood for transport, etc. It has tons of uses and comes in really handy. You'll see.