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Wire length, amp, awg calc

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AtomSoft

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Ive seen and read quite a few sites now and all state i should be able to get away with 1a @120v on a 20awg . The length will be no more that 5 inches.

How would i go about calculating the thinnest safest wire to use?

120v AC, Approx 1A , Max 6inch long wire.

Thats what i need to wire but the enclosure is pretty small so im looking for safest smallest wire. Most likely copper not aluminum.

Any help would be great.
 

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For 1A you can go stupidly small; but for 120 or 240 supplies it is matter of adequate insulation and more importantly how it is protected, rather than physically smallest wire.

For safety regulations there must be a fuse beforehand that will blow without the wiring heating dangerously in case of a fault; that fuse defines what wire you can use.

If you have a 1A fuse on the supply connection then you could easily go down to 24AWG (0.2mm^2), that's rated 3.5A

We use 0.5mm^2 routinely as both single core and YY multicore in industrial machines, for low current circuits at up to 240V. That has a nominal rating of 9A in open air.
 
Also depends on resistance in the cable, but at 1/2 a foot, I doubt it matters... 28 awg will work, but I always work in a big safety factor.. I agree with rjenkinsonGB... 24AWG.

**Question.... Is AWG the same as SWG... We tend to use Standard Wire Gauge over here...
 
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