Help with wire specs please

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floydbloke

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#299077 9-Aug-2022 11:57

I’m working on a lighting project for a pantry. I’ll be installing 12v LED bars x 6, rated at 4.5 W each so drawing roughly 0.375A x 6 = 2.25A total. Length will be no more than 2.5 meters top to bottom (so no more than 5m for the circuit).

I’m getting myself rather confused with the various wire gauge calculators on-line. It there any reason why I can’t use this speaker cable (rated at 5A). And if not, what should I get please?

Sometimes I use big words I don't always fully understand in an effort to make myself sound more photosynthesis.

mkissin

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#2952452 9-Aug-2022 12:29

Nah, that'll be sweet.

2mm diameter is 3.1mm2, so resistance is about 6 ohms per km, or 30mR for your circuit, which will give a 68mV drop, which is bugger-all.

neb

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#2952644 9-Aug-2022 17:18

mkissin:
30mR for your circuit, [...] which is bugger-all.

While it's true that 30 milli-Roentgen is a pretty small dose, I'd still be curious why his speaker cable is emitting ionising radiation...

mkissin

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#2952654 9-Aug-2022 17:49

neb:
mkissin:
30mR for your circuit, [...] which is bugger-all.

While it's true that 30 milli-Roentgen is a pretty small dose, I'd still be curious why his speaker cable is emitting ionising radiation...

While I realise you’re taking the piss here, R is pretty universally recognised as a shorthand unit for ohms, where the lack of Unicode support means that the proper symbol is unavailable, or just a pain in the ass for some reason.