Wire question

[mrmole]

is there any difference between 1.5mm core flex and 0.75mm other than the width ?

 

[slippyr4]

The cross sectional area is what the measurements refer to, not the width.

 

[mrmole]

Im new to this. What is the difference then ?

 

[johnny_t]

You'll need to find some tables, but the thicker a wire is, the more current it can safely carry without melting or catching fire. There are regulations which say that certain circuits have to be wired in certain sizes of wire.

What are you trying to do ?

 

[mrmole]

im wiring up a sodium light

 

[Qedelec]

CSA = Cross Sectional Area
Pi r squared
Square root 1.5 divided by 3.142 times by 2 = width of wire

 

[ban-all-sheds]

is there any difference between 1.5mm core flex and 0.75mm other than the width ?

What differences do you think there might be?

Or, to put it another way, why do you think that cables come in different sizes?

 

[Qedelec]

I thought they came in different sizes to fill different size holes

 

[ban-all-sheds]

So size does matter, then?

 

[Qedelec]

Only if you're a live wire

 

[Lectrician]

Larger sizes are harder to bend, and fit into apperatus

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Use pliers to grip.

 

[sparkybird]

To answer your question, which no-one else did - essentially the thicker the conductor ('wire') the more current it can carry, so if you are wiring in lights which don't draw alot, you can use thinner and therefore cheaper cable than if you were wiring in a cooker, which draws lots of current
SB

 

[andy]

Use pliers to grip.

you might damage insulation

 

[ban-all-sheds]

To answer your question, which no-one else did -

Apart from jonny_t, yesterday, of course....