working out wire thickness & current

[Andrewh01]

Pretty basic question.... I am learning about electricity and so want to broaden the knowledge as much as possible!

My question is this - how could I calculate what grade wire a certain wire would be - without having to strip the insulation and then measuring the bare ware?

I've been looking around at the wiring of this house .. is there any site where it lists the measured circumference of the wire INCLUDING insulation, and then says what grade it is ???? (hence able to work out the maximum current).

Thanks,
Andrew

 

[ban-all-sheds]

1) Such information might well be available for Australian cables - it is for UK ones, but it is unlikely that anybody in the UK would know where to find it.

2) The current carrying capacity of cables depends on more than just size.

3) FGS BEFORE TRYING TO LEARN ANYTHING ABOUT ELECTRICS WILL YOU PLEASE TAKE THE TROUBLE TO LEARN A BIT ABOUT GEOGRAPHY. GET AN ATLAS, FIND AUSTRALIA, SEE IF IT IS PART OF THE UK OR NOT.

 

[Andrewh01]

Ban-all-sheds, no need to be a smart arse about it. I put the question and others in the UK Electrics forum because there are many more people who read it, therefore, more people who might know the answer.

So yeh, no need to be a dickhead about it.

 

[dwain dibley]

sheathed cables usually have the size of conductor stamped on them. the difficullty in knowing the size of conductor is that there are different tpes and grades of insulation. eg. a 2.5mm2 cable may be 70C pvc, 90C pvc, silicon, etc ( check a trade site to see the different types/grades available.). within this different manufacturers may have a slight difference in thickness of insulation for the same type of cable. the more you work with cable the easier it becomes to identify sizes.

 

[dwain dibley]

3) FGS BEFORE TRYING TO LEARN ANYTHING ABOUT ELECTRICS WILL YOU PLEASE TAKE THE TROUBLE TO LEARN A BIT ABOUT GEOGRAPHY. GET AN ATLAS, FIND AUSTRALIA, SEE IF IT IS PART OF THE UK OR NOT.[/quote]

give your missus her bingo pen back

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Ban-all-sheds, no need to be a smart a**e about it. I put the question and others in the UK Electrics forum because there are many more people who read it, therefore, more people who might know the answer.

So yeh, no need to be a d******d about it.

So you don't think that Australian cables might be made to different specifications than UK ones?

So you don't think that different methods of house construction, environmental conditions and circuit design might lead to different standards for installation methods and therefore capacity?

So you don't think that a different set of wiring regulations might require a different relationship between Ib, In & Iz?

Fair enough.

 

[salem2000]

Mr Ban....Sir....P ppplease t t take my d ddiner mmmoney I I don't nn need it...........

 

[Qedelec]

Nope, Sorry have to side with Ban on this UK forum for UK electrics just because more poeple post in one country that's no reason to ask questions from another country. Any way OZ electricians won't thank you for unleashing another DiY'er on them. Now where did I put my coat.

 

[dwain dibley]

the fella just asked a question. its a forum.
nobody is obliged to answer.
if you don't want to help just ignore it.
dont be an arrogant t***.

 

[salem2000]

Ban-all-sheds, no need to be a smart a**e about it. I put the question and others in the UK Electrics forum because there are many more people who read it, therefore, more people who might know the answer.

So yeh, no need to be a d******d about it.

And why assume a UK Sparks would know the answer to your post.

Salem.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

the fella just asked a question. its a forum.
nobody is obliged to answer.
if you don't want to help just ignore it.

I did help.

I pointed out that the information he sought on Australian cables was probably available, but that we in the UK were unlikely to know where.

I pointed out that there are factors other than size that affect current carrying capacity.

And as this was the 3rd topic in as many days that he'd started up on the UK forum asking questions about Australian electrics, I pointed out as forcefully as I could (since he didn't seem to have got the message by having his posts moved by the moderator) that he was posting in the wrong forum.

dont be an arrogant t***.

Don't be tedious.

 

[andy]

I put the question and others in the UK Electrics forum because there are many more people who read it, therefore, more people who might know the answer.

and? what makes you think that that youll get a better response?

this is a UK forum, not australian, go find a local DIY forum and ask there. at least your more likely to get what you want

 

[PartPapproved]

Are those Shrimps cooked yet? better check the barbi mate! ps what size cable do they use in Aus for barbecues

 

[JohnD]

Pretty basic question.... I am learning about electricity and so want to broaden the knowledge as much as possible!

My question is this - how could I calculate what grade wire a certain wire would be - without having to strip the insulation and then measuring the bare ware?

I've been looking around at the wiring of this house .. is there any site where it lists the measured circumference of the wire INCLUDING insulation, and then says what grade it is ???? (hence able to work out the maximum current).

Thanks,
Andrew

Thinking about the question... lots of trainers and people who are learning use a piece of board with sample short lengths of cable clipped to it and labelled. If you have a local retailer who sells cable by the metre he might agree to you buying some short lengths. Write on each with a marker pen as soon as you buy it or you'll get them mixed up and forget. Over here you soon learn to recognise by looking at them what the common PVC T&E and Earth cables are, and labelled samples will help you.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

If he sells it by the metre then he should be happy to sell a metre.

Not too much to buy, as it can also be used to practice stripping and terminating.

But in some/all parts of Oz, you are not allowed to buy materials like that unless you can produce proof to show that you are a qualified/registered electrician.

It's their way of ensuring that only qualified/registered electricians can do any electrical installation work, and to hell with how many people die as a result.

Australia is, culturally, a working class country, and the unions have exerted their power to create a closed shop at the expense of human suffering.

They disgust me.