Wire Sizing Calculator

[cr117]

I got tired of looking up wire sizing charts for my recent projects so I made this little calculator that I can pull up on my phone to quickly figure out what I need to use (screenshot below). Just wanted to share in case someone else finds this useful.

https://cr117.github.io/calculators/dc-wire-sizing/

Sponsored

 

[HighVelocity]

Well that's just handy as all get-out. WTF are you doing here being all useful and stuff.

Now go off to another thread and start an argument, preferably about one of the vendors on the forum!

 

[TheWaterBronco]

Very useful!

 

[Karl_in_Chicago]

I got tired of looking up wire sizing charts for my recent projects so I made this little calculator that I can pull up on my phone to quickly figure out what I need to use (screenshot below). Just wanted to share in case someone else finds this useful.

https://cr117.github.io/calculators/dc-wire-sizing/

Nicely done, thanks for contributing!

 

[SierraBronco]

Well that's just handy as all get-out. WTF are you doing here being all useful and stuff.

Now go off to another thread and start an argument, preferably about one of the vendors on the forum!

Vendors providing erroneous information for the sake of selling their products should be called out. There was one here schilling a 25’ ARB harness extension, which used even smaller wires than what ARB provides while still using the bigger fuses provided by ARB. Passed it off as being fine because “multiple wires” and the bigger wire would be too hard to fit into the harness. People that don’t know any better will take them on their word when nobody says anything.

Certainly we can’t rely on influencers begging for free shit in exchange for positive reviews.

 

[userdude]

Dang, jQuery. That's a blast from the past. Nice man, thanks for putting that together.

 

[cr117]

Nice calculator! Also if anyone finds themselves in a pinch for wire, consider jumper cable wire. I wired the battery to amp in one of my cars, by splitting the +/- jumper wire apart. So I had two long lengths of wire at a decent price local, since I needed it that day to complete the project.

As long as they’re the right gauge and are good quality (decent insulation, not copper clad aluminum).

 

[cr117]

Dang, jQuery. That's a blast from the past. Nice man, thanks for putting that together.

Don’t judge it was the quickest/easiest way to build something this simple.

 

[SierraBronco]

As long as they’re the right gauge and are good quality (decent insulation, not copper clad aluminum).

Really good to bring up CCA. Had to be very diligent finding all copper wiring to hook up the rear winch. The guys selling CCA always try to bury that part in the description. Seems some would try to price it in the middle to not be immediately clear that it was clad aluminum. Or they were just maximizing profit

 

[userdude]

Don’t judge it was the quickest/easiest way to build something this simple.

Oh, you don't understand. I am the jQuery guy at my company. We still have it in a lot of codebase (that I generally didn't work on); before document.querySelector, it was really the only sane way to work and slayed all comers (remember MooTools? Dojo?). I come from back in the day when all this was up in the air, including async (fetch API now). I was around when AJAX was coined (and hated it), when you still had to use an Outlook ActiveX control in IE6.

I still have a lot of affection for the ol' gal, I just don't use it a lot anymore. It tends to look like this now.

/** Client Groups Editor */
document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', function() {
    const groupsEditorInit = document.getElementById('client-groups-editor-init')
    const panel = groupsEditorInit.closest('.panel')
    const panelBody = panel.querySelector('.panel-body')

    const clientGroupsEditorApp = document.getElementById('clientGroupsEditor')

    panelBody.appendChild(clientGroupsEditorApp)
})

And then I have an inline Vue app that bootstraps an application environment. Really nice compromise for quick tooling ops.

 

[vrtical]

can we help add a chat bot lol

 

[cr117]

Oh, you don't understand. I am the jQuery guy at my company. We still have it in a lot of codebase (that I generally didn't work on); before document.querySelector, it was really the only sane way to work and slayed all comers (remember MooTools? Dojo?). I come from back in the day when all this was up in the air, including async (fetch API now). I was around when AJAX was coined (and hated it), when you still had to use an Outlook ActiveX control in IE6.

I still have a lot of affection for the ol' gal, I just don't use it a lot anymore. It tends to look like this now.

/** Client Groups Editor */
document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', function() {
    const groupsEditorInit = document.getElementById('client-groups-editor-init')
    const panel = groupsEditorInit.closest('.panel')
    const panelBody = panel.querySelector('.panel-body')

    const clientGroupsEditorApp = document.getElementById('clientGroupsEditor')

    panelBody.appendChild(clientGroupsEditorApp)
})

And then I have an inline Vue app that bootstraps an application environment. Really nice compromise for quick tooling ops.

I'm in the same boat. I don't code as much as I used to, but I still manage projects that I built with React and Vue. When I'm just trying to build a dumb proof of concept, like this, I tend to revert back to old habits because I know it just works.

can we help add a chat bot lol

Only if I can tie it to your cell number.

 

[cr117]

Really good to bring up CCA. Had to be very diligent finding all copper wiring to hook up the rear winch. The guys selling CCA always try to bury that part in the description. Seems some would try to price it in the middle to not be immediately clear that it was clad aluminum. Or they were just maximizing profit

Definitely. I can't trust online retailers anymore for "good deals" on wires, terminals, and other electrical components unless it's from a reputable company. In-person shopping for these things is better because you can verify type of metal used and its thickness. Marine supply shops are where it's at. They sell stuff that has to be high quality, otherwise your boat could burn down while out at sea.

 

[SierraBronco]

Definitely. I can't trust online retailers anymore for "good deals" on wires, terminals, and other electrical components unless it's from a reputable company. In-person shopping for these things is better because you can verify type of metal used and its thickness. Marine supply shops are where it's at. They sell stuff that has to be high quality, otherwise your boat could burn down while out at sea.

Good to know! I’ve sent wire back when it showed up as it was all copper, but they had super thick insulation on there to make it seem like they were selling the correct gauge that was ordered. Nice that returns are so easy with Amazon, but gotta verify what you’re getting too. I’ll keep the Marine shops in mind as I need to install breakers for each winch.

 

[evofxdwg]

You must have assumed an insulation type and max temperature. What was it? Also what rule did you use for fuse size selection relative to max ampacity. Did you assume wire in free air or in a bundle, and/or in a conduit of some sort? Sorry, life's complicated. If you've built in adequate margins (e.g. worst case) then dont have to worry about that stuff I guess. But your assumptions should be annotated for the calculator users. Also suggest a voltage drop calculation.

I haven't used the crappy stuff from the auto parts store for years. For automotive work, I only use SAE J1127 SXL, TXL or GXL. (SXL is my preferred but TXL and GXL are smaller diameter/thinner insulation if needed). Available from remingtonindustries.com, wireandsupply.com, wiringdepot.com, some on Amazon, and some on ebay.

Sponsored