2. cables
  3. 177709-125055

What type of wire for dedicated 20A AC lines?

I’m about to have two 20A dedicated lines installed. What type of wire should I use? I know there are differences of opinion on whether to use 10 AWG or 12 AWG, however the link below makes a great case for using even 8 AWG solid core copper on longer runs like mine will be (50 ft), to ensure a lower resistance, lower voltage drop over the long run, and therefore more access to instantaneous current for my Gryphon Diablo 300. The wire would need to be stepped down to 10 AWG to connect with the receptacle. The article actually states that the thickness of the wire is more important than the fact that it is dedicated…

Assuming I want to follow this advice, which again makes sense to me, where would I find such wire to give to my electrician?

 

nyev
Post removed 
nyev OP
1,031 posts
 

@jea48 , thanks and I did see that option in the US Home Depot site, but no similar wire available from the Canadian HD site (only 12 AWG MC).

I will ask my electrician for sure. I just want to be prepared first as from what I’ve read, electricians tend to get their wires crossed (pun intended) when communicating with audiophiles, with concerns over 10 AWG and expectations of mega current (not realizing it the heavy gauge is to support ultra brief current spikes and not continuous current which is much lower). That Audience wire noted above would be WAY more expensive as expected, but I wonder if it’s worth it?

 

jea48
4,787 posts
 

@nyev 

I gotta ask. Is your electrical panel mounted sideways? Horizontal instead of vertical? What's with that?

Jim

nyev OP
1,031 posts
 

@jea48 , no, it’s mounted vertically - curious, why do you ask?

ditusa's avatar
ditusa
2,164 posts
 

@jea48,

Note: the guy said in his ad MC armored BX cable. MC is not BX. AC replaced BX.

Thanks Jim that's correct. LOL

Mike

More to discover