12 volt wire size needed for 20 amp motor?

Question

12 volt wire size needed for 20 amp motor?

Answer 1

How long a run are you making? The minimum size wire for about a 10 ft total run (5 foot for the line and 5 foot for the return is a 12 gauge wire the size goes up from there. What ever the length of the run is the wire distance is twice that.

Answer 2

Wire size requirement is always dependent on the length of the run.  Most applications can tolerate a 10% line loss (voltage drop) but check the requirements of the equipment you will be powering.

A run is the distance from the power source to the equipment plus the distance from the equipment to ground.  If you have a distributed ground system (like the frame & body on an auto) and use a local ground, the run is the distance from the battery to the equipment.  For a boat with no distributed ground, you cable from the battery to the equipment and then back to the battery for the ground so the "run" is twice the distance between the two.

For 50' run you would need 6 guage at 20A but only 14 guage would be needed for a 10' run.

Here is a calculator that will do the work for you:

http://www.securitypower.com/WireLossCal...

Answer 3

12 ga is rated for 20A

Answer 4

I would think 10  or 12 gauge wire.