Choke Wire

[gary2232]

Is # 16 ga wire large enough for the electric choke on a Edelbrok 1406?

[VetteVet]

Painless says 18 gauge so 16 is fine.
Page 28 engine section.---------http://www.painlessperformance.com/Manuals/10102.pdf

[gary2232]

Originally Posted by VetteVet

Painless says 18 gauge so 16 is fine.
Page 28 engine section.---------http://www.painlessperformance.com/Manuals/10102.pdf

Great link Thank You

[wilkin250r]

Heck, I'd even feel confident going as small as 22, maybe even smaller. When I measured the current to the choke, I only measured about 1.5 amps, but that was 60 degrees, at colder temps, the current will be higher. So for argument's sake, let's double it to 3 amps. According to my engineering handbook, 22 gauge wire can handle a max of 7 amps, so I'd feel perfectly safe.

[fixit-p]

According to my engineering handbook, 22 gauge wire can handle a max of 7 amps

Those wire gauge charts are only showing what the maximum amps a given wire can handle before the insulation begins to melt and should not be used as a guideline for sizing wires in a circuit, voltage drop needs to be considered in selecting wire size. In fact I'm looking at a chart right now it doesn't show 22 AWG but 20 gauge is rated for 6 amps @ 80*C with thermoplastic insulation but with cross link polyethylene insulation the rating goes up to 16 amps. The wire still has the same cross section but the insulation is rated for higher heat and heat = resistance = voltage drop.

[wilkin250r]

Originally Posted by fixit-p

Those wire gauge charts are only showing what the maximum amps a given wire can handle before the insulation begins to melt and should not be used as a guideline for sizing wires in a circuit,

You are absolutely correct, I didn't mean to imply that 22AWG wire can handle 7 amps safely. I'm simply saying if the absolute max is 7amps, I'm certainly okay with a 1.5-2a nominal, 3A peak.

According to my calculations of 22AWG wire at 16.14ohms/1000ft, I get 0.0807 ohms for the roughly 5ft of wire I used to hook up my electric choke just this last weekend. Even at a maximum of 3 amps, that's 1/4 volt drop, and an overall power dissipation of 750mW.

I think 3/4W over the course of 5ft is an acceptable level, I'd feel safe.





To be fair, however, I need to be honest. I didn't use 22 gauge to hook up my own choke, I used 18

[fixit-p]

Originally Posted by wilkin250r

According to my calculations of 22AWG wire at 16.14ohms/1000ft, I get 0.0807 ohms for the roughly 5ft of wire I used to hook up my electric choke just this last weekend. Even at a maximum of 3 amps, that's 1/4 volt drop, and an overall power dissipation of 750mW.
I think 3/4W over the course of 5ft is an acceptable level, I'd feel safe.

I agree with your calculations and assessment, I just wanted to clarify for others that may read this thread that the charts should only be used as a basic reference and not the holy grail of sizing wire and that other factors need to be considered.