Safe to go thinner wires for added resistance?

trailhunter · 2019-11-19T04:16:27.000Z

I want to play more with going thinner wires like 24-26 gauge wires to get amperage where I’d like it to be. Is it safe to do with builds?

Joshk · 2019-11-19T04:22:48.000Z

The wires are going to get hot if you do this. Be sure your insulation is rated for that heat. And remember any testing you do at room temperature will be a bit wrong since the temp inside the flashlight gets so much warmer.
To a small extent, this can work. But I don’t recommend it.

trailhunter · 2019-11-19T04:25:12.000Z

Joshk:

The wires are going to get hot if you do this. Be sure your insulation is rated for that heat. And remember any testing you do at room temperature will be a bit wrong since the temp inside the flashlight gets so much warmer.
To a small extent, this can work. But I don’t recommend it.

Thanks, I had a feeling I’d experience this.

chops728 · 2019-11-19T04:45:16.000Z

Teflon

moderator007 · 2019-11-19T05:03:37.000Z

It really depends on how much current your trying to push thru the wire. If its too much it can melt the sheathing and turn the wire bright orange like a light bulb.
I have used this chart as a guide, they are some variables because we only use less than a inch of wire and this chart is for chassis wiring.

powerstream.com

American Wire Gauge Chart and AWG Electrical Current Load Limits table with...

AWG Wire size chart and ampacity table for design engineers including skin depth frequencies and tensile strength data; electrical cable size

trailhunter · 2019-11-19T05:06:50.000Z

moderator007:

It really depends on how much current your trying to push thru the wire. If its too much it can melt the sheathing and turn the wire bright orange like a light bulb.
I have used this chart as a guide, they are some variables because we only use less than a inch of wire and this chart is for chassis wiring.
American Wire Gauge Chart and AWG Electrical Current Load Limits table with ampacities, wire sizes, skin depth frequencies and wire breaking strength

Good stuff! Will use this as a general guideline

Agro · 2019-11-21T09:01:53.000Z

You may try to make the wires longer.

wle · 2019-11-21T13:11:31.000Z

i would not do that.

especially if the wires start to get red hot, or you do not know if they will or not, or you are also depending on matching cell max current to the application

because what happens when you forget and use a higher current battery?

wire melts, fires start, leds fail, etc

if you can be SURE the wires will not get hot, then ok

but how can you account for ambient temp, different battery capability, etc?

wle