What voltage is that amperage for? AC or DC? Line/wire length? I have considered calculators and tried 24V DC and 14 awg could handle 50 amp and drop about 1% to "heat" and up to 3% tolerated if I understand correctly???
http://www.bdbatteries.com/wirerules.php
http://www.supercircuits.com/resources/tools/voltage-drop-calculator
That BD site is feeding you a total mishmash of worthwhile, useful facts, and total BS. Using stranded vs. solid wire has nothing to do with whether the current is AC or DC, and AC does not magically help the "electrons move" (in fact, AC exhibits the so-called "skin effect" which
inhibits the current flow, as conductors and frequencies get large).
They may be drawing the AC vs. DC distinction because usually when folks encounter something called "AC" it's house wiring, and it's 120 volt or higher, and when they encounter something called "DC" it's in a car or from a battery, and it's 24 volts or below. The distinction is important, but it's important because of the voltages involved far more than because the current is direct or alternating.
Stranded wire doesn't conduct electricity better. It generally conducts electricity worse, it costs more, and it's harder to connect to. Stranded wire is used because it can flex; you either use it because you don't want it to break under vibration, or because you need it to flex so you can fit stuff together, or both. You use solid wire when you can, because if you're going to put it in and leave it forever, then it's cheaper and easier to use.
You use stranded wire in a situation where there is vibration or movement, such as in a car, boat or airplane, or a cord or cable that needs to move. You use solid wire in a situation where there isn't movement, and the application is cost-sensitive, such as house wiring. Basically, you use stranded wire where you want the wire to flex; except in some oddball electronic applications there is only slight electrical difference between stranded and solid wire.
The ARRL Handbook recommendations are mostly put together so that when you build a ham shack using those guidelines, it does not burst into flame. They're assuming that you're going to wire it, then leave it alone for years while the mice nibble the insulation and pee on the wire.
The biggest concerns that you should have when wiring an airplane is heat (because you don't want it to burst into flame), voltage loss (because you want to fly the plane, not heat the air), mechanical longevity (because you don't want the airplane stopping in midair, or bursting into flame from a short-circuit), and ease of installation (because you want to jam all that wire in there).
The Supercircuits calculator is good from the voltage drop standpoint, but doesn't tell you much about heating, and tells you nothing about mechanical robustness.
The BP site tells you that they'll sell you "welding wire", whatever the heck that is, which presumably is flexible and mechanically robust, but may be a bit big for your model plane.
As long as your 14 gauge wire isn't getting so hot that its causing problems, and as long as you're happy with losing some of your oomph to the wire, then you're fine.
Topic: AMA and Arming Plugs (Read 3722 times)