Voltage drop different wire sizes

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Buck Parrish

Buck Parrish

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On a gate 125 yards away . Would it help voltage not to drop to run #10 cu for the first 150 feet, then the rest of the way in #12 cu?
I remember doing that years ago on large jobs. I was under the direction of others back then.
 
Buck Parrish said:
On a gate 125 yards away . Would it help voltage not to drop to run #10 cu for the first 150 feet, then the rest of the way in #12 cu?
I remember doing that years ago on large jobs. I was under the direction of others back then.
Click to expand...
It would help, yes, but to quantify the benefit you need to run two Vd calculations - one for the #10 and one for the #12 for however long they are - and add them to compare with Vd in #12 for the whole run..
 
Buck Parrish said:
On a gate 125 yards away . Would it help voltage not to drop to run #10 cu for the first 150 feet, then the rest of the way in #12 cu?
I remember doing that years ago on large jobs. I was under the direction of others back then.
Click to expand...
What kinds of loads? Amps I mean?
if your running something at 8-10 amps it may not be necessary.
 
Hv&Lv said:
What kinds of loads? Amps I mean?
if your running something at 8-10 amps it may not be necessary.
Click to expand...
It's for the charger on an electric gate. The charger is pulling a couple hundred watts at it's max. The battery will power the motor.
We will need to make a splice any way. I thought we could run 10/2 across the building 125 feet. The rest of the way will be in pvc #12 thhn
 
Buck Parrish said:
It's for the charger on an electric gate. The charger is pulling a couple hundred watts at it's max. The battery will power the motor.
We will need to make a splice any way. I thought we could run 10/2 across the building 125 feet. The rest of the way will be in pvc #12 thhn
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Ok. 10 will be a waste then…
a 25 amp charger for a car only pulls 6 amps.
For a fence battery that is constantly on maintain charging you will probably never see over 2 amps.
I have one ran 600’ to a gate that powers the charger, plus two lights on either side of the gate. 120 for charger, other 120 for lights. #12..
Never had an issue.
Of course, I know I can never run a bunch of power tools down there. But then again, why should I with battery tools now..
 
375 feet is a long run, and its seems like a higher end home, so I'd go for the 125' of 10's then the 250' of 12.
 
Buck Parrish said:
Would it help voltage not to drop to run #10 cu for the first 150 feet
Click to expand...
I would do this especially if the run is 375' away, 150' being the #10's. aside from the low wattage load mentioned, I'd do it for future growth plus remember the 2 or 3 volt drop could make a big difference at high peak of the utility, I've measured utilities at 108v to ground during 11a-03p then up to 115v on off peak. #10's definitely maybe even #8's for the heck of it .. its your design on the line.
 
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