Any recommendations on guage for power cords?

[satskier]

What guage cords have people used?

[bisquit476]

Input or output

I recommend 12ga for input
16ga for output.
Overkill, maybe, but then you have to only do it once, just my opinion

Bill

[rrowan]

Input or output

I recommend 12ga for input
16ga for output.
Overkill, maybe, but then you have to only do it once, just my opinion

Bill

Sure for the LE, but the SSR4 a 18ga extension cord works just fine, computer power cords also

Cheers

Rick R.

[wbuehler]

Unless I know that I am going to pull some big amps, I use standard Zip cord for all mine.

Bill

[jnealand]

Input or output

I recommend 12ga for input
16ga for output.
Overkill, maybe, but then you have to only do it once, just my opinion

Bill

I follow this as well.  I know I could tailor the cords for different power usage, but what I do today may not be what I do tomorrow and I only want to do this once.  Also if for some reason you wanted to sell them in the future, it would be best to have them capable of doing the rated max.  Better safe than sorry and for me I only want to do this once.

[rrowan]

By design spec the SSR4 is 1amp per channel (without heat sink) 2amps with a heat sink

I just don't see a need to put a 12 ga wire on a SSR4

Rick R.

[austindave]

Hey Rick,

There's another aspect to the input cable sizing... That's noise being introduced when dimming highly-capacitive loads (as, apparently LEDs are). When the SCRs turn on in mid-cycle - like when the dimming level is somewhere around 50%, you'll be sourcing a *lot* of current for a very short time - basically a current spike. This spike will go to the supply ground wire (this is all fine & within spec, etc).

The problem comes up when the ground wire is small (acting as a small resistor)... The voltage on the ground wire, which should remain at or near zero, will "bounce" when it sees that current spike. Depending on the design of the controller electronics, the amount of filtering in its power supply, and the susceptibility of the individual components, false triggering of outputs (or worse - to the extent of possible component damage), could result.

I've seen some discussion on other forums about erratic channel operation (though I don't think it was for RJ's Lynx devices). I suspect a lot of this is due to this "ground bounce" effect on "undersized" power feeds.

Not saying that this is a problem for you - just one reason to use reasonably sized supply wiring (beyond what's theoretically required to supply the rated current for the lights).

--Dave

[rrowan]

OK,

We are now getting beyond what the OP asked for.

Simple answer:

For the SSR4 a 18 ga wire will work just fine (ie: indoor extension cord or spt1). Larger wires are also fine.
For the LE the input wire should be 12ga to handle the amps.

None of the Lynx equipment including light strings have a ground wire.

Rick R.

[austindave]

Rick,

Sorry to over-complicate things.

The take-away from my comments is only that it's better to err on the side of a larger supply cable. For a moderate to long run, I'd go for 16 or 14 gauge to supply an SSR4 (though 18 might be fine for a reasonably short run).

But if you start having erratic behavior, try a heavier supply cable first to see if that fixes the problem.

--Dave

[satskier]

Thanks,  I'm using 18 for the circuits and 14 for the feed.