24 vdc Wire Gauge for Valves

[oakbarn]

I purchased some motorized 24 vdc valves but they came with almost no paperwork. What gauge of wire is normal for a motorized 24 vdc valve. My wire run is about 25 feet.

[JonW]

What's the current draw? Voltage is only part of the equation.

[oakbarn]

unfortunately it "was packaged by the manufacturer in non-retail packaging, such as an unprinted box or plastic bag" and has no paperwork. On simalar valves that I could find that had a current draw, they were 80 Ma but were 12 vdc ones, so not the same. If I had the current it would have been a simple calculation. I was hoping for someone to tell me what they used. I am thinking 18 gauge should work fine. I would suspect that the draw would not be much for a senoid valve. This is COCO stuff anyway (Chinese). The only thing is that I will need to purchase the 18 gauge wire. I have tons of 22 gauge.

[JonW]

You mentioned motorized in your first post and solenoid in your second. Usually a motorized valve is a ball valve and a solenoid valve is a diaphram valve. Specs vary widely among valves and valve types with solenoids generally requiring more current. You could be pulling anywhere from the 80 ma you reference all the up to 1 amp a piece - it all depends on the design of the valve. You can always use your DMM to measure the current draw so you know for sure.

18 gauge should be fine for even 1 amp. I wouldn't use 22 on any of it.

[oakbarn]

I have both. Two valves are SS and motorised and two are Brass and seleboid. I found a rating on the place I bought the SS valves and they are 24 vdc @ 500 Ma. The selenoids are 12 vdc and similar ones on the internet range in the 100 to 80 Ma range. I found some 16 ga wire that I am going to use for the motorized ones, I am going to buy some more as I am putting inside a wall and bigger is always better.

[oakbarn]

Easy online Calculator

http://www.solar-wind.co.uk/cable-sizing-DC-cables.html

If 24 vdc @ 500mA at 25 feet, looks like I should use 14 awg. The selenoids calculate at 18 awg using 80mA.

[clearwaterbrewer]

Easy online Calculator

http://www.solar-wind.co.uk/cable-sizing-DC-cables.html

If 24 vdc @ 500mA at 25 feet, looks like I should use 14 awg. The selenoids calculate at 18 awg using 80mA.

18ga (and especially 14ga) is way overkill.... that is only if you need less than 1% loss due to copper resistance... heck, 30ga wire can carry 2a for chassis wiring...

24ga ethernet wire is perfectly fine for .5A, millions and millions of POE telephones and cameras around the world carry that much current and more and are perfectly in spec. if you want, use two pairs in the ethernet bundle to be even more power friendly...

here is an example calculator that will tell you how much loss is on ethernet cable:
http://blog.fosketts.net/toolbox/power- ... alculator/

[Pezzonovante11]

For what it's worth I use ethernet cable for my 24VDC valves (non-solenoid). I was a little worried about current so I used two wires for 24v+ and another two for ground so I'm dividing the current by double the copper. Should handle 1 amp easily. Still have 4 wires in the cable for other nefarious purposes.

[BrunDog]

Not that it really matters, and please believe I ain't tryin' to go electro-nazi here... but just in case anyone considers doing the double wire thing for high current/voltage circuits, it is not a good practice. Should one one fail, the other will realize double the current rather than failing to an open circuit. No reply needed - just throwing it out there in case anyone thought wiring their 50A panel with 2 x 10AWG was a reasonable idea.

-BD

[scscott]

I am looking to buy some motorized valves and wanted to know what wiring method i should get that will work with the BCS.
CR02, CR03, CR04 or CR05