How Do You Determine Electric Wire Size?
Electricians have used The American Wire Gauge, also known as the Brown and Sharpe Wire Gauge, in the United States since 1857 to measure the size of round, electrical wire. The American Wire Gauge is an inverted numbering system–the larger the number the smaller the wire’s physical sizes. The American Wire Gauge Wheel measures the diameter of nonferrous wires from AWG #40 through AWG #0000 or 4/0 or –4. The American Wire Gauge Wheel works with solid wire; you will need to use a set of dial or digital calipers to measure the size of stranded wire. Cut the wire flush with the insulation and strip off ½ inch of insulation. You want to start with a freshly stripped section of wire to get the most accurate reading with the American Wire Gauge Wheel. Flat spots on the wire will lead to an erroneous gauge reading. Set your wire stripper’s depth of cut using a scrap piece of wire so that it just cuts through the insulation without biting into the wire itself. This is crucial because copper a
