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8-gauge low voltage wire dchou4u@hotmail.com 05-03-2008
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Posted by dchou4u@hotmail.com on May 3, 2008, 11:01 pm
Hi, I am thinking of buying a spool of 8 gauge low voltage wires to
use with my Malibu 600W transformer for my yard. Will the 8 gauge
wires be too hard to deploy since they are so thick? Also will the
cable connectors that come with the Malibu light fixtures be able to
clamp around the wire and penetrate the sheathing?

I am using 12 gauge at this time, but the lights are pretty dimmer
since the total length is about 70'.


Posted by Tony Hwang on May 3, 2008, 11:05 pm
dchou4u@hotmail.com wrote:
> Hi, I am thinking of buying a spool of 8 gauge low voltage wires to
> use with my Malibu 600W transformer for my yard. Will the 8 gauge
> wires be too hard to deploy since they are so thick? Also will the
> cable connectors that come with the Malibu light fixtures be able to
> clamp around the wire and penetrate the sheathing?
>
> I am using 12 gauge at this time, but the lights are pretty dimmer
> since the total length is about 70'.
>
Hi,
How about moving the x-former to the middle of string instead of feeding
it from one end? Even stranded 8 Ga. is pretty heavy.

Posted by dchou4u@hotmail.com on May 4, 2008, 1:42 am
Actually the new location of the transformer would be roughly in the
middle of the string. My plan is to run 8 gauge wires to the where the
middle of the string is, and connect it up to the existing 12 gauge
string.

Posted by terry on May 4, 2008, 3:39 am
> Actually the new location of the transformer would be roughly in the
> middle of the string. My plan is to run 8 gauge wires to the where the
> middle of the string is, and connect it up to the existing 12 gauge
> string.

If lights are "pretty dim now" are they 'all' dim or are the ones
nearest the transformer brighter?

Does the transformer get quite hot? If so it may be incapable of
putting out enough power; so can you reduce the number of lights by
say 10 or 20 per cent?

If feeding from one end now feeding instead from middle might make a
difference; because there should be approx. half the voltage drop in
the wires.

New 8 gauge wires from transformer to the middle should 'help' but
without detailed info hard to calculate.

#12 AWG will drop voltage by volts, per 10 feet for each amp of
current flowing.
#8 AWG will drop by volts, per 10 feet, for each amp of current.

If, for example the lamps themselves are 12 volts; take the total
wattage of all the lamps and divide it by 12; the answer will be the
number of amps flowing from the transformer.

For example suppose there are ten lamps each of 20 watts; 10 x 20 =3D
200 watts.
200 watts divided by 12 =3D 17 amps.

Each ten feet of #8 wire (2 conductors) will, at 17 amps drop voltage
by approx. one quarter of a volt. (0.228v)
With #12, about six tenths of a volt. (0.56v)

Doesn't sound like very significant?

Just how many lights of what total wattage are on that low voltage
system?


Posted by dchou4u@hotmail.com on May 4, 2008, 10:21 pm
Hello everyone, thanks for all your input and thoughts.

Here is my layout under the new relocated arrangement. I have a 600W
Malibu transformer and I will run 2 cables from it. Below is the
layout for each run.

Here is the 1st run:

15' 4'
4' 4' 8'
26' 8'
600W Xformer -----------> 20W -------------> 20W ------------> 20W
------------> 7W -----------------> 20W ----------> 20W -------->7W

| |
| (*) #12 #12 #12
#16 | 6'
4'| #16 2' | #16

| | |
7W
50W 7W


(*) #10 gauge wire on the main trunk up to this point.

Here is the 2nd run:

30' 10'
2' 8' 3'
4' 3'
600W Xformer -------------> --------------> 20W -------------> 20W
--------------> 50W ------------> 20W -------- 20W --------->20W
#10 #12 after this
point |

|

| 8' 4'

------------------> 11W --------------------> 20W

Please advise if I need to go with #8 gauge wire, or will a normal #12
gauge work just fine. Someone said that I could not even get the
Malibu wire connectors to work with the #8 gauge wires since the
sheathing may be too thick and the wire just too big. So I am hoping I
can either work with the #12 or the #10.

Thanks again

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