wire size question
 

Does anyone know how to measure or determine the wire size. I have
tons of motors, solenoids, and similar items. I need some #24 wire and
some #30 for a coil, but have to be sure regarding the wire diameter
as it's a critical ap and the author of the article says 'don't
substitute'.

I know I can weigh it, provided it's not on a spool or motor winding
already.

My local electrical shop has a wire gauge, but it stops at 18 gauge.

A microscope might work, but ones that have calibrated distance
measuring on the eyepiece are expensive.

Perhaps a milliohm meter might be able to measure the difference in
resistance of a foot of it or so, but that's hardly a standard item
either.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

A

In sci.electronics.design Albert wrote:
Does anyone know how to measure or determine the wire size. I have
tons of motors, solenoids, and similar items. I need some #24 wire and
some #30 for a coil, but have to be sure regarding the wire diameter
as it's a critical ap and the author of the article says 'don't
substitute'.

Micrometer.
Vernier caliper may also work.
Either under $30US.

Does anyone know how to measure or determine the wire size. I have
tons of motors, solenoids, and similar items. I need some #24 wire and
some #30 for a coil, but have to be sure regarding the wire diameter
as it's a critical ap and the author of the article says 'don't
substitute'.

A cautionary note - if it's that critical, then re-using wire which
has alread been wound might not be the best idea. You'd be starting
with wire which had already been bent/flexed, and if you aren't
careful this might put some kinks or irregularities in the winding of
your new coil which might affect its impedance or Q.

I know I can weigh it, provided it's not on a spool or motor winding
already.

My local electrical shop has a wire gauge, but it stops at 18 gauge.

A microscope might work, but ones that have calibrated distance
measuring on the eyepiece are expensive.

You might be able to do it with a vernier caliper.

24 gauge has a diameter of .511 mm or .0020"

30 gauge has a diameter of .255 mm or .001"

Every 3 gauge numbers corresponds to a 2:1 ratio in wire area (amount
of copper). Every 6 gauge numbers corresponds to a 2:1 ratio in wire
diameter.

--
Dave Platt AE6EO
Hosting the Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will
boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads!

On Thu, 07 Apr 2005 17:29:15 -0400, Albert wrote:

Does anyone know how to measure or determine the wire size. I have
tons of motors, solenoids, and similar items. I need some #24 wire and
some #30 for a coil, but have to be sure regarding the wire diameter
as it's a critical ap and the author of the article says 'don't
substitute'.

I know I can weigh it, provided it's not on a spool or motor winding
already.

My local electrical shop has a wire gauge, but it stops at 18 gauge.

A microscope might work, but ones that have calibrated distance
measuring on the eyepiece are expensive.

Perhaps a milliohm meter might be able to measure the difference in
resistance of a foot of it or so, but that's hardly a standard item
either.

Any suggestions?

Two quick options:

Many kinds of wire have information printed on the insulation.

There are many tables which give the diameter, so machinists verniers
or a mike would do.

Or you could collect a set of samples of known wires and compare. Note
that solid and stranded are a little bit different.

Recycling solid wire from other coils might leave kinks or weak areas
where it was bent before. Insulation integrity matters, too.
Happy trails,
Gary (net.yogi.bear)
--
At the 51st percentile of ursine intelligence

Gary D. Schwartz, Needham, MA, USA
Please reply to: garyDOTschwartzATpoboxDOTcom

Get a nice piece of smooth round rod and tightly wind a little over a lineal
inch of wire closely spaced as possible. Count the turns in one inch and
divide the number of turns into one inch and you'll have a very good
measurement without any cost.

73
Hank WD5JFR

Albert wrote in message ...
Does anyone know how to measure or determine the wire size. I have
tons of motors, solenoids, and similar items. I need some #24 wire and
some #30 for a coil, but have to be sure regarding the wire diameter
as it's a critical ap and the author of the article says 'don't
substitute'.

I know I can weigh it, provided it's not on a spool or motor winding
already.

My local electrical shop has a wire gauge, but it stops at 18 gauge.

A microscope might work, but ones that have calibrated distance
measuring on the eyepiece are expensive.

Perhaps a milliohm meter might be able to measure the difference in
resistance of a foot of it or so, but that's hardly a standard item
either.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

A

Thanks to my friend who emailed me the answer.

Around 5 dollars on ebay, wire gauge measuring gauge 1 to gauge 36.

Had no idea they made them that small.

Thanks to (you know who you are) and to all who made suggestions.

A


On 07 Apr 2005 21:38:52 GMT, Ian Stirling
wrote:

In sci.electronics.design Albert wrote:
Does anyone know how to measure or determine the wire size. I have
tons of motors, solenoids, and similar items. I need some #24 wire and
some #30 for a coil, but have to be sure regarding the wire diameter
as it's a critical ap and the author of the article says 'don't
substitute'.

Micrometer.
Vernier caliper may also work.
Either under $30US.

Albert wrote:

Does anyone know how to measure or determine the wire size.

If I need to check, I use a vernier caliper to determine the diameter of
the strands ( 2*r )and then calculate the total cross-sectional area as (
pi*r^2 ) * number of strands.

This gives a result in mm^2. Which is the standard measure in most of the
world.

To do the same you'll need a chart to convert from cross-sectional area to
AWG. Google will find you one.


Graham

On Thu, 07 Apr 2005 21:41:05 -0000, the renowned
(Dave Platt) wrote:

Does anyone know how to measure or determine the wire size. I have
tons of motors, solenoids, and similar items. I need some #24 wire and
some #30 for a coil, but have to be sure regarding the wire diameter
as it's a critical ap and the author of the article says 'don't
substitute'.

A cautionary note - if it's that critical, then re-using wire which
has alread been wound might not be the best idea. You'd be starting
with wire which had already been bent/flexed, and if you aren't
careful this might put some kinks or irregularities in the winding of
your new coil which might affect its impedance or Q.

I know I can weigh it, provided it's not on a spool or motor winding
already.

My local electrical shop has a wire gauge, but it stops at 18 gauge.

A microscope might work, but ones that have calibrated distance
measuring on the eyepiece are expensive.

You might be able to do it with a vernier caliper.

24 gauge has a diameter of .511 mm or .0020"

30 gauge has a diameter of .255 mm or .001"

Ooops, you're low by a factor of 10:1 in the inch calculations. Just
as well, since a caliper is hardly repeatable to 1 thou, let alone
measuring a diameter of that size with any accuracy.

Every 3 gauge numbers corresponds to a 2:1 ratio in wire area (amount
of copper). Every 6 gauge numbers corresponds to a 2:1 ratio in wire
diameter.


Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
--
"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward"
Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com

In article ,
Spehro Pefhany wrote:

You might be able to do it with a vernier caliper.

24 gauge has a diameter of .511 mm or .0020"

30 gauge has a diameter of .255 mm or .001"

Ooops, you're low by a factor of 10:1 in the inch calculations. Just
as well, since a caliper is hardly repeatable to 1 thou, let alone
measuring a diameter of that size with any accuracy.

Yup, I added a zero in there. 24 gauge is 20 mils (.02"), 30 gauge is
half that.

Works out to 50 or 100 turns per inch, close-wound, and the suggestion
to use that method was probably the best and cheapest I've heard.

--
Dave Platt AE6EO
Hosting the Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will
boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads!

Which gauge are you using?

British Standard wire gauge (SWG) ?
American wire gauge (AWG) ?
Birmingham wire gauge (BWG) ?

They're all different.