4 gauge power and 8 gauge ground?

[GenY]

I was wondering if an 8 gauge ground wire would be sufficient when using a 4 gauge power wire pushing 1000 watts? Is this chart right? Says at 0-4 feet a 8 gauge would be fine? Just double checking if Im getting this right.

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[blazian87 10+ year member]

No, your power wire is only as good as your ground. You would want to use 4 gauge on both.

 

[GenY]

Ah...well hopefully I haven't messed anything up. I been running like that for a few months. Thanks though.

 

[llebcire]

I was wondering if an 8 gauge ground wire would be sufficient when using a 4 gauge power wire pushing 1000 watts? Is this chart right? Says at 0-4 feet a 8 gauge would be fine? Just double checking if Im getting this right.

Yes and no - depends on the length.

Ideally you would have the same gauge for both, but the size is dependent on the length of the run. As the wire gets longer the resistance increases therefore the gauge also needs to increase as you can see from the chart - longer runs need larger wire to carry the same current. Think of it this way - inside the amp, for the short runs between the terminal blocks and power supply, they rarely use large wire as the runs are so short.

Long story short - use 4 gauge if you have it however if the run is short (<2 feet) there won't be a difference using 8 gauge. Ensure your connections are solid, grounded to bare metal, etc.

-Eric

 

[Popwarhomie 5,000+ posts]

Is a 2' piece of 4 gauge going to blow your budget that bad?

 

[GenY]

At a dollar a foot definitely not. My 8 gauge currently is 3 feet. I'll prob just upgrade it. Thanks for the advice.

 

[MattinMO]

no.

 

[Slo_Ride 5,000+ posts]

Zero guage for both

 

[daviddarwin]

A 1000-watt amp should be powered by a 4-gauge size. But the best cable to use is frequently determined by a number of variables, such as the class of the amplifier and the required length of the connection.

 

[Boominburban]

use 4awg or 2 awg for both. I personally use 4awg ofc wire for my 500w front stage amps ... for the 2' between fuses/distro blocks and amps, then i use 2/0 back to the busbars.

 

[Water Bear]

For such a short run on 1k chances are real good you won't notice a difference. Best practice is to use 4 on both and that's what most folks do.

 

[Popwarhomie 5,000+ posts]

A 1000-watt amp should be powered by a 4-gauge size. But the best cable to use is frequently determined by a number of variables, such as the class of the amplifier and the required length of the connection.

Two year old post.....

 

[Water Bear]

Two year old post.....

View attachment 45545

I wonder why this happens so much. People reading the archives and forgetting where they are I guess.

 

[Boominburban]

I'm betting he's got it sorted by now ...lmao ....