Double 12 gauge power/ ground idea

[Xjeff 10+ year member]

So I have my friend a old Sony xplod 250 watt max 2 channel amp and a old Rockford p1 12" sub a while back and he's too cheap to go buy a 8 gauge amp kit so I was wondering if we could use 2 runs of 12 gauge wire for the power and gounds, the amp is only rated for 150 rms at 1 channel bridged at 4ohms, the run would only be about 8' since its in a gmc truck, so could we get away with using a 30 amp fuse at battery?

Click to read more...

 

[urmomsmin3 10+ year member]

thats kinda risky and u can get a 8 gauge kit for 13$ on ebay..lol

 

[Xjeff 10+ year member]

I also have another friend who is using 10 gauge wire about 15 feet long to power a 800max/350 rms amp with a 30 amp fuse on it and he's has never had problems with it, is he just lucky? Lol he got it from a semi local audio shop in a bass package.

 

[urmomsmin3 10+ year member]

i mean ive seen people use 10 gauge on 800 watt amps and it be fine and ive seen were it just melts from the power 10 gauge wire dont really run alot of current so ur not gonna get all u can out ur amp i mean my subs are wired in my box with 8 gauge wire..lol

 

[Xjeff 10+ year member]

Were not trying to compete with a 150rms amp/sub just trying to add some low end

 

[maylar 10+ year member]

Wire gages double size every 3 gage numbers. IOW two 12 gage wires is equivalent to one 9 gage. For the power levels you're talking about you'll be fine.

 

[xxyue188 10+ year member]

As long as you mold both ends probably, you should be fine.

 

[BrownVanMan 10+ year member]

hell at that wattage your pulling MAYBE 15 amps. 1 run might be enough but 2 is for sure

biggest thing is to set gains right so your amp isnt pulling alot of unneccessarry current and or blowing itself

 

[robert420 10+ year member]

i have a friend that did the same kinda thing your thinking... using 12g for the power and ground is not a good idea at all. you will get static all the time... to solve it (he was on a budget also), take a set of jumper cables and connect them, (get rid of the clamps). it sounds kinda silly, but it definately works

 

[Jerhemy 10+ year member]

Grab an old extension cord, make that shit work. Should be able to easily handle 15-20 amps.

Or nut up and buy an 8 gauge kit for ~$20