hoss
5,000+ posts
imma genius. so **** it!
because strand count is an indicator of flexibility, not current capacity. you would look at the cross sectional surface area to find the amount of copper in the wire, which would indicate its capabilities.why not go by the strand count?
for instance, the cross sectional surface area of 1/0 is 53.5mm, to get that equivalent, you could use two runs of 3g, four runs of 6g, so on, and so on. all the measurements i used came from here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_wire_gauge . the cross sectional area of the wire tells you the amount of copper in the wire, letting you know its current carrying capabilities. it doesent matter how you get to your desired cross sectional area, you can use as many wire runs as it takes, the current will be devided equally among them.
and to answer this question about the "rule of thumb"...
http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/F_appfaqk.html#APPFAQK_009
section 17.3 - "Each increase of 3 in the gauge halves the cross sectional area. Each reduction by 3 doubles it. So, 2 AWG 14 wires is like one AWG 11."
