Can we twist the two ends of the wire together?

[Shervan360]

Hello,
We need 20 meters of 12 Gauge electrical wire but don't have 12 Gauge wire. Can we use two 6 Gauge wires and twist the two ends of the wire together? Is it harmful to electronic appliances? for example, air conditioners

[Mentor Note: original question restored; the OP will post a follow up with a correction in a later reply]

 

[berkeman]

Welcome to PF.

6AWG wire is thicker than 12AWG wire, so as long as you can deal with the extra size and stiffness, 6AWG wire will easily carry the current of 12AWG wire. No need to double-up anything.

You should always check your local building codes, but it's likely that 12AWG is listed as the minimum size for the wire for this installation. A lower AWG (bigger wire diameter) should generally be allowed as a more expensive alternative.

 

[berkeman]

Also, looking at your IP address (Mentors have that superpower), it's strange that you are specifying wire size in American Wire Gauge (AWG) instead if SI units...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEC_60228

 

[Shervan360]

Welcome to PF.

6AWG wire is thicker than 12AWG wire, so as long as you can deal with the extra size and stiffness, 6AWG wire will easily carry the current of 12AWG wire. No need to double-up anything.

You should always check your local building codes, but it's likely that 12AWG is listed as the minimum size for the wire for this installation. A lower AWG (bigger wire diameter) should generally be allowed as a more expensive alternative.

Excuse me. I edited my question.

 

[Shervan360]

Also, looking at your IP address (Mentors have that superpower), it's strange that you are specifying wire size in American Wire Gauge (AWG) instead if SI units...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEC_60228

Yes, because I guessed that the respondents live in Western countries.

 

[Dullard]

As this thread will be discoverable by posterity, I feel compelled:
Paralleling conductors to meet capacity requirements is theoretically acceptable. In practice it should be done very carefully - any differences in net resistance will result in uneven current distribution across the multiple conductors. US NEC allows it, but only for relatively large conductors and with length/termination similarity requirements.

 

[berkeman]

Excuse me. I edited my question.

Please don't do that, it is very confusing for anyone trying to read the thread. I've restored your original question; please post a new reply with your clarification on the size of the wires you are asking about. Thank you.

Hello,
We need 20 meters of 12 Gauge electrical wire but don't have 12 Gauge wire. Can we use two 6 Gauge wires and twist the two ends of the wire together? Is it harmful to electronic appliances? for example, air conditioners

[Mentor Note: original question restored; the OP will post a follow up with a correction in a later reply]

 

[Shervan360]

Hello,
We need 20 meters of 12 Gauge electrical wire but don't have 12 Gauge wire. Can we use two 6 Gauge wires and twist the two ends of the wire together? Is it harmful to electronic appliances? for example, air conditioners

[Mentor Note: original question restored; the OP will post a follow up with a correction in a later reply]

View attachment 328952

Please see an edited version of my question:

We need 20 meters of 12 Gauge electrical wire but don't have 12 gauge wire. Can we use two 22 Gauge wires and twist the two ends of the wire together? Is it harmful to electronic appliances? for example, air conditioners

 

[berkeman]

We need 20 meters of 12 Gauge electrical wire but don't have 12 gauge wire. Can we use two 22 Gauge wires and twist the two ends of the wire together?

If you are trying to achieve the same resistance and current-carrying capability, no.

The resistance of wire is doubled for every 3 AWG increment (it's a log scale). So to get the same resistance as 12AWG by paralleling two wires, what would their AWG need to be?

https://www.daycounter.com/Calculators/AWG.phtml

 

[TonyStewart]

The Rule of Thumb is easy to remember. The resistance of the American Wire Gauge values approximately doubles every 3. So to replace AWG 12 you can use two AWG 15 or four AWG 18 or eight AWG 21 or ten AWG 22.

AWG 12 = ten AWG 22
0.00521 = 0.053 / 10 for parallel you divide R
[Ohm/m]
Copper
(20 C,68 F)