![]() We need to apply the most important rule in wire sizing: The 80% breaker rating rule, according to the NEC Code. 6 AWG wire has a 65A ampacity, and you only need 60 amps for a 60 amp breaker, right? It’s obvious why an amateur would use a 6 AWG wire for a 60 amp breaker at 220V. 80% Breaker Rating Rule For 60 Amp Wire Sizing (1st Rule) If you’ll have any problems, you can pose a question in the comments and we’ll try our best to help you out. Note: In the end, you will be fully equipped to size any wire (including the 60 amp breaker wire size) yourself. It will help illustrate why professionals always recommend using 4 AWG instead of 6 AWG for 60 amp breakers. Now, if you consult the AWG gauge wire size chart here, you can see that: That means that 4 AWG wire will not suffice we might have to use 3 AWG wire for a 60 amp breaker at a 100+ feet distance. The rule of thumb for voltage loss dictates that if the length of the 60 amp wire is 100 feet, we will see a 20% voltage drop. Maximum loading for any branch circuit is 80% of the rating of the circuit for ampacity of wire for any load. It’s imperative that we also use ‘ Chapter 3: NEC CODE Rules and Design Practice‘ rules (specifically NEC 220-2 and NEC 310-16 rules), that include: ![]() A professional will always use 4 AWG wire size for 60 amp 220V.Īs we’ll see further on, the choice of wire size for a 60 amp breaker shouldn’t only take the ampacity of a wire into account. An amateur will use a 6 AWG wire size for 60 amp 220V. The size of the wire is always the same in theory (we’ll cover how big a wire you need for a 60 amp breaker further on):Ħ0 amp wire size is either 6 AWG or 4 AWG wire (AWG stands for American Wire Gauge standard wire sizing is the US) for 220V voltage. Even wire size for 60 amp sub-panel 150 feet away.Knowing how to determine a 60 amp wire size will help you in any kind of situation. To correct them, we only need to use two NEC CODE rules. We often make quite obvious mistakes when it comes to sizing a wire. That’s why we’ll look at how to adequately choose a wire size for a 60 amp breaker using two National Electrical Code (NEC) CODE rules. The problem is that we run a risk of frying our 60 amp breaker if we use the 6 AWG wire. At first hand, that seems quite reasonable, and it’s an honest mistake to make. One of the most common questions we get about wiring is ‘what is the wire size for a 60 amp breaker?’.Ī lot of homeowners make this very common mistake: They use 6 AWG wire for a 60 amp breaker because 6 AWG gauge wire has 65A ampacity.
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