4 awg ampere rating????
 

Hi,

I'm trying to figure out the max ampere I can run through 4 AWG wire.

I tried an old google search and I found a bunch of different answers.

I found 135AMP, 85AMP at 60F, etc.

My system in amps alone are going to require 210AMP. With my EQ, crossover I'm not to concerned since the power input wires are small ie. 16awg or lower

Just with the info I found I think I'm going to need some 0/1.

Chris

aluminum or copper? or even copper clad wire
some of the lower companies pass off 4 gauge kits with a copper clad aluminum wire which will not handle that kinda currant draw.

4 awg fuse recommendation is 125A. You must check out www.bcae1.com. It's required reading. You should also always do a search before posting a question if you haven't already done so (it's actually very helpful in terms of either answering or refining your question).
If your system is actually drawing 210 amps on a regular basis, you'll need 0/1 awg...and a healthy alternator. However my system, theoretically, can draw:
- 130A from the sub amp
- 50 A front stage amp
- 25 A rear fill amp

Total: 205 A. Will I ever pull that? Probably not, even with a 200A alt (which I have). It depends on your setup goals, which are quite varied and don't necessarily fit into the SQ/SPL only categories. So to make a short answer long: if you can afford 0/1, go for it. Happy listening. Cheers.

Hi,

Yeah I basicly double my amps (PPI Art series) and I am going to be adding in a 2nd battery. Before I just had an A404.2 & 600.2. Now I'm going to be adding in A300.2 and another A600.2 into my build.

When I tried to research 4 awg wire I found a whole bunch of different answers.

I rather go with a max rating of 210AMP just to be on the safe side. I know I won't be using both a600.2 all the time.

You need bigger than 4 gage.

You should never be anywhere near maxing out your wire.
The idea behind using oversized wire is to avoid voltage drop.

1/0 wire 150 amp fuse to a fused distribution block, 4 gage to each amp and fuse slightly bigger than the fuse in the amp.