DC Motor Cable size

[Prince]

Can anybody lead me to a table or calculator for DC Motor Cable size?

 

[DickDV]

I don't see why DC would be any different from AC. Just consult the NEC ampacity chart for AWG wire sizes and go by that. If the wire lengths are long, you may want to oversize to reduce line voltage drop.

 

[leitmotif]

NEVER skimp on wire size for motors. Bigger (within reason) is always better.
FIRST read motor nameplate and get all the amperages.

Then decide if those are applicable to a single line feeding motor.
IF you are real lucky you will have a manua for the motor and it may tell you with a chart what size conductor to use for what distance.

After that almost any electrical book or NEC or other code agency will have calcs.

To calc volt drop find wire resistance multiply by two and by length ot motor and then multiply by amps. This should give you IR drop which should be around 3% or less.

IF in a real hot work environment you will ahve to derate for ambient temperature.

IF your question is for 3 phase feeding a solid state controller you may have to derate for number of current carry conductors in pipe or cable (if more than 3)

Dan Bentler