24V ... so pseudo electrical question

[workhurts]

I have two garage door openers that are mounted next to each other (3800s) and I want to run some wire to the controllers. In order to hide the wires well, I need to run them along the bottoms of the walls which means I need more wire than what came in the kit.

I'd probably need a 60' run for each so was thinking maybe a slightly thicker gauge of solid wire would be in order. I'm not sure what gauges bell wire comes in.

The other idea that came to mind was to run 18-4 or 20-4 wire so all I need is one run for both motors and controls but then I started wondering if theres any interference potential between the wires.

I'm used to running 12/14G wire for the house and 16G speaker wire but have no idea about anything north of 18 or what's standard for a garage door opener.

Any ideas or thoughts are welcome. Thanks.

 

[pattenp]

Use 22 gauge alarm wire.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_174219-295-...serSearch=alarm+wire&productId=4284059&rpp=32

 

[rockwithjason]

what he said

 

[theoldwizard1]

The other idea that came to mind was to run 18-4 or 20-4 wire so all I need is one run for both motors and controls but then I started wondering if theres any interference potential between the wires.

Probably not.

I would be concerned about 18 gauge for a door opener. 16 or best 14 gauge, which means you will probably need 2 sets of 2.

 

[pattenp]

Probably not.

I would be concerned about 18 gauge for a door opener. 16 or best 14 gauge, which means you will probably need 2 sets of 2.

Why would he need 16 or 14 gauge wire for 24V control wire?

 

[Tim The Tool Man]

Use 22 gauge alarm wire.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_174219-295-...serSearch=alarm+wire&productId=4284059&rpp=32

What he said!

what he said

...and what he said he said!

When I bought my place the previous owner ran 22 gauge alarm wire 100' to the house to activate the garage doors. It worked fine until I tore it all out when I rebuilt my shop...

 

[Gary S]

This is a control signal, not the power for the opener motor. You don't have any significant current flow in signal lines so small size wire is adequate.

 

[workhurts]

Thanks for the info. Going to Lowes tomorrow. Will post pics when garage is close to being done which will likely take months. Getting the openers to work and wired discretely would be huge for me.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Probably not.

I would be concerned about 18 gauge for a door opener. 16 or best 14 gauge, which means you will probably need 2 sets of 2.

Better read more carefully next time! He's talking about control wiring... :/

 

[Vinci]

The other idea that came to mind was to run 18-4 or 20-4 wire so all I need is one run for both motors and controls but then I started wondering if theres any interference potential between the wires.

No need to worry about interference. These aren't low-power data signals and won't be sensitive to cross-talk.

 

[rlitman]

Probably not.

I would be concerned about 18 gauge for a door opener. 16 or best 14 gauge, which means you will probably need 2 sets of 2.

Nah. For this, almost anything would do. I would use Cat5 cable, which is generally 26 gauge, simply because I have it. The current flow is really small for the control signal, so gauge is not really important.

What is important is the quality of your splices.