12 volt outdoor

[george4]

I have 5 areas of 12 volt outdoor lighting. 5 transformers, each with a run of 100 – 150 feet carrying 300 - 400 watts of lighting. I want to redo and move some. Some old wire is solid core, some stranded. Looking at some of the older wire, it seems that the solid core stood the test of time better. Lots of corrosion in the stranded, difficult to get a good electrical connection for any repair. I want to be able to have the wire underground a few inches and through areas that get watered regularly. Generic outdoor lighting wire from Home Depot is stranded and I think 16 gauge.
Any wiring guys have a recommendation?

 

[rickairmedic]

Thermostat wire is 18 guage and solid not stranded I am not sure about the wattage but I do know it carries 24 volts just fine .

Rick

 

[2LTim]

You could use the gray direct burial 14 guage wire that is designed for 110 volt circuits. It will definately carry the load, and it has solid conductors.

Tim

 

[rinny_tin_tin]

I have 5 areas of 12 volt outdoor lighting. 5 transformers, each with a run of 100 – 150 feet carrying 300 - 400 watts of lighting. I want to redo and move some. Some old wire is solid core, some stranded. Looking at some of the older wire, it seems that the solid core stood the test of time better. Lots of corrosion in the stranded, difficult to get a good electrical connection for any repair. I want to be able to have the wire underground a few inches and through areas that get watered regularly. Generic outdoor lighting wire from Home Depot is stranded and I think 16 gauge.
Any wiring guys have a recommendation?

300/400 watts @ 12 volts is 25A/33A - and at your run distance of 100 to 150 feet, you are going to experience *significant* voltage drop owed to great I^2R losses. I'd run 10 AWG Type UF cable. UF is made for direct burial and you won;t have corrosion problems with the conductors - stranded or solid. The reason stranded corroded more is cuz of greater surface area over solid -- but, with Type UF - not an issue as the conductors are adequately protected

 

[mrb]

the IDC terminals on the LV lighting arent going to work on #10 solid i dont think

 

[triplethreat]

Why won't they work? Maybe you could solder them?

 

[mrb]

Why won't they work? Maybe you could solder them?

the insulation piercing terminals on the LV lights have a fork that goes around the conductor to make contact. I think a #10 solid is going to split the fork apart and it wont make good contact.

 

[Marcusr13]

Just use a #12 stranded low voltage wire. #10 UF cable is way over doing it. 30 amps at 120 volts is over 3600 watts. Good luck finding a transformer for that since the laregest via retail is 600, not like it wouldn't work, but that's a lot of "dow re me". LV 18-2 thermostat wire would work, just not rated for UF use, collection of moisture. If you're worried about the connection, use those UF wire nuts instead.

 

[rinny_tin_tin]

Just use a #12 stranded low voltage wire. #10 UF cable is way over doing it. 30 amps at 120 volts is over 3600 watts. Good luck finding a transformer for that since the laregest via retail is 600, not like it wouldn't work, but that's a lot of "dow re me". LV 18-2 thermostat wire would work, just not rated for UF use, collection of moisture. If you're worried about the connection, use those UF wire nuts instead.

Major error in your comps. Its 30A @ 12 V - not 120 V. If it was 120 V the Amps at 400 W would be 3.3A. If connection to the lights are an issue, branch take-offs from the 10 AWG using smaller - say 12 or 14 AWG could be made off the 10 AWG trunk - however, 18AWG thermo wire is a joke......this isn't a telephone ckt.

 

[Tech Guy]

Thats what I did for my LV led deck lights. Ran the cable that came with it from the lights with about 3ft. Tied into main cable which was 16 g. Worked great

 

[george4]

Why won't they work? Maybe you could solder them?

There is too much corrosion on the wire just about anywhere, as if moisture traveled along the wire for substantial distances. I though it would just be easier to replace it all if I could figure out the best wire to use.

 

[george4]

Does this sound like what I need?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006FI5B0/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Thanks.

 

[Fast Orange]

Best bet is to replace the existing cable with the same thing,but,where the contacts pierce the insulation,smear a small amount of silicone sealer on the cable and contacts.This will keep moisture from entering the wire and minimize corrosion.
As you have probably realized by now,the vast majority of these low voltage outdoor kits are of pretty poor quality-they're simply an easily installed system for DIY installation that is pretty much exempt from the NEC.As such,you won't get a long ,troublefree life out of them.If you want something better,go with a 120V system.

 

[kbs2244]

Have thought about going solar?
It avoids the whole problem.

 

[rinny_tin_tin]

Does this sound like what I need?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006FI5B0/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Thanks.

No............10AWG UF is what you need. However..you can use the 14 for branch takeoffs. If you have the time and interest, perform an experiment....measure the voltage at the transformer terminals and then measure the voltage at the last light at the end of the string with all thr lamps energized. The loss is your voltage drop.