what type of wire for remote ballast

hybridcheef

hybridcheef

Active Member
if i wanted to make my ballast remote what type of wire should i use. i was told 14 gauge. wire like this


http://www.ebay.com/itm/LED-Light-Bar-Hook-Up-Wire-Power-Ground-Zip-Wire-14-Ga-Gauge-25-Feet-/152401631675?hash=item237bd859bb:g:giMAAOSwZQRYf8b-


and i would have my ballast mounted on the wall. would i just use that wire to go from the ballast to the positive on one cob and the negative on another, and then wire the rest of the cobs together with 18 gauge. or can i use the 14 gauge to wire all the cobs together? and also on the power cord for the ballast what type of cord should i use? can a regular extension cord be cut and soldered on the driver? thats obsviously if i didnt make the ballast remote. if i made them remote i would have no need for long power cords.. hlg 240-2100b. and also can i wire them all together somehow ? so i can turn all three bars on with one power cord?and also if they were all on one power cord. would the dimming of one light mess with the others? they will each have there own potentiometer.
 
sixstring2112

sixstring2112

Well-Known Member
i wire 3 or 4 drivers to a single plug all the time,no problem there..no the dimmers wont effect each other just because the power cords have been combined.i use a similar wire for going remote ballast,stuff i get is from home depot off the bulk wire spools called power tool cord.its just 14 ga with a 600v rating.the cord you linked looks good.i try to keep all my ballast to fixture cords 12 feet or less,mostly because you dont see many hid setups with longer cords then 15 feet.if you have a long run of say 25 feet you might consider going to 12 ga cord.but i think 14 is fine for 12 feet or less.
 
hybridcheef

hybridcheef

Active Member
sixstring2112 said:
i wire 3 or 4 drivers to a single plug all the time,no problem there..no the dimmers wont effect each other just because the power cords have been combined.i use a similar wire for going remote ballast,stuff i get is from home depot off the bulk wire spools called power tool cord.its just 14 ga with a 600v rating.the cord you linked looks good.i try to keep all my ballast to fixture cords 12 feet or less,mostly because you dont see many hid setups with longer cords then 15 feet.if you have a long run of say 25 feet you might consider going to 12 ga cord.but i think 14 is fine for 12 feet or less.
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at home depot you say? power tool cord its called? and also i can use that wire for the whole light? or should i switch back to 18 gauge to wire up the rest of the light?
 
sixstring2112

sixstring2112

Well-Known Member
hybridcheef said:
at home depot you say? power tool cord its called? and also i can use that wire for the whole light? or should i switch back to 18 gauge to wire up the rest of the light?
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i use 18ga solid wire to go from cob to cob,if you are using cob holders its the only wire you wont have problems with.some guys here use thermostat wire(again home depot) but i wont personally rec it because its low voltage wire(24v commonly used for furnaces). i bought a big roll of appliance wire from granger,18 ga 600v,it has a better outter shell to resist heat.but like i said alot of guys here have used t stat wire with no issues
 
welight

welight

Well-Known Member
get an app for iphone or android for electrical calculations, calculate the distance and then you can work out possible voltage drop issues dependent on wire gauge/distance, should take 5 mins
Cheers
Mark
 
hybridcheef

hybridcheef

Active Member
sixstring2112 said:
i wire 3 or 4 drivers to a single plug all the time,no problem there..no the dimmers wont effect each other just because the power cords have been combined.i use a similar wire for going remote ballast,stuff i get is from home depot off the bulk wire spools called power tool cord.its just 14 ga with a 600v rating.the cord you linked looks good.i try to keep all my ballast to fixture cords 12 feet or less,mostly because you dont see many hid setups with longer cords then 15 feet.if you have a long run of say 25 feet you might consider going to 12 ga cord.but i think 14 is fine for 12 feet or less.
Click to expand...
im confused about this type of wire. it has two leads? do i tear them apart?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Red-25-Ft-True-14-Gauge-AWG-Car-Home-Audio-Speaker-Wire-Cable-Spool-BPES14-25-/400963680119?hash=item5d5b4c3777:g:sB4AAOSwrddY7k3B


and then theres this wire. which one is the right one.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Audiopipe-50-Feet-14-Gauge-Red-Primary-Remote-Wire-Car-Auto-Power-Cable-/261392915708?hash=item3cdc3b5cfc:g:7I4AAOSwuxFY3S4f
 
sixstring2112

sixstring2112

Well-Known Member
Idk what you are trying to wire plugs for ac side or lamp wire for cobs?
In any case i would not advise car audio wire.18ga solid core wire for cobs and 12,14,16ga stranded ac/power cord for the driver to outlet.for the power cord you need 3 strand for hot.common.ground.or if 240v ac line1 ac line 2 and ground.
 
hybridcheef

hybridcheef

Active Member
sixstring2112 said:
Idk what you are trying to wire plugs for ac side or lamp wire for cobs?
In any case i would not advise car audio wire.18ga solid core wire for cobs and 12,14,16ga stranded ac/power cord for the driver to outlet.for the power cord you need 3 strand for hot.common.ground.or if 240v ac line1 ac line 2 and ground.
Click to expand...
okay i understand the ac power to wall side now thanks. and on the cob wiring. if i want remote ballast and i use 14 gauge, can i use that same wire to wire the cobs as well? or should that gauge of wire just be for the driver to the first 2 cobs?
 
sixstring2112

sixstring2112

Well-Known Member
hybridcheef said:
okay i understand the ac power to wall side now thanks. and on the cob wiring. if i want remote ballast and i use 14 gauge, can i use that same wire to wire the cobs as well? or should that gauge of wire just be for the driver to the first 2 cobs?
Click to expand...
if you are using any type of cob holder 14ga wire wont fit it.the way i did all of mine was use 18 ga solid from cob to cob and 14 ga stranded from driver to fixture or first cob/last cob for series wring.
 
hybridcheef

hybridcheef

Active Member
sixstring2112 said:
if you are using any type of cob holder 14ga wire wont fit it.the way i did all of mine was use 18 ga solid from cob to cob and 14 ga stranded from driver to fixture or first cob/last cob for series wring.
Click to expand...
yea thats what i was wondering. you said 14 gauge wont fit cob holders but then you said you used it from driver to first/last cob. which is it?
 
hybridcheef

hybridcheef

Active Member
VegasWinner said:
been using this for a couple of years now
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Southwire-By-the-Foot-18-2-Gray-Stranded-CU-Shield-Security-Cable-57573199/204725192
Click to expand...
what is there a black cord and a red cord together. i dont get it. when you wire a cob. dont you put 1 wire on negative. and 1 wire on the postive. negative to postive . positive to negative and so on. but on the wire theres too. do you solder both down to one side? like both down on negative? i dont get it. everytime i seen someone wire up a cob it was with 1 wire.
 
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