Recommended Wire AWG for Hoted Bed MK2

Hello,

I've read a lot about hotbed connections and found different solitions for that that including using ribon cable in parallel.

I would like to use a single multifilament wire from the MK2 to the RAMPS circuit and found that for 11Amps it should be a 10AWG that is very thick.

I also want to know if my MK2 bed resistance of 1.8 ohms is correct. For 12V I will have 6.7 Amps and I'm not sure if it will get hot enough for ABS printing at 100C.

Thank you!!!!

I use 18AWG stranded copper wire and haven't had issues.

The ratings are largely based on voltage drop over the wire, and insulation temperature rating.
You were probably looking at power transmission numbers, those are for very long runs of cable, not the 1ft or so you see on a reprap, the chasis wiring figures are more applicable.

Anything in the 1->2 Ohm range is fine for the heated bed, mine is 1.3 Ohms and that draws enough power than I need to blow air over the large fuse on the RAMPS board or it trips.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/20/2012 05:44PM by Polygonhell.

Thank you!!!! That helps a lot!

1.8 Ohms is too high. The bed should measure 1.2 Ohm across the terminals when it is cold. Don't forget to subtract the resistance of the meter leads. Mine are about 0.2 Ohm.

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That was it. My tester leads mark 0.8 ohms so the bed resistance would be approximatlely 1 ohm.

I use 16 AWG stranded wire, which works just fine. 18 AWG should be OK too.

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