Wire length, amp, awg calc

Ive seen and read quite a few sites now and all state i should be able to get away with 1a @120v on a 20awg . The length will be no more that 5 inches.

How would i go about calculating the thinnest safest wire to use?

120v AC, Approx 1A , Max 6inch long wire.

Thats what i need to wire but the enclosure is pretty small so im looking for safest smallest wire. Most likely copper not aluminum.

Any help would be great.

Look here

or at the attached file.

Smaller wires are here

Even better, has fusing current.

For 1A you can go stupidly small; but for 120 or 240 supplies it is matter of adequate insulation and more importantly how it is protected, rather than physically smallest wire.

For safety regulations there must be a fuse beforehand that will blow without the wiring heating dangerously in case of a fault; that fuse defines what wire you can use.

If you have a 1A fuse on the supply connection then you could easily go down to 24AWG (0.2mm^2), that's rated 3.5A

We use 0.5mm^2 routinely as both single core and YY multicore in industrial machines, for low current circuits at up to 240V. That has a nominal rating of 9A in open air.

Thanks guys. I will look into all of this. Been busy on a few projects but want to make sure this is as safe as possible.

Also depends on resistance in the cable, but at 1/2 a foot, I doubt it matters... 28 awg will work, but I always work in a big safety factor.. I agree with rjenkinsonGB... 24AWG.

**Question.... Is AWG the same as SWG... We tend to use Standard Wire Gauge over here...

Ian Rogers said:

Question.... Is AWG the same as SWG... We tend to use Standard Wire Gauge over here...

Click to expand...

They are dangerously close but not the same.

https://bulkwire.com/help/wire-gauge-awg-reference-table

gophert said:

They are dangerously close but not the same.

https://bulkwire.com/help/wire-gauge-awg-reference-table

Click to expand...

How to take that expression?

atferrari said:

How to take that expression?

Click to expand...

Close enough to be easily confused but different enough to create dangerous situations.