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"How many amps can a 6 gauge wire 12v dc carry?"

It all depends. There are several factors. Probably the most important would be the expected length of the wire one way only. Others would include the type of wire insulation it has and the highest expected ambient temperature that the wire will be exposed to.

For example: AWG. #6 THHN copper is rated for 0 to 600 volts (ac or dc) and typically rated for 60 amps BUT! There are several "derating" factor to consider. The biggest one being voltage drop when dealing with low voltage direct currents. AWG. #6 THHN copper at 75*C wire with one set + and - in a steel conduit can carry 60 amps over a 10 foot long wire with a 5% voltage drop. So if you started out with 12.6 volts you'd end up with 11.97 volts or less.

By comparison, using that same scenario but using 120 vac, it could carry 60 amps, 100 foot with a 5% voltage drop which leave you 115 volts which is no big deal BUT!, it is a big deal to lose almost a whole volt at 12 vdc nominal.

Remember - Ohm's law - For a given wattage, if the volts change, the amps change and inversely, if either the volts or amps change, the wattage changes. A lot can depend on the type of load as well. Lights might burn dimmer. motors would run slower, a heater would put out less heat and so on and so forth. Or just not work at all.

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Wiki User

14y ago
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Wiki User

14y ago

A #6 AWG copper wire with 60 degree Celsius insulation rating can carry 55 amps, 75 degree Celsius insulation rating can carry 65 amps, and a 90 degree Celsius insulation rating can carry 75 amps. If it is aluminum or copper-clad aluminum the ampacity for the three temperature ratings would be 40, 50, and 60 respectively.

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Wiki User

14y ago

A #6 copper wire with an insulation rating of 90 degree C is rated at 65 amps.

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Anonymous

Lvl 1
3y ago

60

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Q: How many amps will 6 gauge wire handle?
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