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    porphyriax's Avatar
    porphyriax Posts: 14, Reputation: 1
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    #1

    Dec 13, 2008, 01:05 PM
    Light fixture has 18 awg?
    I searched the forums for awhile and didn't find anything to put my mind at rest here.

    I am putting a new light fixture in my bathroom where one did not exist before, I have my switch all wired up and my box in place to hold my new fixture. I have 14-2 awg wiring coming into the fixture box. However, when I went to install the light fixture on the box/wall I see that the fixture has 18 awg wire (silver? Aluminum? Twisted wire) hard wired from it. Now, I've always heard that you cannot/should not connect differently gauged wires to each other out of safety. Is this OK to do in this case though? I'm sure it is, I would just like an expert to say "yes" if it is.

    Thanks!
    Mike
    tkrussell's Avatar
    tkrussell Posts: 9,659, Reputation: 725
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    #2

    Dec 13, 2008, 01:21 PM
    Yes, no problem. Install the fixture.
    porphyriax's Avatar
    porphyriax Posts: 14, Reputation: 1
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    #3

    Dec 13, 2008, 01:39 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by tkrussell View Post
    Yes, no problem. Go ahead and install the fixture.
    Awesome, thanks :)


    Any chance you can tell me why its OK in this case, and I've always heard never to connect different gauges? Just for my own knowledge.

    Thanks,
    tkrussell's Avatar
    tkrussell Posts: 9,659, Reputation: 725
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    #4

    Dec 13, 2008, 01:47 PM

    Sure.

    The fixture is wired to handle the lamps that are listed on the label.

    The load is very limited, and the fixture was tested and listed by UL with the #18 wire because of the limited load.

    And the wiring is such a short distance inside the fizxture.

    Wiring in buildings are for much more load, or can be, so minimums are much larger.

    Where are you coming up with the notion that two wires of different size cannot be spliced together?
    porphyriax's Avatar
    porphyriax Posts: 14, Reputation: 1
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    #5

    Dec 13, 2008, 03:18 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by tkrussell View Post
    Sure.

    The fixture is wired to handle the lamps that are listed on the label.

    The load is very limited, and the fixture was tested and listed by UL with the #18 wire because of the limited load.

    And the wiring is such a short distance inside the fizxture.

    Wiring in buildings are for much more load, or can be, so minimums are much larger.

    Where are you coming up with the notion that two wires of different size cannot be spliced together?
    Ah, I see.

    I have two wiring books - one is Basic wiring and one is Advanced wiring. I'm not sure which book it was, but I remember reading something like attatching two different gauge wires is a safety hazard. I could have misread this - I might have to try to find which book it was in.

    Thanks for you help, and explaining the reasoning to me!
    tkrussell's Avatar
    tkrussell Posts: 9,659, Reputation: 725
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    #6

    Dec 14, 2008, 08:11 AM

    The only reason I can think of the How to books recommending that splicing two different size wires is a hazard, is that a smaller wire may be used to extend a larger circuit, sa for example, adding an outlet using #14 wire from an exisitng 20 amp circuit using #12 wire.

    Otherwise, I have no idea what they can be referring to.

    Every light fixture out there, and may other devices and appliance, uses smaller wire inside the fixture, and usually is smaller than the building's circuit wiring.

    I suppose it can be considered as good CYA advice on their part, however impractical.
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