What wire gauge for 5E3 build?

[pnak]

I'm about to start a 5E3 build and im gathering parts and supplies.

The one thing I'm not sure of is the wire gauge. Would 20 gauge wire through out the circuit be to small or should I go 18.

Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated.

[black_labb]

I'm about to start a 5E3 build and im gathering parts and supplies.

The one thing I'm not sure of is the wire gauge. Would 20 gauge wire through out the circuit be to small or should I go 18.

Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated.

should be fine for most of it, use 18 or so for the heaters as they run a higher current.

[bob p]

i would be comfortable using 22 ga hook-up wire for everything but the heaters, and maybe the speaker outputs if you decided to wire-up any extra speaker jacks. if you've already got 20 gauge hookup wire it would be fine for the heaters on your 9-pin preamp tubes. for the 6V6 it would be a good idea to use bigger wire. 18 ga would certainly be sufficient.

in the big scheme of things, it depends on current and wire length. if your wire length is short, gauge becomes less important. keeping it all in perspective, you don't need heater wires that are any bigger than the heater wires that come off of your PT.

lots of people will take the heater wires from the PT and go directly to one of the 6V6 with them, and then daisy chain everything else from there. IMO you only really need the heavier wire for the first jump from 6V6 to 6V6.

[Bruce / Mission Amps]

I'm about to start a 5E3 build and im gathering parts and supplies.

The one thing I'm not sure of is the wire gauge. Would 20 gauge wire through out the circuit be to small or should I go 18.

Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated.

bob P has it.
22g wire is fine for everything except the filament leads from the power transformer to the first and second power tube socket... you can even use 22g wire for the preamp tubes from that point on.
Unless you have some very high end preamp tube sockets with huge holes in the lugs, you'll beat yourself up for no reason trying to use 18g wire for those.

[keysersoze808]

mine using 22g for the circuits and 20g for heaters..works perfectly!!

[Chuck H]

What they said.

And...

Most of the hookup wire being sold anymore only has a 300V insulation rating. Make sure you use 600V rated insulation hookup wire for high volyage leads. Esp. if you plan to tuck leads close to the chassis or bundle and zip tie leads in the power supply.

Chuck