Electronic – Cable rating – What is the max amp for a 1.5-1.75mm cable

mainspower

I have a new hob (magnetic induction plate). It requires 7200W/32A.
The power grid's voltage is 230V (Europe).

I have already installed a thick cable and I want to use it (it would be difficult to change it). But I don't know its diameter (and at the moment no tools to measure it) but it seems to be about 1.5mm or rather 1.75mm diameter. The cable is about 3meter long and it says:

CableTeam    VDE    HAR    HD 5VV-F    301.5

What is the max amp for this cable?

I will run this cable in the back of the over. There is a 6-9 cm space between the oven and the wall. And the oven has its own cooler. The temperature in the back of the oven stays relatively low (about room temp).

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Best Answer

To give you some reference, here in the US #10 cable is usually allowed to carry up to 15-30 A use in homes. A solid #10 cable is 2.59 mm in diameter. Your cable looks to be around 2 mm or maybe a bit less, which is close to #12 (2.05 mm diameter).

Keep in mind that the current rating of a cable is someone's judgement call. For example, the same #10 cable is allowed over 50 A in "chassis wiring". This is all about the probability of the cable getting hot enough to ignite something, and the consequences of that. Inside a metal chassis, there is much less of a safety issue due to a hot cable than when it runs against dry wooden supports inside walls in a house.

You can certainly get 32 A thru the cable you show. There are then two things you have to decide:

  1. Is the voltage drop tolerable for your application?

  2. Is the resulting cable temperature still safe in your application?

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