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Wire Connections – 12 Gauge, 20 Gauge, 22 Gauge
Gary models in HO and posted this question:
“I will have drops 20 gauge to 22 gauge wires and will run a 12g buss. I presume I can’t use suitcase connectors to connect the 20g or 22g to a 12g wire. However, I can only locate yellow t taps for 12g which need a 10g or 12g connecting wire on a spade. Can I use yellow t taps for 12g with 20g or 22g wire on the spade? I hope this doesn’t sound too confusing because I am starting to get confused myself now? HA! HA!”
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5 Responses to Wire Connections – 12 Gauge, 20 Gauge, 22 Gauge
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I’m not an expert, but 12 AWG is awfully large. 14 should be enough. Now, as to connectors. I have used WAGO and the ones I bought accepted 28 through 12. So, check out there web site on Amazon.
I got the NCE wiring kit and that has 22 AWG for the droppers and 14 AWG for the bus. Their instructions talk about the “blue (or yellow) bus tap connector providing a female socket for the red connector of the power drop. Blue taps are provided for 14-16 AWG bus wires to
used with up to 5 Amp DCC systems, Yellow taps are for use high powered DCC
systems of 8-10 Amps with 10-12AWG main bus wiring.” So I think the answer to your question is yes.
Don’t be afraid of 12 gauge if that’s what you’ve got. Personally I’d solder the droppers to the bus rather than rely on proprietary fixtures.
I moved away from suitcase connectors a few years ago. Instead I use Wago Lever Nuts. They can handle anything from 12-28 AWG wire. They are a terminal connector that comes in various sizes. They are rated for house wiring so are a bit of overkill for model railroads but the ease of use and convenience certainly is a big plus.
One sure fire way is to use standard US terminal strips with strip connectors (often included with the terminal). Generally they’ll take 12 and higher # gauges.
You can continue the buss directly across from the incoming buss wires and use the connectors to feed the buss wire(s) to a number of small feeder wires.
Terminal strips up to 24+ screws, 8 (16 screws) being typical. They don’t cut into the wires like suitcase terminals and are much easier to rewire & reuse.