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I have used a 1mm² wire to power my refrigerator and my ro water purifier? My electrician had set that up and he told me that he is using a 1.5mm² wire! so is 1mm² wire ok to power up my refrigerator and water purifier? Any harm? please advice. Many thanks in advance

Dragon
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    What do all the amounts of tables you can find on the interwebs say? And this is a comment because I cannot find my mindreading hat that would tell me how much amps your appliances draw... – PlasmaHH Sep 14 '15 at 18:40
  • My refrigerator say max 1.1A and idk about my water purifier! Is there not something like the max load the wire can handle before the insulation starts melting and burning? –  Sep 14 '15 at 18:44
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    Here's a chart: http://s.eeweb.com/members/cody_miller/answers/1319212670-cable-current-temp-chart.pdf It tells you how hot a wire with a certain cross section will be when conducting a certain current. Unfortunately you don't specify how much current your devices will draw. –  Sep 14 '15 at 18:57
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    Why are you not using gauges and amperage for your comparison/assessment? For instance, I know offhand that 12 ga wire is suitable for 20 amp applications, 14ga for 15 amps, etc. – BrownRedHawk Sep 14 '15 at 19:31
  • Thank you all! @ brown My compressor says 11 amps! So, I don't think it's cool for me to use a 1mm² wire! Isn't it? Should I go for a 1.5mm² wire or 2.5mm²? – Dragon Sep 14 '15 at 19:46
  • I guess an even bigger question is, is this going to be a brand new circuit from your electrical panel, or are you splicing, joining to an existing circuit, etc? – BrownRedHawk Sep 14 '15 at 19:55
  • @BrownRedHawk Now its a part of the house wiring running over 3-4 foot long! It is connected to a 2.5 mm² cable on one side and to a socket on the other side! – Dragon Sep 15 '15 at 00:29
  • Then I would use at least 2.5mm wire, since going any thicker won't make a difference, compared to what would be thinner wiring throughout the house. – BrownRedHawk Sep 15 '15 at 11:33
  • "Why are you not using gauges and amperage" -- Most likely eplanation would be that he lives in a place that doesn't work to american standards. – Peter Green Dec 08 '15 at 13:48

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Disclaimer: Consult local electrical code, and/or utilize a licensed and experienced electrician.

Typically there are code restrictions for what kind of supply wire should be present for different installations. This is usually a function of the Amperage of the system, not the device plugged in. For instance, a 20 amp service at 120 v in the US is typically required to be wired in 12 GA solid copper (or 3.31mm2).

Since this amperage is the primary concern, I would stick to anything larger than or equal to at least the equivalent of 14ga wire. However to minimize things like dimmer of other related circuits, I would stick to 12Ga wire where possible.

Wire size conversions - http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/awg-wire-gauge-d_731.html

BrownRedHawk
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    I think you're slightly backwards. The wire is sized to the load, and the breaker is sized to the wire. – Tester101 Sep 14 '15 at 22:16
  • @tester this is a good clarification. My explanation was more visual/functional than from the code's logic, but at the end of the day they should be matched. – BrownRedHawk Sep 14 '15 at 23:43