Wire Gauge

[MatchHead]

Hi all,

Will the gauge of the power wire to the coil affect performance?

 

[drmarble]

Yes. A bigger wire will have less power loss in the wire and thus more power for the coil.
Shorter and fatter is better for the power wires.

 

[MatchHead]

Well that's funny, cuz I'm seeing just the opposite (that's why I asked). I have two identical boxes, except one has a smaller power wire than the other. And the smaller wire unit is performing better. But now it occurs to me that maybe its the wire composition. Say aluminum versus copper?

 

[dc99]

I wouldn't consider aluminum. It oxidizes almost as fast as you can clean it. Size of the wire can become a problem for many reasons. Most 510s are made to work with 14-16ga so why try anything larger. The runs are so short theres no reason.

 

[MatchHead]

Holy crap, I found it.

The ground wire was loose. Apparently I forgot to tighten it during assembly.