No, the resistance of the wire nut is not .0045 ohms. The resistance of the wire is .0049. The wire, with a wire nut inserted in the middle is .0045, so the the wire nut reduced resistance by .0004 ohms. Obviously that's not possible, the discrepancy is a minor difference in wire length.
Dumb test, it's far better to test a connector under load. To measure the voltage drop across a connection (or wire), put a volt meter across it and power up the circuit!
right....i assumed that was implied...
ive done the basic voltage test with the current setup already, which is how we got here... but more will be coming asap once i have more materials to compare....
What good is 12 awg going to do for you when the leads from the driver is 14 awg on the 320. My 240 leads are only 17 awg. Every connection you make is another possible electrical loss and failure point in your build.
And I just have to ask this, What the heck is all that plant material laying everywhere with a half dead plant sitting under your light ?
thanks for pointing out about the 14awg lead.....i hadnt looked into that so far, but im not sure it will make any diff or not...
the potential reason to use 12 wire, would be....not to push more current thru, but to minimize resistance/voltage drop over a 15-20ft distance....from between the "remote mounted driver" to the LED array....once that part comes into play....
part of the dilemma with this stage, is either way it will face a resistance but which path to minimize is still unclear....
more wire = more resistance
more connections= more resistance
i sat here looking at a block connector bar for a while.....then i thought, hey it would be even better if the terminals were farther apart lol....perhaps even if each terminal outlets were connected and set to custom distances from each other......which of course is what i have done essentially.....
atm, the question in my head is still the same....which is the most efficient improve path?......for example, keeping it clean, heres a few possibilities im pondering on....
#1. i could run the long run from the remote mounted driver with the 12 or 14 wire>> to a small terminal block mounted to the light which branches to 2-3 leads...from there 12 or 14 wire could take each of those to a section of the strips, which would be connected by push in connects larger gauge and then of course with the 18 ran from push in connects to the strips...so in this case instead of 23 in a sketchy 16awg "line", 7-8 each from the 3 shorter larger gauge lines.....still basically parallel tho.......to me the question there is how much is needed....2 leads, 3 leads? what size wire etc....idk if anyone can tell me that either, but that is my thoughts so far...
#2. mount one huge terminal block, and run long 18 wire runs to every strip from there
#3. mount a few terminal blocks, to allow for shorter 18awg runs....rest same idea tho
#4. exactly like it is now, with better wire
i have to admit i am leaning toward the first one so far, but i really need to do tests and i dont even have a 20amp multimeter atm! so pretty limited.....its all on the way tho....
the room?? lol....i must argue that plant is half alive! how many lbs i can haz??
lol......gotta keep a sense of humor in life....its very important even on the internet ;P
this room hasnt really been used for a couple years but i am reviving it as we go....you will see cleaning up and improves lol...atm that is just a chemdog #3 i got on the bench so there can be something photosynthesizing some photons....it will eventually be recloned and killed so im only focus to keep it alive atm...
i want to point out that i would not be able to bloom in here in a summer enviro without a tech like this, so all your inputs can really help to make a good diff here......
im not fully stoked on a braggadocios styling, i rather to keep a focus to the science and projects...but at least i will mention i am beyond the hobby realm for some good bit of time... i should be able to give this a good solid test for real....pretty cool but i can admit i feel more like a beginner than i have for a long time lol. fun stuff..
planning to run a small variety of lines to see how diff ones react in this new setup....including some light sensitive um...probly just the chemdog 4 and D....but there will be kush and some fpog, couple light lovers as well....chomping the bit pretty hard lol, but its a good time to go over these numbers and the build logics.
peace!
Iggy