different gauge wire?

[mariannf]

Hi there,
Question: I am installing two loads: a fantastic vent fan and the wire gauge is 16, and an overhead light with a wire gauge of 20. I had though to wire from the fuse box and negative bus bar to the loads using 14 gauge on account of the distance (about 15 feet and amperage (each load no more than 4 amps). can I simply join the 14 gauge wire to the wires that are already installed in each piece?

many thanks for the help!

[H.A.]

Thps.

[mariannf]

thanks HA i have a question posted below.

[mariannf]

The easy answer is yes, Just splice your two appliances to your 14awg supply conductors
If paranoid of a problem with that luminaire & its 20awg tap conductor, you might fuse that circuit to about 10amps.

Thanks H.A. i want to make sure i understand. I can join a 20awg wire to a 14awg wire? I'm not sure if that is what you meant since I am unfamiliar with the vocabulary of electrical work (i.e. what you meant by supply conductors). what is the best way of doing this in your opinion?
appreciate it!

[H.A.]

Inid.

[noseoil]

Fuses are there to protect the wires, not the device, typically. Take a look at your wire size chart & decide how much of a "load" will be on the wire, then fuse the wire to accommodate the load it will carry. Typically, I under-size the fuse so the wire can't heat up & melt if there's a problem on the working end of things.

The wires used for a fan, etc. tend to look pretty small when you see them, so using a larger feed wire is a good idea for voltage drop. Ideally, I guess we could look for wires which get progressively smaller as they run to carry the load, but that's getting a bit anal, even for me!

[mariannf]

Perfect got it! Thanks HA and Noseoil.