In General, What Is the Highest Voltage Permitted for Armored Cable?

About Armored Cable

• There are several types of armored cable; it can be steel- or aluminum-coated. Aluminum armored cable is generally used for single-core cabling for lower voltage power. Steel armored cable is used for 3- or 4-core cabling, as it's stronger and more suited to protect high voltage cable. Armored cables not only have to withstand external damage, but also must be water and heat resistant.

Wire Gauges

• The United States uses a numerical gauging system for all wires and cables known as the American Wire Gauge (AWG). The lower the number, the thicker and stronger the cable. For example, AWG 16 is used for small low voltage wiring, such as for table lamps in your home, whereas AWG 0 is heavy duty cabling suitable for external use and high voltage. Armored cabling is usually a lower gauge number, because generally it is used to carry higher voltage.

Voltage

• The voltage is the pressure that is forced through the cable while the amperes are the amount of current that is drawn through the cable. Some armored cable is designed to carry a regular home electricity supply of 120 volts and up to about 30 amperes. However, large core cabling is designed to carry voltage well in excess of 10,000 volts and substantial amperes. The maximum rating is printed all along the cable and must never be exceeded, as it can result in the cable melting and catching fire.

Limits

• While each AWG gauge has a maximum voltage and amperes it can carry safely, there isn't any highest voltage permitted for armored cable. Armored cable can be designed to carry almost any voltage. If a higher voltage cable is required for a particular project and isn't readily available, then it can be manufactured to order. However, as far as the AWG system works. the thickest cable is size 0000 and can carry many thousands of volts, but it is the amperes that determine how thick a cable needs to be.