Hey, DIY-ers.
This is Bryce from Alarm Grid.
And today, we're going to be learning about which wire gauge
sizes to use with wiring an alarm sensor to your panel.
There are two wire gauge sizes that we recommend using.
It is the 22/4 and the 18/4.
Each can be used to wire up different sensors and power
up different devices.
But we recommend the 22/4 for wiring up
motion detectors, door contacts, window contacts, glass breaks,
while the 18/4 we recommend using for powering up devices
and wiring them to the transformer,
and also for smoke, fire, and carbon detectors.
You can buy these two products at your local hardware store
so that you can customize them to the size
that you need to fish them through the walls.
The reason that we recommend the 22/4 for the door contacts,
window contents, glass breaks, motion detectors,
is because they're a tad bit skinnier,
and it's easier to wire through the walls,
and wire through the house, and fish
through walls, to be able to make it to the panel.
The 18/4 is a little more sturdier.
As you see, it's a tad bit thicker, more insulated,
and better be used with powering devices, and also making
sure that those life safety devices are safe and won't
be damaged easily.
So you always want to make sure that the smoke, carbons,
and fires are the most secure, because those potentially
save your life at any moment.
When using wires, make sure that you grab a wire stripper.
Even though it looks like a wrench or that,
it's a wire stripper.
It has the different gauges on it,
so that it is able to strip the wires
and show the coppers that you'll be needing
to wire up the devices to.
So on this one, we have 30, 28, 26, 24, 22 gauge.
So we're able to strip this 22/4 wire easily.
You place the wire in the gauge, place it flat,
take it down, push down a little bit--
always make sure not to go down too hard,
or you're basically just cutting wire.
And it won't be good, and it will cause a short.
And then, you'll have to rewire everything later.
So you take it, turn just a tad, get it straight through,
and then push off.
Take your thumb and then push.
And as you see, the wire's completely shown.
Now that you have these exposed, you're
able to wire these up to the devices
so that they are able to be used at the panel,
and seen in the panel.
So if you have a motion detector, door contact, window
contact, you're able to get these now wired
up and back to the panel.
This will also power the devices so they're
able to be used and seen, as well.
Always make sure to check out how much power outage
that your panel can put out, so you're
seeing the amps and the voltages,
and making sure that you're not pulling too much power
and shorting the panel.
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If you need any help or support while wiring,
contact us at 888-818-7728.
Or you can send us an email to support@alarmgrid.com,
and we're able to send you wiring diagrams and FAQs
to give you a helping hand.
Bye, guys.