Wiring Gauge and connectors

Backyard lighting plan with a total of 13 (for now) fixtures, needs to be a long daisy chain where transformer is at one end.

The total run from transformer to last light is about 160 feet. 40' along one fence, then 80' on back fence and 40' along another fence.

The fixtures will mostly be floods and spots for medium/large trees. 4 fixtures will be split from the transformer, so I actually will only have 9 lights along the 160 foot run.

I'm pretty sure that 12-gauge wiring will work, but for future proofing I'm okay with using 10-gauge as long as it doesn't come with too many negatives.

It looks like the direct burial connectors (with orange closures) only work on 12-gauge and smaller wiring.

For years with an older system I've just had 12-gauge laying on the ground along existing fence/flower beds, but I'd like to put the new wiring in ground (using a spade, tucking it about 2-3" into the soil. All soil is easy to work (was added 10 years ago to all beds)

Questions
- which connector to use for in ground 10-gauge (all will be 3-wire connections)
- any issues with transformer choice if using 10-gauge vs 12?
- any issues with burying 10-gauge?

Overall I'm just looking for a durable install for next 20 years. That's how long my last system (which was kind of junk) lasted but it required maintenance from yard crews who did damage. And kids ;-)

 

Hi, Rich. I will defer to Evan or someone else at Volt regarding run length advice. I suspect they may tell you that 12 gauge should suffice for the length of your runs but I can't tell you for sure. I see no reason that 10 gauge cable should present issues for any of the transformers Volt offers but obviously you'll have more wiggle room (literally) the more powerful your transformer is and the more wire taps there are. For the few relatively lengthy runs I have (which are only about 65 feet), I've encased the wire nut connections in a Zone Control Junction box (linked below). All my other connections are inside the regular Junction Control boxes with taps that accept up to 12 gauge cable. In terms of burial, as long as you're using direct burial cable, the gauge doesn't matter.

 

Thanks for the correction re the Pro Junction Hub, Evan. Because of their similarly colored orange levers, I mistakenly assumed the PJH were also limited to 12 gauge or thinner.

 

Thanks for the direction, I ended up going with the 10 gauge and will use https://www.voltlighting.com/outdoo...re-connector-black-blue/p/VAC-CON-61350#tab-1.

My install will have about 10 connections that are just three wires - the main trunk in, main trunk out, and a tee to a single fixture. It's all located in a yard where there ends up being a lot of walking through the flower beds due to winter (March) leaves falling. I am trying to avoid having anything that inhibits the leaf raker (me) and anything that can be damaged by tree guys who come about every two years.

Since my post I was able to look closer at the connections I made about 15 years ago, all were above ground but just used standard wire nuts with no weather sealing. Not a single one had failed. So I'm pretty confident waterproof wire nuts will be fine for the life of the system. And if one ever fails it will be pretty easy to tell which one given there is just one light per connection.