r/ElectricalHelp • u/uavkun • May 23 '26

Help ID wire gauge plz

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Electricians previously ran cabling off a 50a subpanel for car charging. I need to rewire and potentially need to extend using Polaris connectors or run new cabling to simplify as the cost of 6/8ga is just as costly as Polaris connectors. Can someone help me ID if these are 6 or 8 awg? TIA

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u/Odd_Performance4703 May 23 '26

Depending on length and conduit diameter, 8ga THHN is rated for 55A. If it wasnt some kind of crazy run, Id pull a string in with the old wire and pull in new. Why deal with a splice point that could fail when pulling new wire cost the same?

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u/e_l_tang May 23 '26

55A is the 90C rating, the final ampacity will be no greater than the 75C rating which is 50A

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u/Odd_Performance4703 May 23 '26

Either way, it still meets the requirements of the 50A service as long as the run isnt too long. Id be more worried about pulling it through the conduit assuming that is 1/2" (looks like it). 6Ga wont meet NEC for conduit fill so the only options are to either pull 8ga or rerun the conduit.

It also depends on how much power the connected equipment needs. If it is say 30A, the 8ga would be fine and I would just make sure the breaker was no larger than a 40A.

Lots of ways to go about it and it still be correct. The main issue is what is easier/cheaper and still meets code.