If you’re adding an outlet, you need to use wire the same gauge as the existing wiring. How do you tell if your old wiring is 12-gauge or 14-gauge? Here’s a simple visual. Twelve gauge is ...

Most often, the gauge will be printed on the wire’s insulation. 12-gauge and 14-gauge wires are very common, and a cool trick to identify them is to remember that 12-gauge wires are about the ...

For example, the diameter of an 18 gauge wire is 1.02mm, while the smaller number 12 gauge is 2.05mm, more than twice the diameter. This relationship makes more sense if you think of how many ...