Hello,

I've got a ring doorbell that I've been running off the battery for a couple years now, in part because I never found the time to hook it up properly to the wiring that was in place, but also because the original wiring is just dead (the doorbell never worked when we moved in). I'm trying to fix that now.

The problem is, a friend of mine who is a certified electrician recommended 18/2 wires to run to the doorbell, but whoever installed the original doorbell used a smaller gauge -- I'm thinking 20-4 AWG? Will using this original wiring suffice or will I risk burning the wire out? I'd really rather not have to re-run the wire if possible. Is doubling up the wires safe if a single one can't handle the load? This friend of mine said I should be okay, but he seemed somewhat apprehensive at saying so.

To test it, I was able to power the ring just fine off a transformer I bought that provides 16 volt, 10VA through that wire (the transformer can provide 8 volts and 24 volts too, but 16 seems to work).

Anyway, long story made short, can I just use the original wiring? I want to do things the right way, but geesh -- pulling new wire through all of this will be a pain.

Here are some pictures of the wiring and the wire itself. Thanks in advance.

 

That is D station quad telephone wire. That may be even smaller..... like #22 or #24 awg. Not a problem. Will still work ok. I'd recommend doubling up the wires. Connect the red and yellow together and the green and black together. Doubling them will increase the current capability of the cable. That is low voltage there. No issues with a fire.

 

Depends on length of the run and type of chime unit. A mechanical chime would draw more amps than an electronic chime. (Not enough current to burn anything.)

Long distances from chime to transformer to door will increase voltage drop that may in turn cause the doorbell system to not work.

 

 

The cable you have in place will work fine.

 

Thanks so much for your expertise! Cheers and have a good evening.