2 HP Motor Cable Size in mm: 220 V, by Run Length

2 HP motor cable size, by run length

A 2 HP single-phase motor at 11 A needs 2.5 mm² copper on any run up to 56 m, 4 mm² from there to 91 m, 6 mm² to 137 m and 10 mm² to 227 m — each figure being the length at which voltage drop reaches 5% of a 220 V supply, with the circuit on a 20 A type C MCB and the cable clipped direct at 30°C. Every one of those sizes carries far more current than 11 A. What runs out first is volts, not amps.

Volts lost in the cable at 11 A on a 220 V single-phase supply. Figure = mV/A/m × 11 A × run ÷ 1000; the budget is 5% of 220 V, which is 11 V. Run is one way, along the route the cable takes. Copper, PVC; voltage drop and current capacity per BS 7671, reference method C (clipped direct), 30°C ambient; conductor data per IEC 60228. Verify sizing with a licensed electrician for your installation.
Total run	Size	Trade code	Volts lost	Drop
10 m	2.5 mm²	7/.029	1.98 V	0.9%
25 m	2.5 mm²	7/.029	4.95 V	2.3%
50 m	2.5 mm²	7/.029	9.90 V	4.5%
75 m	4 mm²	7/.036	9.08 V	4.1%
100 m	6 mm²	7/.044	8.03 V	3.7%
150 m	10 mm²	7/.052	7.26 V	3.3%
200 m	10 mm²	7/.052	9.68 V	4.4%

Check one row and the whole table opens up. At 75 m the 2.5 mm² that gets sold for a 2 HP pump loses 18 mV/A/m × 11 A × 75 m ÷ 1000 = 14.85 V, which is 6.8% of 220 V and outside the budget. The 4 mm² beside it loses 11 × 11 × 75 ÷ 1000 = 9.08 V, or 4.1%, and passes. One size up buys the motor its volts back. Other horsepowers sit on the submersible pump cable size chart.

Where the 11 amps comes from, and when to ignore it

Two horsepower is 1,492 W of shaft output, not of input. A single-phase motor has to be fed more than it delivers, and the difference shows up on the supply as current, which is why a 2 HP pump on 220 V typically carries a full-load current near 11 A on its plate rather than the 6.8 A that dividing 1,492 by 220 suggests. Take 11 A as the working figure only until you can read the real one.

The plate is bolted to the motor and carries the number that matters. Look for the full-load current, printed as FLC or simply A, and put that in the formula in place of 11. A 2 HP pump built for high head can sit a full amp or more above the typical figure, and on a 90 m run one amp is enough to push the answer up a size. If the plate says three phase, stop here: that is a different calculation, and it is worked through on 3 HP motor cable size.

A worked route, start to finish. A 2 HP borehole pump sits at 120 ft, the wellhead is 60 ft from the starter panel, and the panel is 30 ft from the board. That is 210 ft, and 210 × 0.3048 = 64 m. On 2.5 mm²: 18 × 11 × 64 ÷ 1000 = 12.67 V, a 5.8% drop, over budget. On 4 mm²: 11 × 11 × 64 ÷ 1000 = 7.74 V, a 3.5% drop, comfortable. Buy 4 mm² for the whole 64 m, not 2.5 mm² for the part you can see.

2 HP tubewell motor ka wire — dukaan par kya maangna hai

Shops in Pakistan answer in strand codes, not in mm². The codes are imperial, so the area they multiply out to does not land exactly on the metric size they are sold against. Both names are on the same drum.

Strand code to metric size for a 2 HP pump circuit. Actual area is the imperial code multiplied out; sold-as is the IEC 60228 nominal size it is supplied against. Longest run is one way at 11 A on a 5% budget of 220 V, derived as 11,000 mV ÷ (mV/A/m × 11 A). Current capacity is two loaded conductors, BS 7671 reference method C, 30°C, copper, PVC. Verify sizing with a licensed electrician for your installation.
Ask for	Actual area	Sold as	Capacity	Longest run at 2 HP
7/.029	3.0 mm²	2.5–3 mm²	27 A	56 m
7/.036	4.6 mm²	4 mm²	36 A	91 m
7/.044	6.9 mm²	6–7 mm²	46 A	137 m
7/.052	9.6 mm²	10 mm²	63 A	227 m

3/.029 is missing from that list on purpose. It is sold as 1.5 mm² and rated 19.5 A, which is under the 20 A breaker this circuit wants, so it has no place here at any length. On a 1 HP motor it does — see 1 HP motor wire size in mm.

Urdu mein: 2 HP motor 220 volt par takreeban 11 amp leti hai. Kul lambai 56 meter tak ho to 7/.029 kaafi hai; 91 meter tak 7/.036; aur 137 meter tak 7/.044. Lambai poori naapein — boring ki gehrai, phir panel tak, phir board tak.

Breaker, starter and the third core

20 A type C MCB, on a circuit of its own. It clears the 11 A running current with room for the direct-on-line start, and a type C curve rides that surge where a type B trips on it. Every size in the tables above is rated above 20 A, so the cable is protected by its own breaker.
The breaker is not the motor's protection. An MCB protects the cable. The winding is protected by the overload relay in the starter, set to the full-load current on the plate. On a pump, fit dry-run protection as well — running dry kills more motors than bad cable does.
Three cores, not two. Live, neutral and an earth of the same size, bonded to the pump body and to the delivery pipe. A motor standing in a wet pit or feeding a tubewell head is the one appliance where the earth is doing real work every day.
Derate before you commit. The capacities above are clipped direct at 30°C. Buried, bunched or in conduit through a Lahore summer they come down; take the correction factors for your method out of BS 7671 and go one size up if the margin over the breaker closes.

Voltage drop, not current capacity, decides the size on a 2 HP pump run — check your own metres with the voltage drop calculator before you buy. If the pump hangs in a borehole, the submerged length must be drop cable with an immersion rating stated by its maker; ordinary flexible cable is for the dry side only. Have a licensed electrician confirm the size, the breaker and the earthing for your installation, or start with the cable size calculator.

The cable for this job

Flexible cable with the black outer sheath stripped back, showing a black and a red insulated core and the fine copper strands inside each

4MM² · CLASS 5 FLEX · CU · 7/.036

4mm Flexible Copper Cable

The size a 2 HP pump needs once the total run passes 56 m, and it holds to 91 m. Class 5 flexible copper, PVC insulated and sheathed, drawn on the Pilone line in Lahore. Rated 36 A on two loaded conductors clipped direct at 30°C, 11 mV/A/m.

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Copper cable is priced off the day's copper rate, so we quote per metre and per coil on WhatsApp. Send the total metres and your city.

Take three cores so the earth matches: 4mm 3 core flexible cable for the pump tail, or 4mm 3 core standard cable for a fixed run in conduit. Short runs under 56 m sit on 2.5mm 3 core flexible cable; past 91 m step up to 6mm 3 core flexible cable.

Frequently asked

2 HP tubewell motor ka wire kitna hona chahiye?

Lambai par depend karta hai. 2 HP motor 220 volt par takreeban 11 amp leti hai: 56 meter tak 2.5 mm² (7/.029), 91 meter tak 4 mm² (7/.036), aur 137 meter tak 6 mm² (7/.044). Kul lambai naapein — boring ki gehrai, phir panel, phir board.

Is 4mm cable enough for a 2 HP motor?

Up to 91 m of total run, yes. 4 mm² carries 36 A against an 11 A load, and it holds voltage drop inside 5% of 220 V out to 91 m. Past 91 m it does not, and the next size is 6 mm², good to 137 m. On a short run under 56 m, 2.5 mm² does the same job for less copper.

What MCB size for a 2 HP motor?

20 A, type C, on a dedicated way. It sits above the 11 A running current with headroom for the direct-on-line start. Because the cable must be rated above the breaker that protects it, 1.5 mm² at 19.5 A is ruled out and 2.5 mm² at 27 A becomes the smallest size on this circuit whatever the length.

2 HP motor cable price per metre in Pakistan?

Copper cable is priced off the day's copper rate, so any figure published here would be wrong next month. We quote per metre and per coil on WhatsApp instead. Send the size, the total metres and your city: Punjab in 1–2 days, rest of Pakistan in 2–4. Ranges by size sit on the price list.

Can I use 2.5mm for a 2 HP submersible pump at 100 metres?

No. At 100 m the loss on 2.5 mm² is 18 × 11 × 100 ÷ 1000 = 19.8 V, which is 9% of 220 V and far outside the 5% budget. The motor would start hard and run hot. At 100 m total the size is 6 mm², which loses 8.03 V, or 3.7%.

Does a three-phase 2 HP motor need the same cable?

No, it needs less. A 400 V three-phase supply gives a 20 V drop budget instead of 11 V and draws under half the current for the same output, so the same run takes a smaller conductor. The three-phase working for larger pumps is on the 3 HP and 5 HP guides.

Send the run length, get the size and the rate

We draw the copper in Lahore and sell it at the day's rate — no dealer margin. Tell us the nameplate current, the total metres and your city, and one message comes back with both numbers: Punjab in 1–2 days, rest of Pakistan in 2–4.

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