Ceiling lamp, 14 gauge, not 18 gauge

Question

I've Googled this very hard, and I'm not coming up with any good answers. This question seems very simple: Are there ceiling lights/lamps in the market that have a 14-gauge wire for the black/white/ground wires that supply it?

I find the frayed, cheap 18-gauge wires that seem to dominate the market to be difficult to work with. They fall out of the nuts when you try to jam them into the electrical boxes. I would gladly pay more money for a fixture that has 14-gauge wires.

If not, is there an adapter that I can put the 18-gauge black/white/ground into, and then shove in the 14- or 12-gauge supply/return wires?

This may seem like a noob question, but Google isn't giving me any quality hits (I'm just getting stuff like "What Gauge Wire Should I Use for Lights and Outlets?").

Answer 1

From your profile, you appear to be in the US.

The applicable US standard UL 1598 (you can consult the standard yourself, however it's a bit opaque and it costs money to get it) states a minimum conductor gauge of 18 AWG. The same minimum standard applies in Canada. Subject to actual fixture requirements, of course.

UL approved fixtures for Mexico, however, are required to have 16 AWG (1.307 mm^2) wires, so maybe you could find some made for that market.

Also lamps made where the power may flow through to other lamps have heavier requirements 14 or 12 AWG.

Or just find a better wire nut and/or solder the wires before sticking the wire nut on. Solid conductors to thin stranded tends to be a bit dodgy in an all-plastic wire nut.