Wire selection

[caguy]

Please stop.

14 ga should be the smallest wire on any boat.

Why?

'Cuz even with LEDs as low power draws, 16 ga is smaller than dental floss, and creates exactly the issue you mention.

The slightly larger wire won't hurt either the weight of your boat or your wallet.

I'm glad you brought that up (I didn't want to high jack his thread so here's a new one.) I thought that is what I remembered hearing. When I went to check on the dates for those batteries I was looking at, I checked out the wire he had in stock. He had tons of tinned copper wire, high temperature Teflon coated in 16 gauge for $15 /Lb. I bought a large spool of 14 gauge a while back, bundled with two wires black and white. I used it on the Cat27 and the multi wire cable was really convenient, but a bit of a PITA trying to trace the wires when they are all the same color. I labeled the wires but reading my handwriting in cramped places and in contoured positions can be difficult. So I am looking for different colors, as I am getting ready to wire the Luger.
The question is what is the longest run that a 16 gauge wire can be used. I still have enough of the 14 gauge to wire the mast.

 

[Stu Jackson]

I had a friend who was an electrician. Only years later did he admit to being color blind!!!

Maybe that's why there was usually a lot of smoke when he made the final connections and turned stuff on.

Sure, there are multi cable sheathed assemblies that have different colored wires within. Usually DC is two wire - black and red or red and yellow these days. AC is black, white and green.

Pretty simple actually.

http://www.westmarine.com/ancor-marine--duplex-wire-by-the-foot--P009_274_003_002

The BIGGEST danger of using same colored wire in sheathes is that if you hook it up backwards you end up with reverse polarity and can pop fuses. If you are diligent, you can pre-check the connections first, of course, before you make the final "sparky" hookup. Only two wires? Only need to label ONE of them.

 

[caguy]

I went out and checked and the two wire cable I have is 12/2 and is black and white. I also found a spool of red striped black 14 gauge I have a couple of hundred feet of that.

 

[Donnie Griffin]

I used heavy duty Drop cord and it has worked out very well.

 

[Stu Jackson]

I went out and checked and the two wire cable I have is 12/2 and is black and white. I also found a spool of red striped black 14 gauge I have a couple of hundred feet of that.

Frank, you could get creative!

1. Use the white as DC hot and shrink wrap the ends of the white in red for (+) and the black is standard DC (-). You'll never see the white inside the sheath.

2. Make sure you label the heck out of everything you wire up, at BOTH ends. I've even been known to label wires mid-way along the run just for clarity.

As long as it is properly documented and reasonably color coded, it shouldn't be an issue. What we have all seen or at least heard of is electrical work done with no labeling or wiring diagrams and the subsequent owner trying to figure out what was done, and/or why.

 

[MrUnix]

The max length of that 16ga wire depends on how much current you will be sending through it. A quick google search will turn up plenty of information regarding wire sizing based on length of run and current capacity (BoatUS, IEEE, etc..). I take that info and like to go at least one size larger than what is specified; like Stu pointed out, going bigger isn't going to hurt (but going smaller could have significant consequences!).

On a more practical note, Hunter used 16ga wire for everything but the battery connection on the H23, even for the mast light wiring which is the longest run on the boat. And being built in the last century, low current LED lighting was not even a consideration back then! 16ga wire can handle 5 amps for up to 15 feet, so less than 1 amp (10 watt bulb draws about 0.8 amps) can stretch that out a bit more.

Cheers,
Brad

 

[caguy]

So 16 ga should work for most of the boat and 14 ga for the mast steaming and anchor light.
This opens up a lot of possibilities and color choices.

Stu, when I was 16 I made a dune buggy out of my dad's VW that I rolled. My Mom worked on the assembly line at Litton's Industries. She would bring home scrap Teflon wire from the space guidance systems they were building. They were all white I had to use some numbered wrap labels. It worked out pretty well. Without labeling it would have really been a nightmare, especially since the body was fiberglass and the ground lines all had to be run with the rest of the loom. Colored wires would have made it easier.

As always thanks for your help.

 

[tommays]

While i understand the need to do this on a budget

I have found that i can just buy the right (IMHP) red/yellow cable for .56 per foot and i did a very complete re-wire with the wire ID shrunk under the FTZ fittings for 200 dollars on a 29' boat

In any case the wire running from the panel was certainly the cheep part

Why guess when a simple app like DC WIRE SIZER will give you the facts with 1% , 3% or 10 % voltage drops and you have something safe and long lasting

 

[Stu Jackson]

So 16 ga should work for most of the boat and 14 ga for the mast steaming and anchor light.

Frank, I'd be VERY careful about even thinking about that statement, no less applying it.

16 ga wire doesn't carry much current. All of the wire sizing tables will tell you that. http://www.genuinedealz.com/voltage-drop-calculator

I wouldn't use it on my boat, ANYWHERE on the boat. While I haven't gone to LEDs, it may, just may work for them and them alone, but I wouldn't. I have not gone to LEDs, which seems to be all the rage these days, because my energy budget says it simply isn't "required". We have a trawler lamp, use a few lights at night in the V berth. I did switch out the galley light to LED when the old fluorescent failed. But even then, the difference between LEDs and regular lamps was only a few AH per day and the expense - only because of trying to save a few amps - didn't make any financial sense.

Know the old story about Mom saying to junior: "Turn out the lights whenever you leave a room?" If you're on a boat where having tons of lights on makes the crew feel better or is a way of life for some people, then LEDs make a lot of sense. Just not for us.

Now running lights? Makes the MOST sense to go LEDs.

I'd think really hard about 16 ga wire, and not do it.

 

[caguy]

I have mostly LEDs on the Catalina and will likely go with them on the Luger. The only ones that are not LEDs is the stern light and the Steaming/ Deck light and would use 12 gauge for them. I would also use 12 ga for the pumps and autopilot. I Currently (no pun intended) I have 12 ga going to the VHS Stereo and GPS/Sounder. From the 12 ga I used the wires and cords provided by the manufacturer (20 and 22 ga ) are spliced off from one circuit. On the Luger I would like to run separate circuits for each (as suggested in last issue of Good Old Boats) and use 16 ga. Since the Luger has a navstation where the panel will be located all of those runs should be pretty short.