Hi all.
I'm looking to renew the wiring on the 36'er. I'm trying to find a good supplier for marine-grade cables, heat shrink, terminals etc. Has anyone had any good or bad experiences to pass on?
The highest load on the boat (engine apart) is the water heater which will need 16mm2/6AWG - is there any reason to go smaller? Weight isn't really an issue and there seems to be little reason to go smaller. I'm just thinking of buying a couple of 100m rolls and using labels on each wire rather than trying to colour-code the whole boat to identify each circuit, particularly since I can draw up a plan that physically separates the cable runs to make IDing easier if necessary.
Thanks for any advice.
I work at ideal/rexel electrical, I stock and sell marine twin in three sizes for the 12/24v circuits, for 240v circuits I sell H07 rubber flex in different sizes and for battery and windlass I sell the welding flex which is a flexible sdi we keep up to 95mm, it's not tinned like the other two.
Most would go smaller sizes where they can because of weight, space and cost, wiring the whole boat in 16mm will cost a lot more than using the smaller sizes where you can
According to my theory with wiring its better to go one step higher in rating and make sure the fuse for the given cable is well below the cables current rating. And at the current source (battery) end. Obviously to make sure the fuse blows instead of the wiring burning. In my day job we used Jaycar wire from time to time but frequently found it wasn't made to any standard or met any safety approvals so shy away from it now. If you buy 5A rated cable you want to know it really is. I think a known brand with appropriate approvals for the job is the way to go.
Select to expand quotecammd said..
I work at ideal/rexel electrical, I stock and sell marine twin in three sizes for the 12/24v circuits, for 240v circuits I sell H07 rubber flex in different sizes and for battery and windlass I sell the welding flex which is a flexible sdi we keep up to 95mm, it's not tinned like the other two.
Most would go smaller sizes where they can because of weight, space and cost, wiring the whole boat in 16mm will cost a lot more than using the smaller sizes where you can
This would be my recommendation. Rexel, MMEM or one of the other electrical wholesalers would be my go-to. If you're going to be spending more than a few hundred dollars, if you can it's worth settting up an account (even a no credit account) for the pricing. It's often a big difference between cash sale prices and trade account pricing.
Or you could sweettalk Cammd :)
Thanks all.
I couldnt't find everything in one place so now I've ordered off a bunch of different people.
