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britinusa
Web Editor

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USA
5404 Posts

Initially Posted - 04/04/2008 : 20:35:27

I purchased 25' of 16swg twin marine electical wire from
http://genuinedealz.com/

A fraction of the price I found elsewhere. 25' of cable cost <$14 including s&h and arrived in 3 days by USPS.

Not a huge selection of products, but prices are very competitive.

Paul

Joint Decision. (Sold)
PO C250WB 2005 Sail # 841.

Moved up to C34 Eximius

Updated August 2015

Edited by - on

SEAN
Admiral

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USA
772 Posts

Response Posted - 04/06/2008 : 09:01:25

cool site thanks !

I checked some 16/2 I just bought from west marine , is more than 1/2 less

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Tradewind
Admiral

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USA
531 Posts

Response Posted - 04/06/2008 : 10:11:15

I'll have to check that out, couldn't believe the price of a 100' roll of 14/2 marine wire.

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Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
5371 Posts

Response Posted - 04/06/2008 : 11:03:24

Paul -
This looks like a good website, many thanks.

Just a question:
My brother installs home theaters and for speaker wire, he installs two or four conductor stranded 14AWG wire. Each individual wire is insulated in vinyl (white, black, red, blue) and there is a nylon strand inside the bundle to prevent stretch/fatigue. The bundle is wrapped in mylar and the outer jacket is vinyl. 2 wire diameter is about 5/8 inches and 4 wire is about 7/8 inch.

It's reasonably flexible, can be pulled through small openings easily, takes small radius of curvature bends and seems pretty rugged. The individual strands of each wire are of a small guage, so the wires handle well, connect well, crimp well and can be tinned and soldered easily. No problem that I can tell with metal fatigue.

Of course, I completed some basic boat wiring jobs last year using THHN stranded 14 AWG wire (twisted together, but not bundled), <i>THEN</i> I talked to my brother about trying out this wire. He said he charges his customers quite a bit per foot installed, but he buys it relatively cheaply.

Before I do any major rewiring with this kind of cable, has anybody used it on their boats?

The only downside I could see would be abrasion and chafe resistance, especially where a sharp fibreglass edge may encounter the outer insulation and inevitable engine vibrations occur. But, that's why there's duct tape.

In standard marine cable, is the outer jacket particularly abrasion resistant? Is there anything particular about the formulation of the copper or the fineness of the strands that prevents matal fatigue?

I found the hardness of THHN reasonably assuring for this reason.

Comments?

Edited by - on

britinusa
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5404 Posts

Response Posted - 04/06/2008 : 11:18:59

Off all the authorative requirements for boat cabling is the stranded tinned format: Stranded tends to make it pliable and tinning really does reduce corrosion (I have corroded wire to prove it!)
The strain relief strands are preferred when the cable it to be 'hung' where it could stretch over time or stretch when being pulled. But if it's being supported along it's length and there are no restrictions when pulling the cable during installation, then I would not be bothered by the lack of internal strain relief.
As far as abrasion resistance: I think we have to make every effort to ensure the cable will not directly interface with sharp corners, jagged edges etc. Ideally the cable will be restrained at short intervals and any 'snags' on the route would be mititgated (a simple piece of duct tape over a rough surface will most likely prevent abrasion, but I use the fuzzy side of 2" self adheasive velcro to smooth out areas of concern.)

However, I bow to Don Casey in these matters, his book really does a great job of describing boat electrics.

Paul

Edited by - on

Gloss
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1916 Posts

Response Posted - 04/06/2008 : 20:22:41

Marine cable, in addition to being tinned, and of fine strands, also has an oil resistant outer jacket.

My two cents worth.

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ilnadi
Captain

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452 Posts

Response Posted - 04/08/2008 : 12:31:59

Unless you have small places/right angles and single wires to pull through, I like to bundle then pull. I even put any [url="http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/producte/10001/-1/10001/165300/377%20710/0/loom/Primary%20Search/mode%20matchallpartial/0/0?N=377%20710&Ne=0&Ntt=loom&Ntk=Primary%20Search&Ntx=mode%20matchallpartial&Nao=0&Ns=0&keyword=loom&isLTokenURL=true&storeNum=9&subdeptNum=null&classNum=0"]loom[/url] on before I pull.
Advantages: <ul><li>the bundle has a minimum radius, so it will make smooth curves rather than kinking at the pressure point</li><li>it is pretty much impossible to get a loom on once cables are in place</li><li>Makes it less critical to support wires in unreachable places</li></ul>
Disadvantages: <ul><li>hard to do small places</li><li>bundle and loom need te be packaged ahead of time and tie-wraps make it hard to pull through so you have to use tape or shrink wrap.</li><li>Everything needs to be measured and cut ahead of time</li><li>Of course only works if you have multiple cables. OTOH, I have run even single cables when I could not see or did not like where the cable was going to lay.</li></ul>

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