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Old 03-04-2016, 06:43   #31
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Re: Where to buy marine wire?

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Originally Posted by thinwater View Post
Not that I don't like tinned wire, but I'm in the process of installing AC and can't help but notice that...
  1. The wire from the water pump is not tinned.
  2. The wiring around and in the unit is not tinned.
  3. Most of my engine wiring is not tinned.
  4. My panel wire is not tinned.
  5. The USCG approves non-tinned wire.
And does it matter for most of this? Even my bilges are dusty dry and even carbon steel doesn't rust in the cabin. IF there was that much moisture, wouldn't the upholstery be a mold factory?


Just sayin', it feels a little silly being obsessive about tin and sealed crimps inside a box with exposed electronics. Really silly.

Up the mast and in wet bilges, a whole different story. I've dealt with blackened wire plenty of times.

My Island Packet turns 30 next year, and near as I can tell Island Packet did not use tinned wire when she was built, yet here we are 30 yrs later, and the wiring is in excellent condition.
I have added extensive systems and of course wiring, and have used only "Marine" wire, but maybe that is not as important as we may have been led to believe?


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Old 03-04-2016, 07:10   #32
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Re: Where to buy marine wire?

Question for the peanut gallery...

Why does no one make and sell round 4 conductor #14 tinned stranded copper wire... but they sell 5 conductor?
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Old 03-04-2016, 08:17   #33
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Re: Where to buy marine wire?

As everyone knows, slap "marine" on a product name and the price goes north... but it's a small market and we still expect that small dockside chandlery or yard (or nearest WM) to have that wire in stock exactly when we need it....

For marine use, I imagine there's also a difference in the jacket plastic, which offers better water resistance and protection from corrosion. I don't know the specifics but I'm sure it's not hard to find out.

In a past career I used to buy bulk wire from a wholesale distributer, and in that setting, I found that tinned stranded wire wasn't all that much more expensive than non-tinned stranded. We never bought untinned. If you have a big boat wiring project coming up, you have the time to hunt around for the best price and wait for delivery.
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Old 03-04-2016, 08:42   #34
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Re: Where to buy marine wire?

I find the automotive multi strand wire stiff compared to tinned wire.
I like the multi conductor wire over single conductor wire as it has an extra protective covering. Your running long runs of feed and return wires why use 2 single wires with out an outer protective cover anyway. The only place you should have single wires is in the breaker panel.
So, no solid wire, use only multi strand wire.
Automotive multi strand has larger strands and not as flexible.
Wire of the type genuine dealz sell is
Very fine tinned wire. Very flexable and insilated with rated marine, temperature, oil resistant covering and multi conductor wire has an outer protective covering. The boat moves constantly and the extra covering if not required, should be.
Finley tinned wire is not required, but is better. I've seen battery lugs made of compressed tinned wire cut open and it looks like one solid wire.
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Old 03-04-2016, 18:38   #35
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Re: Where to buy marine wire?

There are quite a few folks that swear by marine grade "Romex", such as Ancor sells.
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While it is decent cable, I am not a fan of the way it ages in a harsh environment. I haven't seen approvals from regulatory bodies( other than the yacht cap group) on it being fit for purpose in a marine application.

If you would like true marine cable certified by most every reg body worldwide.

http://www.r-scc.com/files/Resources...e%20P-2013.pdf

They post those kind of certs in bold in the brochure. As expected.

Probably for a better price. Certainly a better cable.
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Old 04-04-2016, 00:55   #36
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Re: Where to buy marine wire?

Looks like some great stuff. Thanks
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Old 16-04-2016, 20:14   #37
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Thumbs up Re: Where to buy marine wire?

Marine Wiring, Boat Cable and Electrical Genuinedealz.com

I just ordered from them, price on awg 4 wire was half of that big retail marine store. Delivered within 3 days and no shipping charge! I give 5 stars!
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Old 18-07-2016, 16:14   #38
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Re: Where to buy marine wire?

- My 2cents contribution. I have worked on boat wiring for over three decades and while I use tinned marine wire on my customers' boats, I noticed that a solid wire survived just fine on some of the really ancient boats, the insulation was more of a problem. I have used Romex on my own boat to do long straight runs for shore power hook up and it is still in great shape when I need to reconnect it 30 +years later. Of course, it would be a bear to snake it through some tight quarters, but I suspect that, at least on sailboats, the vibration is unlikely to break solid wire, if it is reasonably supported. The next on my list of suspect typical advice is the fine stranded wire. Not only I haven't seen the household multi-strand stuff sold at the hardware stores fail, but but when reconnecting, that is cutting off a terminal and replacing it, I see the copper brighter and less corroded on the household wire than marine wire. I use small rotary wire brush in a drill motor to clean the end before crimping, and it is usually easier to clean up than marine wire, even the tinned kind. There are jobs where the household wire just wouldn't do, as around the engine and in the above mentioned tight quarters - the flexibility of marine wire is essential in both cases.
I prefer to use un-insulated terminals, crimp, solder just enough to seal the end of the wire and add shrink tubing. Yes, I realize it is time consuming, therefore unpopular with professionals, but I often work on the same boats I have wired up decades ago and I am glad I took my time.
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Old 19-07-2016, 05:11   #39
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Re: Where to buy marine wire?

Marine Wiring, Boat Cable and Electrical Genuinedealz.com
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Old 19-07-2016, 08:56   #40
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Re: Where to buy marine wire?

+++ Genuinedealz

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