400: Lagoon 400 Wiring Question

[fthurlow]

I’m being told that the type & size/gauge of wiring used in the construction of a Lagoon 400 was the same regardless of the boat being “euro” (230V) or “US” (115V). I’m trying to verify this but have not been able to find any documentation. Does anyone here have firsthand knowledge of this and/or access to documentation that they can share? Thanks for the assist 😊

[Bean Counter]

On the Lagoon owners facebook there is a file that has the electrical diagram of the L400. Those diagrams specify the dimensions of the wires and cables in the diagrams in mm2. Covert this to the USA AWG and they should be the same or larger than the US recommended wire gauges for 110V if, for your particular year/model, they put in a "fits all" wiring harness.


You may even find some of the AC wires actually have the size stamped or printed on the side of the insulation. For example 2.5mm euro wire converts to 14AWG, 6mm converts to AWG10 etc, you need to know what the 110V device's wiring gauge is required for the distance needed. I am no electrician so whilst this info might help understand, get a marine electrician to do it properly.

[fthurlow]

Thanks!

[jbinbi]

Someone should correct me if I am wrong, but I think the power should be the same in the sense that in NA if your device is using 4 amps st 110V, then it would use 2A at 220V, so the same power draw. So if you are limited to half the amps on the wire with 220, you might be able to use the same size wire. I am not an electrician. I also dont know if my 15A breaker on my 110 boat is a 7A breaker in the EU.

[Ndavies]

While I understand that the power at 220 and 110 is the same, obviously the amps are not. A cable's current carrying capacity (or ampacity) is the critical issue, not necessarily the total power. I am not an electrician (I am an engineer), but I think this is related to heat and power loss - which from a long-forgotten physics class is a function of the square of the amps x resistance.

[treadlite]

Originally Posted by jbinbi

Someone should correct me if I am wrong, but I think the power should be the same in the sense that in NA if your device is using 4 amps st 110V, then it would use 2A at 220V, so the same power draw. So if you are limited to half the amps on the wire with 220, you might be able to use the same size wire. I am not an electrician. I also dont know if my 15A breaker on my 110 boat is a 7A breaker in the EU.

Its the amps that is the problem. More amps needs thicker wire, the higher the voltage, the less the amps. That is the reason why battery cable has to be so bit. Low voltage, but a ton of AMPS.

At 15amp breaker is a 15amp breaker no matter the voltage, although usually rated for peak voltage due to other reasons.

Simple calculation to help understand a bit more

1000w Air conditioner at 110v = 1000/110 = 9 amps
1000w Air conditioner at 220v = 1000/220 = 4.5 amps

In either case, the air conditioner still draws 1000w of power, but due to voltage, the 220v only pulls 4.5 amps and doesn't require as thick of wire as the 9 amps if the same conditioner was running 110v.

Now think about that same AC running 12v. 1000/12 = 83 amps. You would need a 100amp breaker to be able to run the same AC unit of 12v some some crazy thick wire.


Just purchased 2010 Lagoon 400 has been converted to 110v, but I am also unsure if the factory cable is thick enough to carry 15amps, i will check when I get back to it. I might just run all new cabling for the outlets just to be extra safe.

[fthurlow]

Thanks

[AndrewA2]

curious to hear if wiring IS standard on lagoons/specific models/years or not at all?