Will any wire work?

[Ripfence]

I have to replace about 15 feet wire going to a bilge pump and I am wondering if there is any special wire I need to use for freshwater marine use.

The pump is small, it draws less than 3 amps at 12VDC. The original wire as 14AWG and I had planned to replace it with the same gage wire.

Can I just go to Home Depot or Lowes and buy insulated stranded 14 gage copper wire to replace it or is there something special about marine wiring?

Thanks.

 

[Greg Mrozinski]

Re: Will any wire work?

For this case it would probably be okay.

Marine wire is special in that the strands are smaller (which means you get more strands per gauge, less internal resistance of the overall wire) and the strands are tinned for corrosion protection. The insulation jacket is probrably more weather resistance as well.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Will any wire work?

You don't need 14 gauge wire. 16 gauge is fine and you may not find that at Lowes. Any discount store that sells auto supplies will have it in at least red and black.

 

[cedarjunki]

Re: Will any wire work?

problem with buying it at auto parts store well atleast here they only carry 12 foot rolls......i found it alot easier to just buy a 20 foot trailer harness for a couple bucks...then you have extra too..

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Will any wire work?

I just buy 50' spools of various colors and gauges so I always have it around for any project I have.

There really is no difference between the current carrying capacity of two wires of same gauge no matter what number of strands it has. All comes down to cross sectional area of the wire, not the number of strands.

 

[turbinedoctor]

Re: Will any wire work?

Stick with the marine tinned wire and use heat shrink crimp connectors. This will help keep the moisture out and prevent future problems.


Durwood

 

[RickJ6956]

Re: Will any wire work?

+1 to the above. Especially in the bottom of the bilge!

It is never a good idea to substitute automotive or home/consumer parts in a boat. They simply are not built to handle the harsh environment.

 

[Ripfence]

Re: Will any wire work?

Stick with the marine tinned wire and use heat shrink crimp connectors. This will help keep the moisture out and prevent future problems.


Durwood

Thank you for all the responses. I'll look for marine wiring.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Will any wire work?

I buy my wire from this guy on Ebay.

http://stores.ebay.com/Genuinedealz

 

[Ripfence]

Re: Will any wire work?

I buy my wire from this guy on Ebay.

http://stores.ebay.com/Genuinedealz

Thanks, this seems like a great source for a lot of things.

 

[turbinedoctor]

Re: Will any wire work?

I have found these people http://tinnedmarinewire.com/ to have really good prices.

Durwood