amp power and ground wires

[mtnv900]

Those of you who have installed amps where did you get your wire from? I have seen 4 awg selling for 4 bucks a foot to 1.50 a foot.

 

[Glassman]

Try

http://www.monoprice.com/

May not have anything that big though.

try these guys:

http://www.wireandcabletogo.com/THHN-THWN/?gclid=CM_Hnrvthr4CFSsQ7AodO2wAtg

 

[mtnv900]

Didnt know or think about using building wire for the hook up. Thanks for the links

 

[Glassman]

what about jumper cable if you need it flexible
http://www.wireandcabletogo.com/Jumper-Cable-Red-5kV-15kV/

some guys use welding cable
http://www.wesbellwireandcable.com/Welding.html?gclid=CPuMhqjvhr4CFRQV7AodUQEACA

 

[jcyamaharider]

I like using welding wire. Very flexible and a lot cheaper.

 

[jetboater4life]

Is that wire sufficient the wiring required for my two new AGMs and my Blue seas add a battery kit that is about to go into my boat?

 

[DieselCamel]

http://www.knukonceptz.com/productMaster.cfm?category=Kolossus Fleks Kable

 

[Speedling]

got my wire via ebay but it was from knukonceptz
Great wire. Look at strand counts, it doesn't matter a TON, but it is a higher quality cable.

 

[jcyamaharider]

Is that wire sufficient the wiring required for my two new AGMs and my Blue seas add a battery kit that is about to go into my boat?

It's what I used for both of my boats dual battery set-ups. No issues with either boat.

 

[maboat]

Is that wire sufficient the wiring required for my two new AGMs and my Blue seas add a battery kit that is about to go into my boat?

You bet. Welders run a lot more current than our boats will ever see

 

[KXCam22]

+1 on welding cable. Good quality, flexible and priced the best. Just not a fancy color. Cam.

 

[tdonoughue]

I went to Lowes for 2 ga. for the negative (regular electrical). The positive I got a kit from Fry's.

Negative has thick strands and doesn't bend easily. Positive was under gauge and flimsy, but it was what I had and it works...

 

[Lawson2479]

I am not an electrical engineer but I had run wire left over from when I had the house built. When I upgraded the stereo the audio guys told me to replace all of it. They said that for d/c you want lots of strands and for a/c large strands or solid wire is preferred. Something about resistance. I am not sure if is was right or not maybe someone will chime in and explain it to me also.

 

[Speedling]

from what I understand DC voltage requires more strands because the electrons travel on only the outside of the wire. The more strands equals more electrons traveling. This means that a very large gauge solid wire will not perform the same as a smaller gauge wire with many strands.

 

[Speedling]

Sorry that seemed vague.
More strands will have a higher amp rating.

 

[jetboater4life]

How about tinned vs not tinned? Is welding wire typically tinned?

 

[Ronnie]

from what I understand DC voltage requires more strands because the electrons travel on only the outside of the wire. The more strands equals more electrons traveling. This means that a very large gauge solid wire will not perform the same as a smaller gauge wire with many strands.

I work with sever PEs (professional engineers, two of them are building their own electric cars at home), they all say the same thing, dc the more strands the better because the current runs on the outside of each strand so more strand means more surface area / less resistance. They also said Home Depot and lowes are great places to get good wire cheap. If you want something that looks good and performs well go with monster cables but be prepared to pay the premium for good looking cables most which are rarely seen.

 

[jetboater4life]

I found this table to be a good guide for sizing 12volt wiring
http://www.the12volt.com/wiring/recwirsz.asp

 

[KXCam22]

Sometimes you can find cheap car audio amp kits. The wire is often chinese made but in most cases wire is wire and it is decent quality. It is important to calculate the "real" ampacity of the amp. Often I see guys sizing wire for their "800 watt" amp and when you look it has a 25A onboard fues. Cam.

 

[steined]

I bought marine cable off of eBay. Oil/Gas resistant cable, NMMA ABYC ratings, Made in USA, etc. http://www.ebay.com/itm/4-AWG-Tinne...at_Parts_Accessories_Gear&hash=item5197b578c5

Basically, I just wanted to make sure I bought cable that if it ever caused an issue (like burning the boat down), they couldn't blame the cable I used, it was marine rated, etc. A little more money maybe, but a little piece of mind too. Was a quick ship and I'd do business with them again.

I also used Solder slugs: http://www.delcity.net/store/Terminal-Solder-Slugs/p_1036 and Tinned Connectors: http://www.delcity.net/store/Tinned-Copper-Crimp-Lugs/p_796014

If you buy the solder slugs buy the liquid flux (Del City) as well and some marine shrink wrap for the connection (Had this at Harbor Freight).

When I ran the power and ground, I just grounded the ground to the same negative terminal, but used a fused terminal for the amp and house power (Each on its own fuse). Like this: http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Sea-Term...87256&sr=1-6&keywords=blue+sea+terminal+block with fuses like: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0017SJOH4/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Again, piece of mind and someone on the old board was saying fuse as close to the battery as you can, you can't get much closer than that!