cable size

[macalfie]

Hi all just trying to find out what size cable to use from the leisure battery to a fuse box witch will supply all the 12v stuff cheers mac

[jamesc76]

well depends on what your total pull will be!

[Mocki]

simply put, as big as you can get - up to the size the starter battery has on its pos to the starter!
bigger wire means less voltage drop.
BUT however big you go, the neg earth strap must be as big or bigger.

realistically speaking, the fusebox will be the weakest link anyway.

[Red Westie]

All the 12 volt stuff.......add all the stuff together (lights/pump/stereo/propex electrics/TV?) total watts? divided by volts equals amps....
So if the total is 360wats then 360 divided by 12 = 30 amps so taking into account volt drop and the need to have some redundancy 42 amp cable 6mm2
Obviously it is very unlikely you are ever going to have everything turned on at the same time but you must treat it that way for safety.

The limiting factor will be the fusebox 'buzz bar' terminal and how 'big' the hole is in the connector. I would think it will be limited to about 6mm2 just over 40 amps max.

Martin

[nesty]

I have a busbar Aux fusebox from the 12v shop. It's fed by 2 x 65 amp wire (130A max). Does the job. Though sometimes a bit difficult to run it as it don't bend around things all that easy!

[California Dreamin]

Nesty.....130amps are you planning to do some welding whist you're away lol.
Overkill springs to mind but hay ho there's nothing wrong with that.

Martin

[nesty]

Yeah but I have some spare slots on the fusebox and left some ampage for future planning. Wanted to do it right 1st time!