12V Cable

[petem]

In my quest for finding the highest quality parts for my illuminated boat names I am now looking for cable to connect each letter to a junction box. Ocean Flex make really good tinned moisture resistant cable but their thinnest cable is way too thick for my application. Anyone got any recommendations? Needs to be two core with a white sheath.

 

[superheat6k]

In my quest for finding the highest quality parts for my illuminated boat names I am now looking for cable to connect each letter to a junction box. Ocean Flex make really good tinned moisture resistant cable but their thinnest cable is way too thick for my application. Anyone got any recommendations? Needs to be two core with a white sheath.

Assuming this is for LEDs and the individual runs to the common point will be quite short then a high quality Cat 6 ethernet cable or microphone cable (less cores) would likely suffice. Maplins have a fair range, and will sell by the metre, but not sure they will offer anything tinned.

 

[petem]

Thanks Trevor, I don't know whether it needs to be tinned. In fact, the lady that does my micro Soldering mentioned that the tinned cable is difficult to solder to the LEDs.

 

[petem]

Approximately 10mm of cable will be exposed to the elements and the majority of the cable run will be in on the inner side of the transom, potentially within an engine room.

I note that some of the LED suppliers use speaker cable. Would this work?

 

[Sneds]

Tinned copper is better because it won't corrode so easily, due to the low voltage best to go for the biggest conductor size you can to avoid volt drop and dim lights.
What current do the lights draw?
A local auto electrical place will probably be your best bet.
Looking forward to seeing the photos!

 

[prv]

Thanks Trevor, I don't know whether it needs to be tinned.

For what it's worth, marine products with un-tinned wiring (they do exist, sadly) inevitably go down several notches in my estimation. So regardless of any practical need (and I think there is a need, especially for something external like this), it's also a moderately significant marketing point.

Pete

 

[Keith-i]

Agree with prv on this. Hella Marine use a fairly slender 2 core tinned cable so it does exist. Tried RS?

 

[Piers]

My two-penny worth is that the cable must be tinned (minimising potential corrosion) and multi-strand (single strand can fracture/damaged when being bent or under vibration). If any is potentially exposed to UV light, the sleeving must be UV resistant.

If this means a wider diameter cable, can you nor make suitable alterations to accommodate it?

 

[superheat6k]

Have you considered using pre wired LEDs. Something like these ...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5mm-Ultra...hash=item20e8a1a71b:m:m5yMXsNpQDcZoZR_88aFhCw

 

[Boat2016]

I would make sure the leds are of good quality and not cheap chinese c@@p from eBay

Most important bit is where they terminate as that will need to be in a waterproof box or connector, the cable selected needs to make sure that is possible, speaker cable is a definate no.

 

[petem]

Tinned copper is better because it won't corrode so easily, due to the low voltage best to go for the biggest conductor size you can to avoid volt drop and dim lights.
What current do the lights draw?
A local auto electrical place will probably be your best bet.
Looking forward to seeing the photos!

0.375 amps in total. The thinnest tinned marine cable I can find is rated to 23 amps!

 

[petem]

Have you considered using pre wired LEDs. Something like these ...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5mm-Ultra...hash=item20e8a1a71b:m:m5yMXsNpQDcZoZR_88aFhCw

Trevor, I actually bought some of these when I was investigating different LED types. There are three issues:

1) They're not very bright
2) It would be too much effort to solder them into a string and the wiring would end up too bulky and create shadows
3) The wires don't bend easily and the in built resistors cause additional issues.

 

[petem]

I would make sure the leds are of good quality and not cheap chinese c@@p from eBay

Most important bit is where they terminate as that will need to be in a waterproof box or connector, the cable selected needs to make sure that is possible, speaker cable is a definate no.

The LED's that I'm using are branded. They will terminate into an IP65 enclosure with the wires coming out of the bottom so that should be OK.

 

[Boat2016]

The LED's that I'm using are branded. They will terminate into an IP65 enclosure with the wires coming out of the bottom so that should be OK.

Looking forward to seeing the results

 

[Piers]

Have you tried West Marine? An initial look shows the smallest gauge to be 18, but you may find on enquiry that they have just what you want.

 

[prv]

The thinnest tinned marine cable I can find is rated to 23 amps!

Huh?

It doesn't have to have a "marine" label on it, lots of equipment wire down to very fine sizes is tinned.

Pete

 

[petem]

Huh?

It doesn't have to have a "marine" label on it, lots of equipment wire down to very fine sizes is tinned.

Pete

As you say, doesn't need to be 'Marine'. But it does need to be white sheathed, 2 core and something like 24 AWG. I've done lots of Googling but can't find anything suitable.

 

[Sneds]

Could it be light grey? Belden equivalent 9501?