Electric windlass wiring...

[mdrifter]

Thinking of fitting an electric windlass of the Lofrans type and using heavy cable from battery system rather than remote battery up front...Battery system is likely to be the current Adverc charged 2 x 125Ah type 655 for domestics augmented by new Redflash 1000/1100 for engine start; current alternator is 50A. Has anybody any experience of driving electric windlass in conjunction with Redflash - believe they may be used with bow thrusters? Cayman 88 (1000W) envisaged.

 

[Talbot]

windlass has the same requirements as a bow thruster or engine start. i.e. a lot of amps for a short time. This type of use demands engine start batteries with good CCA capability (cold cranking amps) Doing this with domestic deep cycle batteries will drastically shorten their life.

 

[Sans Bateau]

As your bio is not filled in, we dont know where you are, I only mention this as I have just about completed my own Windlass installation, Lofrans Kobra. You may be interested in these people:

http://www.furneauxriddall.com/shop/acatalog/Starter.html

Based in Portsmouth, great for price for the cables.

Oh! Good luck, its a bitch of a job!

 

[Birdseye]

Your bio doesnt say what your boat is, but it is likely that the power of your windlass is much the same as that of your starter motor. The only difference will be that when you use your windlass you will mostly be getting a fair few amps from a running engine / alternator, which will of course make the battery draw even less.

I had no probs in runnin a Lofrans 1000w windlass up in the bow of a 33 footer using welding cable running from the engine bay aft.. If you have 3 decent batteries as I think you are saying, I wouldnt worry in the slightest.

300 amp hour battery capacity. 1000w motor using (say) 90 amps for 5 mins (bl.. long chain) is 8 amp hours or 3% of the notional capacity without the engine running .

 

[mdrifter]

Many thanks to all and looks not bad price for cables. Good to know thinking along right lines. Not into Deep-cycle batteries - just standard lead-acid apart from Redflash which is new to me and looks like it should cope with windlass - think starter is c.1.4kW. Now for the hard bit - getting rid of our Seahawk's bonkers anchor well...

 

[omega2]

Start your engine before you winch and you will no probs.

 

[Billjratt]

Ken, I fitted A lofrans 1Kw. got the cable from Globe Electrics in Ayr. Obviously the thing will draw for longer than when starting the engine, depending on how deep etc. I put a wee car battery up front and just ran a heavy charging cable the length of the boat, putting in an extra diode on the splitter ( sterling driven 50amp alt, original on perk4108) Works a treat and helps keep the bow down when she attempts to plane.....as if. Look at the fixing bolt length required - Lofrans make it impossible to fit long ones at the forward holes, meaning the nuts are outside.

 

[DeeGee]

Go for it. No battery up front just means a little volts drop (less power as dependent on square of the voltage). Run the engine on high revs when using the windlass.

Cable size determined by total length of actual power providing cable (not switch cabling) and power of windlass. For the 1000W you suggest, use these figures...
<ul type="square"> [*]18m - 25mm² [*]27m - 35mm² [*]37m - 50mm² [/list] You should additionally use tinned copper wire if possible (also known as ship wiring cable). Depending on your boat, you may happily find that the builder has left cableway space (plastic pipes) and threading mouse, otherwise get a long piece of 1/4" plastic (the sort used for guard rails instead of s/s wire). You should use a directional solenoid local to the windlass, switched by low-current up/down switches.