Wiring Gauge

[Iambjm]

What gauge wiring do you use for you 12V lights and accessories in you wheelhouses?

[nocturnalmotors]

All depends on the load, but 14 is a good for general use. Wouldn't hurt to add an in-line fuse on the positive side near the battery.

[bturck]

I had an issue this past summer when I blew an inline fuse on my trolling motor. I went to the Marine dealer that services my boat for some fuses and they told me they no longer wire with inliine fuses but a circuit breaker in line. When I pulled the original inline fuse apart to check the fuse which hadn't been an issue in years the fuse came apart in pieces, one of which stayed in the fuse holder and I couldn't get it out. The circuit breaker will pop if over loaded but reset itself. they have been using them for quite some time and no issues. It was 9.95. I spliced it in right next to the battery and no issues so far. Sorry couldn't help with your wiring question but you may want to check out the circuit breaker idea....

[hovermn]

I found that 16 gauge lamp wire is by far the least expensive option for running lights in the fish house. Now, I'm running 1 set of wires to each light, NOT wiring lights together. I like to have seperate light switches at the door for each light. If you're going to wire the lights together, 14 gauge will be fine. Look at Trailers. Most trailer wiring is 14-16 gauge. You're running a few running lights and stop/turn lights at great distances.

Buying a 100 ft spool of 4 wire trailer wire is a decent and sometimes less expensive way to wire a fish house. You can split the wires in half and boom, instant 2 gang wire. Pretty sure Northern sells a spool for less than $40.

[hovermn]

Sorry, should have mentioned that I use a 12-14 gauge common ground with bus bars in the ceiling. The Positive side runs down to a multi gang switch with a 12-14 gauge wire from the fuse to the switch to feed each switch.

Anyway, lamp wire. Cheap stuff, and so far zero issues with it.

[aczr2k]

Household lamp wire has cheap insulation (indoor use), I wouldn't use it. But that's only my opinion.

[Jim Almquist]

What gauge wiring do you use for you 12V lights and accessories in you wheelhouses?

Barb you did not say what type of 12 volt lights(LED, incandescent) but lamp wire should be good enough. If you ever think that you might want to hook up a generator and use AC then you better run 14 gauge electrical wire. LED will provide the brightest light with the least amount of draw on your batteries. If they accessories can run on either 12 volt or 110 AC that might sway your decision in favor of the 14 gauge electrical.

[MJ1657]

I am using 12 ga. in my house. Heavier wire is cheap insurance.

[Iambjm]

I am using regular 12V lights (4-5 of them), an outdoor light, 2 cigarette type plugins, 2 hole lights, and possibly a small 12V fan. I will also be having 2-3 110V electrical plugins. I did get myself a slightly used Honda 2000 generator at a good price. I did have 2 different guys lined up who can do the wiring, but so far life has gotten in their way. I am starting on installing the walls and thought maybe I could run the wiring behind the walls and then when one of them get themselves free they can just do the finish hookups. I don't think the 12V wiring is too difficult, but I hate to mess with the 110. Thanks everyone for your input.

[Paul Waldowski]

Barb,

Drag that baby down here and in a couple of hours she'll be done.

[c0untryf1sh3r]

I just got done wiring my buddies wheelhouse for 12 volt the other day. He wanted to go cheap and use 18ga. wire and I told him that would work if you wanted the darn thing to go up in flames, with sarcasm of course, granted he's only running a couple lights and a cd player but I like to err on the side of saftey. So if your just running a few lights on a 12 volt system I'd go with 16ga. with an inline fuse on the positive side after the battery.

[hydro]

Here’s a little food for thought. There are three things to consider when planning a wiring project like this one.

First, the size (gauge) of the wire is determined by the load or actual current that will go through the wire, not by voltage. For all practical electrical purposes, 18 GA wire would most likely be more than enough for the amperage load of either the 12 VDC or 120 VAC systems, but more on that later.

Second, the voltage to be applied determines the type of insulation required. Unless you are using specifically “Low Voltage” rated wire, almost all home store wire will be rated for a minimum of 300 volts, Romex or THHN wire is actually rated for 600 Volts, and that 300 Volt rating includes “Lamp Cord”. Did you know that the peak voltage on a 120 VAC line (1.414 X 120) is actually 170 Volts? That's why the 300 Volt rating was created. The spool you cut it from will have the rating or it may be printed on the jacket of the wire itself.

Third and most important is the application itself. It was mentioned that the wires will be buried in the wall and under insulation. Also there will be mixed voltages of 12 VDC and 120 VAC. Lamp cord and many other wire insulations are just not up to this use. With that in mind, the wiring materials must be rated for use inside a wall which more or less brings you back to using Romex type of wire. I would recommend biting the bullet and just using 14 GA Romex throughout the house for availability, simplicity and piece of mind.