What's so good about marine wire that I shouldn't just get it Home Depot?
 

Actually I just bought 2 spools of 25' ANCOR 16 AWG wire for $28...the
dude talked me into it. I also bought a motor to replace the one in
the bilge pump housing @ $34.

I found the bilge motor for 28 online and the marine wire for, $32

Is marine wire worth paying the extra expence?

What's so good about marine wire that I shouldn't just get itHome Depot?
 

On 1/18/2012 4:44 PM, wrote:

Actually I just bought 2 spools of 25' ANCOR 16 AWG wire for $28...the
dude talked me into it. I also bought a motor to replace the one in
the bilge pump housing @ $34.

I found the bilge motor for 28 online and the marine wire for, $32

Is marine wire worth paying the extra expence?

Yes. the strands are finer and they are tinned. Jacket is chemical
resistant. You get what you pay for, if you're lucky.

What's so good about marine wire that I shouldn't just get it Home Depot?
 

On Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:44:47 -0500, "
wrote:


Actually I just bought 2 spools of 25' ANCOR 16 AWG wire for $28...the
dude talked me into it. I also bought a motor to replace the one in
the bilge pump housing @ $34.

I found the bilge motor for 28 online and the marine wire for, $32

Is marine wire worth paying the extra expence?

Is the wire you bought tinned?

What's so good about marine wire that I shouldn't just get it Home Depot?
 

On Wed, 18 Jan 2012 18:00:33 -0800, jps wrote:

On Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:44:47 -0500, "
wrote:


Actually I just bought 2 spools of 25' ANCOR 16 AWG wire for $28...the
dude talked me into it. I also bought a motor to replace the one in
the bilge pump housing @ $34.

I found the bilge motor for 28 online and the marine wire for, $32

Is marine wire worth paying the extra expence?

Is the wire you bought tinned?

Yes, it's 'tinned copper'

What's so good about marine wire that I shouldn't just get itHome Depot?
 

On 1/18/2012 9:00 PM, jps wrote:
On Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:44:47 -0500, "
wrote:


Actually I just bought 2 spools of 25' ANCOR 16 AWG wire for $28...the
dude talked me into it. I also bought a motor to replace the one in
the bilge pump housing @ $34.

I found the bilge motor for 28 online and the marine wire for, $32

Is marine wire worth paying the extra expence?

Is the wire you bought tinned?

JPS
All you want to know about Ancor marine grade wire.
Hope this helps

What's so good about marine wire that I shouldn't just get itHome Depot?
 

On 1/19/2012 2:51 PM, A boater wrote:
On 1/18/2012 9:00 PM, jps wrote:
On Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:44:47 -0500, "
wrote:


Actually I just bought 2 spools of 25' ANCOR 16 AWG wire for $28...the
dude talked me into it. I also bought a motor to replace the one in
the bilge pump housing @ $34.

I found the bilge motor for 28 online and the marine wire for, $32

Is marine wire worth paying the extra expence?

Is the wire you bought tinned?

JPS
All you want to know about Ancor marine grade wire.
Hope this helps

Oops, A link would help.
http://www.marinco.com/brand/ancor

What's so good about marine wire that I shouldn't just get it Home Depot?
 

On Wed, 18 Jan 2012 22:07:02 -0500, "
wrote:

On Wed, 18 Jan 2012 18:00:33 -0800, jps wrote:

On Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:44:47 -0500, "
wrote:


Actually I just bought 2 spools of 25' ANCOR 16 AWG wire for $28...the
dude talked me into it. I also bought a motor to replace the one in
the bilge pump housing @ $34.

I found the bilge motor for 28 online and the marine wire for, $32

Is marine wire worth paying the extra expence?

Is the wire you bought tinned?

Yes, it's 'tinned copper'

Then yes, it's worth the extra expense just in terms of peace of mind.
It's work to rewire anything and better to use materials that you know
will hold up in the environment. Boats take enough work without
having to do things twice.

What's so good about marine wire that I shouldn't just get itHome Depot?
 

On Jan 19, 3:43*pm, wrote:
On Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:53:44 -0500, A boater wrote:
On 1/19/2012 2:51 PM, A boater wrote:
On 1/18/2012 9:00 PM, jps wrote:
On Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:44:47 -0500, "
wrote:

Actually I just bought 2 spools of 25' ANCOR 16 AWG wire for $28...the
dude talked me into it. I also bought a motor to replace the one in
the bilge pump housing @ $34.

I found the bilge motor for 28 online and the marine wire for, $32

Is marine wire worth paying the extra expence?

Is the wire you bought tinned?

JPS
All you want to know about Ancor marine grade wire.
Hope this helps

Oops, A link would help.
http://www.marinco.com/brand/ancor

I wired my running lights with garden variety #12 THWN but the wire is
all in conduit, terminating in water proof boxes. 22 years later it
still looks fine. The terminations were all coated with silicone
grease in burial grade 3M wirenuts. I know it is not all that nautical
sounding and I really did not expect it to hold up but it did.
This is a pontoon boat and they are pretty "wet".

I use regular 'ol wiring for my stuff. I dont' need top-dog wire for
what I do. Now if my boat was going to sit in salt water for a season
at a time or be exposed to the elements year around that would be
different. I look at my boat from an automotive stand point. I take
it out, use it, pull it it out of the lake, drain it, trailer it, and
put it back under roof on the hard until future use.

So I can't see justifying the extra expense to work with higher tinned
wire etc.

Of course your situations may be different than mine. I'm just saying
for my usage I have no problem with a roll of everyday 10 and 12#

What's so good about marine wire that I shouldn't just get it Home Depot?
 

On Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:44:47 -0500, "
wrote:


Actually I just bought 2 spools of 25' ANCOR 16 AWG wire for $28...the
dude talked me into it. I also bought a motor to replace the one in
the bilge pump housing @ $34.

I found the bilge motor for 28 online and the marine wire for, $32

Is marine wire worth paying the extra expence?

===

Ancor wire is good stuff but expensive. Some would say overpriced
but worth the money. The problem with using solid household type
wire on a boat is vibration. The copper work hardens over time and
eventually will devekop cracks, just as it does if you bend it back
and forth in your hands. The solution to the vibration/work
hardening problem is to use finely stranded wire which has a great
deal more flexibility. Stranded wire is a great conduit for water
however and the water will wick along the entire length, eventually
corroding the wire into a green powder. The solution for that is to
use tin plated strands which is what Ancor is good at.

You can sometimes Ancor wire on EBAY for a good price. Some of the
marine discounters like Defender Industries also have it for less than
your local West Marine stores. ($7.49 for a 25 ft spool of 16 AWG)

http://www.defender.com/ancor-wire-c...Primary%20Wire

What's so good about marine wire that I shouldn't just get itHome Depot?
 

On Jan 19, 9:08*pm, wrote:
On Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:07:13 -0800 (PST), Tim
wrote:









On Jan 19, 3:43*pm, wrote:
On Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:53:44 -0500, A boater wrote:
On 1/19/2012 2:51 PM, A boater wrote:
On 1/18/2012 9:00 PM, jps wrote:
On Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:44:47 -0500, "
wrote:

Actually I just bought 2 spools of 25' ANCOR 16 AWG wire for $28....the
dude talked me into it. I also bought a motor to replace the one in
the bilge pump housing @ $34.

I found the bilge motor for 28 online and the marine wire for, $32

Is marine wire worth paying the extra expence?

Is the wire you bought tinned?

JPS
All you want to know about Ancor marine grade wire.
Hope this helps

Oops, A link would help.
http://www.marinco.com/brand/ancor

I wired my running lights with garden variety #12 THWN but the wire is
all in conduit, terminating in water proof boxes. 22 years later it
still looks fine. The terminations were all coated with silicone
grease in burial grade 3M wirenuts. I know it is not all that nautical
sounding and I really did not expect it to hold up but it did.
This is a pontoon boat and they are pretty "wet".

I use regular 'ol wiring for my stuff. I dont' need top-dog wire for
what I do. Now if my boat was going to sit in salt water for a season
at a time or be exposed to the elements year around that would be
different. *I look at my boat from an automotive stand point. I take
it out, use it, pull it it out of the lake, drain it, trailer it, and
put it back under roof on the hard until future use.

So I can't see justifying the extra expense to work with higher tinned
wire etc.

Of course your situations may be different than mine. I'm just saying
for my usage I have no problem with a roll of everyday 10 and 12#

The real trick is keeping all the terminations in a dry spot. I have
exactly ZERO splices in any wire. They go from the switch directly to
the load with no tapping along the way. You use a little more wire
that way but if I lose a light, I lose one and I know the two places
where to start looking. Everything is in conduit. Again that is a
pontoon boat thing. The wires run under the deck so they are in a
sealed raceway.

yes, Greg. i can understand why you would do the conduit thing on the
pontoon and you have good reason too, especial when the wiring is run
*under* the craft...