Boat Battery Cable Size Chart

Starting battery has high current rush capacity.

Boat battery cable size chart.

Actually for my current installation i ve sized all of my dc cables to meet the 175 amp worst case scenario. Additional space box or cables may be required. As far as i know these values are valid as of today. Most importantly sae wire is up to 12 percent smaller than american wire gauge awg boat cable which means that in many applications larger gauge wire must be used to stay within the voltage drop limits recommended by experts see our west advisor on marine wire size and ampacity.

The manufacturers make stock battery cables as small as possible but still get the job done. 141 replacement battery may be longer taller and or wider than o e. The two setups we most often run into is. As we mentioned earlier picking the right size of the marine battery is crucial for your boat.

Boats come in various sizes and they also come with different accessories then. Going up a size or 2 is worth it in the long run. Marine outboard motor application guide. I recommend building cables larger than stock.

Most of the cost is the ends and labor. In summary when selecting the correct size of battery cable you need to take into account the total maximum amperage your electrical system requires the voltage of your system usually 12 volts the total length that your cables need to be and the amount of voltage drop you are willing to accept versus the amount you want to spend. Deep cycle battery capable of deep discharge without harm. Marine battery group size chart and guide.

Picking the right size of battery will make sure that it has the right dimensions that will fit in your battery compartment. Cable size ampacity chart. A 16 gauge cable needs a 16 gauge terminal. The following maximum amps versus cable size awg come from the nec version 2011.

Find the length of the circuit on the vertical axis of the chart noting that the length is the round trip distance from the panel or battery to the load and back. However the same sized terminals are sometimes used for more than one cable size. In addition the dc wire selection chart shown below assumes a wire insulation rating of 105 c. Single engine 1 starting and 1 house battery.

216 requires 2 batteries in parallel to meet oe specifications. The wire size listed in the graph at the intersection denotes the gauge of wire to use. For very long cables for example 15 foot long battery cables to relocate your battery go one size larger. Quality marine wire as specified by abyc standards will always be stranded rather than solid and always tin plated copper.

So all interconnecting cables are 2 0 based on the chart below. In larger sizes each cable has matching terminals. Greatly generalizing the topic here but you usually run into two types of batteries in the size of boat we deal with. We ve included copper wire specifications which comply with the awg standards at the bottom.

This technical brief distills the information on these charts to a more manageable size for installers and boatowners alike. Replacement of tray hold down or battery box may be required.