Best wire to run?
- Thread starter scottma
- Start date
chasespeed
Explorer
Well, I would say, without any more information.... the biggest you can get, and stranded....
Chase
Chase
I ordered welding cable from this place to wire my winch solenoid pack. It is durable and high quality and much cheaper than something marketed as battery cable.
http://www.weldingcable.net/
http://www.weldingcable.net/
No, you only want ~10ga. The 10ga acts as a natural current limiter to soft-charge the battery. If you run an aught gauge, there will be a massive current if the trailer battery is discharged. It's not good for the battery, and may burn your trailer connector.
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Greggk
ZombieSoldier
thats a good point that i didnt think of.
Utah KJ
Free State of Florida
This is not accurate and is a really, really bad idea. It's a fire waiting to happen.
Palehorse1
Observer
Having lots of luck with the power wire from JL Audio company for my electrical projects. Their wire is probably better than I need but since I really only want to do this wire work once, I figured why not just get the best I could find the first time. Using some of their battery connectors too which have been a big help. Regardless of what you choose, I hope you find exactly what you need for your project.
No it's not. This is common practice. As I understand it, this guy is talking about a trailer battery, not a parallel dual-setup in a vehicle.
Go to ANY store and buy a piece of 7-conductor trailer wire. What size is the battery wire? 10ga.
Want to tell me how this is more of a fire hazard than two 4/0 cables on either side of a 1/4" spade connector in a 7-pin trailer connector? Or are you talking about reinventing the wheel in exposexual fashion with a custom heavy duty connector rated at 300 amps?
People have been hooking up trucks and trailers with batteries for a long time, and 10ga is the standard.
Not to mention... you fuse the 10ga lead at like 20A. So where is the fire hazard?
If it makes you happy to spend extra money on that stuff great. But there is no technical reason it's better.
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What did you use for the connector at the hitch?
01tundra
Explorer
Sorry, I didn't fully read your original post and thought you were referring to dual batteries under the hood. That's what I ran under the hood between my two Optimas.
But they do make heavy duty welding lead plugs and battery charger plugs?
http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/welding-cable-connector/electric/welding/ecatalog/N-bgk
http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/ww...Ntt=battery+charger+connectors&N=0&sst=subset
But for what you're doing I doubt you'll want/need such a heavy cable, unless you're running some high amp draw items off the trailer. You are wanting to simply keep a charge on the battery from your alternator, correct?
JamesDowning
Explorer
I agree. Battery charging voltage maxes out at around 50A (depending on the battery) for a very dead battery even when hooked up with large gauge wire. A smaller gauge wire and longer run will help add resistance into the circuit, further lowering the charging amperage.
The only reason to use large gauge for a battery-to-battery connection is if you're planning to winch or use the starter with it.
scottma
Observer
I would like to use the battery for the winch and also as a back up to the starter battery. I am looking at this set up the same way you would look at any dual battery set up. Only difference is that the second battery is in the nose cone of the trailer vs the engine bay.
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scottma
Observer
What size fuse should I use?