Question regarding extended wiring from motor to battery

[wpg manitoba]

I am thinking about moving my battery to the front of my boat to level the weight better. The wiring from the engine is very beefy, maybe something like 2 or 1 gauge? not sure. But I have a lot of extension cord wiring laying around and was thinking about using it to extend it another 10 feet or more so I can place the battery near the front of the boat. Basically the extension cords has 3 14 gauge wires in it so I was thinking of using one extension cord for each positive and negative. Is this a bad Idea?
I figure if its not enough I figure it won't turn over the motor, but since this is just a 30 hp 2 stroke I think I should be just fine.
I have used cheap jump start cables in the past which would not turn my truck engine over so if this set up doesn't work I figure it would be the same scenario.

 

[UncleWillie]

Three strands of 14 gauge is the equivalent of a little bit more than one strand of 10 gauge.
It will take about 16 strands of 14 gauge to be the equivalent of your 2 gauge.
24 Strands (8 Cords) each way would equate to the 1/0 gage recommended for that length of wiring.

The really Cheap jumper cables are usually 6 gauge; Or, about 6 strands of 14 gauge.
Two extension cords each way might be feasible for your Rednecked Wiring job.
Three cords each way (9 strands) would be better because of the distance.

Note....
For the record; I totally do NOT recommend doing this... But it answers the question.

 

[roscoe]

Factory Merc battery cables for engines up to 115 hp are 4 ga, and 12' long.
There are people selling new and used sets on ebay for about $40.

If a 12' extension will do the job for you, pick up a set and bolt them to your existing cables.
Should be fine since you are only running a 30 hp.
[FONT=Verdana !important]

eBay item number:​

380956213792

[/FONT]

 

[Bubbasboat]

xxxxx

 

[Gyrene]

Resistance is a factor of not only the diameter of the wire, but the length - you need a size fatter to go longer - Most car places sell battery cable - get the heaviest they sell - this is a case of bigger (diameter) is better.

 

[jc55]

If wiring the boat in a more reliable manner might be cost prohibitive, do you have gear that you bring on board that can be stowed up front instead?

If I was on an EXTREME budget, I would buy two of the same gauge wire by the foot in THHN or MTW, crimp a matching ring terminals on those cables and bolt the extension cable to the original cables through the ring terminal using dielectric grease and adhesive lined heat shrink. This is how windlasses are connected and industrial electrical connections are also made this way. This "extra" connection will always be a possible point of corrosion and should be accessible. In a perfect world, one solid run of marine tinned wire would be best.

There's always a cost...it's either now or later.