buying wire?

this is likely a silly question, but i couldn't find a good answer.

i'm in the process of adding a switch, ACR and second battery. where should I buy the wire. locally i've got a West Marine, Bass Pro Shop, Grainger and the usual Home Depot and Lowes. i'm fairly proficient with a soldering iron and i've got a heat gun so i can terminate the wire myself. i've seen some wire at Bass Pro (14ga) which seemed overpriced ($25 for a small spool) compared to the same gauge at Home Depot for $5. Obviously, I'll need larger wire for the high voltage stuff, this was just an example.

So, do i need to pay the large markup on "marine" wire that I'll likely find at West Marine or can I go to Grainger or Home Depot and get the proper diameter wire which I will terminate myself? Thanks.

Re: buying wire?

I buy my marine wire from this guy.

http://stores.ebay.com/Genuinedealz

Re: buying wire?

^^^ yup, You can also go to their website http://genuinedealz.com/

While looking through their store you will notice that their prices for "Marine" wire is the same price as the non-marine wire you can buy locally. They offer free shipping too, so the only down side to ordering from this place is it will take you 2-3 days to get your stuff.

If you know the exact length of cables you need, they can crimp and heat shrink the termination for you.

Oh yeah, don't get your wire at HomeDepot/Lowes/Grainger/etc. You will thank yourself for getting real marine wire, there is a huge difference.

Re: buying wire?

fishrdan said:

Oh yeah, don't get your wire at HomeDepot/Lowes/Grainger/etc. You will thank yourself for getting real marine wire, there is a huge difference.

Click to expand...

Yeah...its tinned!

Re: buying wire?

bruceb58 said:

Yeah...its tinned!

Click to expand...

And has about a million more strands than the garbage at HD/Lowes...

Re: buying wire?

And better insulation.

Re: buying wire?

The wire at Home Depot and Lowes is not garbage. It is perfectly fine for it's intended purpose which is wiring in buildings, not boats. Marine wire shouldn't be used to wire buildings any more than building wire should be used for automotive or marine use. The wire and insulation are vastly different.

Re: buying wire?

i'm in the process of adding a switch, ACR and second battery.

Click to expand...

Ayuh,... For battery cabling,... Welding lead cable is the Best, bar none....

Re: buying wire?

What do they mean by tinned?

Re: buying wire?

Copper will corrode and oxidize, so some wire and terminal connectors have a light coating of tin on them, to keep them corrosion free and from oxidizing. The tinning makes it look silver instead of yellow/orange copper color.

Depending on the grade of marine wire, it can be tinned, or plain copper. This is not "Tinning" the wire where you would melt solder into it, but each individual strand is tinned by itself, then they build the wire out of the tinned strands. Most of the terminal connector I have seen are tinned.