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Old 06-17-2018, 05:25 PM   #1
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Insufficient Gauge battery cables?

I bought a 2018 clipper 17bh a few weeks ago, and I'm planning on adding a second battery. When I opened my battery box for the first time, I was surprised to see that the wires running to the battery were 14-16 Gauge or so. Am I wrong in thinking this seems inadequate? Has anyone else experienced this?
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Old 06-17-2018, 05:39 PM   #2
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Not having notes in front of me, 14 gage would be good for about 15 amps. What is your battery charger in the trailer capable of putting out? That will be the highest current you will see on those wires and 14 gage would be OK for 15 amps. I would have expected to see 12 gage wire there to have a little overhead.
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Old 06-17-2018, 05:48 PM   #3
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About all you are running on the 12v side on that small of a trailer are some lights, maybe a fan, heater, refrigerator and entertainment center. All the big stuff such as A/C and microwave are 110v shore power.
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Old 06-17-2018, 06:01 PM   #4
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Its not like a big amperage draw of an engine starter. Now,if you had a built in generator, then they should be a bigger gauge.
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Old 06-18-2018, 12:28 AM   #5
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Actually, not even all of those things run off the battery, so that makes perfect sense. Pretty much just lights, bathroom fan, stereo, awning motor, and the water pump. And almost never many of those things at once. I plan on hard wiring some USB outlets, but I don't suspect that'll make a huge difference.

So then, if I'm going to wire in a second battery there shouldn't be any real need to go with anything bigger than is already there, right?
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Old 06-18-2018, 07:23 AM   #6
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The question was asked up front - what is your converter's output rating? If it's 35 amps - what my little A-frame has, and generally the smallest converter - you want battery cables capable of delivering the full charge current. On the other side, the maximum charge current a battery will accept is 25% of its AH rating. So for an 80AH battery with a 35 amp converter, you would want at least 12 gauge to handle 20 amps without too much loss (or wires overheating).

If you add a second 12V battery, your maximum currents double. 8 gauge wire handles 40 amps. But chances are your battery fuses are 30 amp (from the converter) which means wiring should be 10 gauge or thicker. I really think somebody cheaped out on your installation - my A-frame had 8 gauge battery cables.

When I installed dual 6V golf cart batteries, I used 4 gauge connecting cables (they were cheap at the car parts place), and left the 8 gauge from the battery cutoff switch (self-installed) to the 35 amp converter.

Your actual battery, the converter, battery fuses, and wire sizes all are limits on how fast your batteries can be recharged. The most limiting factor applies. Unless you are running an inverter or powerful electric motors (tongue lift and other electric jacks, and electric slide outs) from your battery, the charge currents will be the biggest currents.

FWIW, wire gauge has been stamped on the insulation for all wire produced in the past 10 years. Insulation is a lot thinner than it used to be, so newer wire looks smaller than it really is. Checking the actual size is worthwhile.

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Old 06-18-2018, 09:26 AM   #7
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I'm not entirely sure about the converters output rating, and I'm not able to get to the trailer for a couple of days. Is that the sort of information that's going to be stamped on it?

I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if they did a cheap install. I've found a few corners that seem to have been cut already..

Fortunately, I ordered a couple hundred feet of 10awg wire yesterday, just incase I needed to replace anything..
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Old 06-18-2018, 01:42 PM   #8
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If the job of changing wire diameter to get the most out of the onboard charger is an easy one, then go for it.

In my case it was just easier and probably less money to buy a decent portable battery charger for better charging times.
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Old 06-18-2018, 06:41 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Eahuntley View Post
I'm not entirely sure about the converters output rating, and I'm not able to get to the trailer for a couple of days. Is that the sort of information that's going to be stamped on it?

I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if they did a cheap install. I've found a few corners that seem to have been cut already..

Fortunately, I ordered a couple hundred feet of 10awg wire yesterday, just incase I needed to replace anything..
Find out the size of your converter. Mine came with a 70 amp and 6 AWG wire. Look at the size required and go one more. 3% of 12v is 3.6v.

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