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Battery wiring cable

CHWS

Well-known member
Messages
2,456
Location
Bangor
Quick question, I have all my wiring into a junction box and then jump lead size cabling from that to the battery.

the little jump lead wiring I have is rather short. Is 2.5mm flex heavy enough for 2 pumps/ reels to the battery ? 

 
Nobody use batteries on here ?
Probably more the fact you asked on a sunday morning and everyone is probably having a lay-in, and I dont know of anyone here who is a qualified electrician who can give a 'correct' answer.
Going by a google search, if you're talking 2.5mm2 for each wire core, then it should be able to carry 20-25amps which 'should' be fine, as I think pumps are about 8amps each??
But yeah, if you aren't sure best check with/get a professional to do it, last thing you want is to send your business up in flames!

 
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Technically 2.5mm2 cable can carry 27Amps 24 hrs a day 7 days a week.

Your pumps probably pull 4amps each and elec reels upto 30 amps each. So it's doubtful your pumps would need to run when reeling hose in. So that gives you a max of 60Amps for say 90 seconds.

If you look at regs for mains cables then you need 10mm2 cable!!! But as you only pull 60amps for a min or so I would make sure I had 80amp fuse close to leisure battery and then reel both hoses in and feel if the cable is warm. If it is warm I would use thicker cable. One thing to note is that the more current you pull the more effect poor joints and connections can have. The worse the connections/joints are the more likely they are to cause a fire!

The other thing to remember is the voltage drop. Say you have 2.5mm2 cable at 2m long pulling 60amps that gives a voltage drop of close to 2v. Going up to 10mm2 would give a voltage drop of 0.5v so much better.

The lower the voltage the slower your reels are!

I would be inclined to get some thicker cable. Also make sure the -ve battery cable is as thick.

 
Thanks for the replies, I’ll get some thicker stuff ordered and make do with what I have in the mean time ????

 
I run 30amp cable to my 2 controllers to run 2 Shurflo pumps.

As @ched999ukadvised, I would be running much thicker cable to the electric hose reels. 10mm2 should be OK. Some rate this wire at 63amps and other supplier at 70amps.

I'm sure the Waterworks fit a 25amp fuse into their older electric reels. I'm not sure what they fit in their latest reel. I'm not sure what rated cable they use on the controller either.

 
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I dont know of anyone here who is a qualified electrician who can give a 'correct' answer.
@ched999uk is our resident electrical go to man I would say, not knocking anyone else but I know he has a breadth of knowledge form the help he has given in the past. 

That's enough to power a small city?

The problem you could have now is getting eye terminals to suit and crimping them unless you have a hydraulic crimper to hand.
He'll be doing Bangor illuminations from his van

 
That's enough to power a small city?

The problem you could have now is getting eye terminals to suit and crimping them unless you have a hydraulic crimper to hand.
I have them push on terminals and then I’ve actually them joined into another battery clip on thing with screws in it that can screw down onto it ?

 
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