Marine Wire Manufacturer in China – Honest Cable

Complete Buying Guide of Marine Wire

Chapter 1: What is marine wire?

Put simply, the marine wire is an electrical wire that is made to withstand the harsh conditions of the sea. It’ll be insulated against heat, oil, and moisture. Also referred to as marine cable or boat cable, this specific type of wiring can be used as in a number of ways. This includes being used as electrical wire or for wiring general circuits in your ship, vessels, and boat.

Marine wire is designed to withstand high temperatures. In a dry environment, it can resist temperatures that reach up to 105 degrees Celsius. If your marine wire is used in a wet environment, it can remain undamaged in temperatures that reach up to 75 degrees Celsius.

Often at times, while searching for the most suitable variant of marine wire to buy, you’ll come across two names: marine wire and boat cable. Now it is important to understand the difference between these two to avoid any confusion during your purchase.

A marine wire refers to any electrical wiring used on boats, but also wiring designed for electrical connection for equipment and switchboards on a ship or vessels. It is produced according to IEC 60092 standard and marine wire size is square mm. Boat cable is manufactured by UL1426 standard and size is American wire gauge size.

Chapter 2: Why is marine wire tinned?

The subject of many inquiries from buyers weather our marine wire tinned or not.

Remember, it is entirely necessary to install tinned marine wire on your boat and ships. It’s true that a large number of boats that can be found sailing across the open waters are composed of untinned wires. But remember the fact that ‘people install untinned wire, doesn’t make it right.

The reason for the need to ensure that your wires are ‘tinned’ is quite simple; The addition of copper serves as a means of reducing any corrosion that a conductor under the insulation jacket may suffer from.

The wires will corrode when water enters the system. The mechanics for your boat will take a number of precautions to stop water from entering into the water vehicle’s electrical system. These precautions include the installation of suitable drip loops and hanging the wiring above the watermark. But if anything goes wrong, the tinned layer on your marine wire will slow down the corrosion, giving you a chance to identify and fix the problem before it gets too bad.

It’s true that tinned marine wire may charge you a higher cost, but it is worth the investment. The added protection ensures security and prevents the copper conductor from corrosion and oxidation.

Chapter 3: Marine Wire VS Regular Wire

Marine wire stranding is quite unique. Each strand is quite fine, which ensures that it maintains the level of flexibility needed for installation on your boat and ships. They’ll also be covered in tinned copper wire to ensure that the marine wire cable is protected against corrosion. This is important because as copper oxidizes, it’ll lose its ability to carry the electrical current. This will increase the amount of electricity that is wasted and has an adverse effect on the boat’s functions.

Using regular wire or bare copper wire, for your boat’s internal components, strips it of a crucial layer of added protection. Your boat wiring will eventually fail when the wires begin to oxidize and corrode.

It’s true, investing in marine grade wire will be a bit more expensive than if you buy the regular wire. In the long run, though, marine wire makes for a good investment as it’s specifications will give your boat a longer life. This is important because, after investing a substantial amount of your money into the boat, it is important to increase its life as much as possible.

In the next chapters of this product buying guide, we’ll endeavor to give you an in-depth understanding of marine wire so that you can be confident that it’s what’s best for your boat.

We will delve into the discussion that has been initiated in this first chapter, to give you an understanding of all the different aspects of marine wire including types, properties, standards, size, and ampacity, etc.

Chapter 4: Marine wire standards

It’s important that you’re aware of the wiring standards for marine grade wire. To help you with this, we’ve listed a few key approvals, codes and recognition below.

UL1007 / UL1569

These ratings are attached to just about every hook-up wire in the market. They are linked to temperature and voltage.

• UL1007 means that the marine wire can be safely operated with temperatures that reach up to 80°C and 300V
• UL1569 means that the wire can withstand more heat, going up to 105°C through the voltage is the same at 300V.

UL94V

This is a standard that refers to the plastic’s burning characteristics, which are subject to the connectors that are used on the boat cables.

UL VW-1

This is linked to the resistance to fire, with the materials used to create the cable effectively reducing the risk of fire.

Chapter 5: Marine wire types

Marine wires are made specifically for vessels, ships or a cruise boat. There is a range of marine wires and each has its own unique application.

Marine Primary Wire

Marine primary wire is identified by its insulation color. The conductor is bare copper and it can sustain temperatures up to 105 degrees. It’s used for internal wiring in electrical devices and basic circuit wiring.

SAE Primary Wires

SAE primary wire is a general purpose thermoplastic (GPT) insulated wire that’s used for more general purposes. It can sustain temperatures ranging between 20 to 105 degrees.

Flat Board Cables

Flat board cables can be used as a marine cable or a brake cable. They are multi-conductors, they are PVC insulated and they meet the coast guard specification that is outlined by DOT.

Round Boat Cables

Round boat cables are similar to flat board cables in any way. However, they are easier to arrange and install in tight spaces. They can also be equipped to survive in harsh marine environments.

Marine Battery Cable

Marine battery cable is commonly used for battery installation and it can withstand temperatures that range between -20 to 105 degrees. Its voltage rating is measured at 50 volts and it has a high ‘tinned-copper strand’ cable count. This type of marine wire doesn’t just withstand harsh environments, it also shows resistance to oils, fuels, and acids.

Marine Shipboard Cables

There are three types of Marine shipboard cables:

• Lightweight Shipboard Cable.
• Low Smoke Halogen Free Shipboard Cables
• Flame Retardant Shipboard Cables.

All three can be used for a number of purposes, including power, communication, electronic and instrumentation.

Chapter 6: Marine wire color code

An important factor to consider when installing marine wire is insulation color. Much of the time, installing wires within a boat or ship involves dragging thick bundles through tight and confined spaces where heat can easily accumulate. The more wires in a bundle, the more current is carried, and the more heat is produced.

Temperature rating is not the only factor to consider when purchasing insulation jackets for your marine wire. Chemical resistance, UV resistance, voltage ratings, and durability are just a few other features that must be taken into account. Silicon-based insulation, for example, possesses low chafe resistance and is much more susceptible to damage than PVC insulation.

It’s important to remember, that while there are different types of Marine wire, they also come in a variety of colors. Each color means something specific, so it’s important to differentiate the wires on that basis.

Yellow or Black:

If a wire is either yellow or black, this will mean that they are used for returns, in negative mains.

Light blue:

Light blue wires are used to connect the oil pressure lenders to the gauge.

Dark Blue:

If the marine electrical wire is dark blue, it’s used to connect fuses.

Brown:

Brown is a bit of a tricky color as it can be used to indicate three different things. The brown wire can be used to connect generator armatures to regulators, to connect generator terminals to regulators or to connect fuses or switches to pumps.

Green:

Green wires are typically identified as bonding wires, but that’s only if they are insulated.

Gray:

Gray wires are being used to connect fuses or connect the tachometer senders to the gauges.

Orange:

If a marine wire is orange in color, it means that they are used to connect distribution panels to accessory switches.

Pink:

Pink wires are used to connect the fuel gauge senders to the gauge.

Purple:

These marine electric wires are used to connect the Ignition Switch to the Coil & electrical instruments. It can also be used in the distribution panel electrical instruments.

Red

If a wire is red, this will mean that it’s used for returns in positive mains.

Yellow

The yellow wire is used to connect the generator to the regulator field terminal.

Brown w/Yellow

It’s used to connect the fuse or switch to the blower.

Yellow w/Red

It’s used to connect the starting switch to the solenoid.

Chapter 7： Marine wire size & ampacity

When it comes to how to select a suitable size, there are some factors needed to be considered. Large size marine wires can be expensive and also add weight to the boat or ship, while small sizes pose a safety concern. All with this, four main factors must be considered: amperage, temperature, bundles, and voltage drop.

In terms of amperage, your wires must be of a suitable size in order to handle the total current flowing within the electrical appliances.

Temperature adds to the complications. Higher temperatures tend to mean less amperage in the wire. Typically speaking, a wire can carry up to 15% less current in engine spaces when they are 20 degrees hotter – in Celsius – than non-engine spaces. In this case, the size of the wire, which also affects amperage capacity, must be taken into account.

As we mentioned before, thicker bundles tend to give off more heat, with more heating affecting the amperage levels. Generally, three conductors bundled together can decrease amperage by 30% while seven to twenty-four can reduce amperage by up to 50%.

The last factor, voltage drop, causes one to consider length. A longer wire means more voltage drop, with more energy lost in the form of heat. This is most certainly an issue, as a reduction in the voltage supplied can affect the performance of electrical appliances. In order to prevent such a problem, you should select wires with lower internal resistance and larger diameters.

Chapter 8: Tips for installing the marine wire

After selection, a marine wire for purchase comes the actual job of installing it. If you are a first-timer, here are some tips that you can certainly benefit from.

• Keep the wires away from any water. All of the marine wires must be kept dry and high above the watermark to prevent corrosion and the damaging of applications.
• To avoid any mishap label all conductors, and make each end correctly. It would also help to maintain a wiring plan, one that you can keep with you while on board.
• Ground cables are of utmost importance. Each circuit should have an independent cable which should all be linked back to a common ground point connected to the battery negative in order to avoid stray currents.
• Colour coding and labels are also an important tip to keep in. Often at times, the color black is used for DC negative. However, confusion may arise as black is also the color for live wires in AC circuits. To prevent any mix-up, the color yellow is best suited for DC negative.
• For radios, high-quality coax cables are vital. They should be fully-tinned, 96% braid coax, and appropriately installed.
• Never make the mistake of keeping DC and AC wiring in the same bundle. If you must, then remember to keep one in a sheath to maintain a barrier between the two as a cautionary measure.
• While working on the DC system, shut off all AC power sources such as the inverter or AC generator.
• Wires that may run the risk of generating magnetic fields should be kept in twisted pairs. This is to prevent the formation of magnetic loops within the area of the boat or ship’s compass and other applications that are magnetically sensitive.
• In the case of more than one ring terminal being installed into a stud, the terminal possessing the highest ampacity should be installed first followed by successively lower terminals.
• To each terminal stud, no more than four terminals can be connected. If, for whatever reason, you find the need to exceed the number then at least two of the studs should be linked together via jumpers or copper straps.

Chapter 9: Marine wire related products

Marine Grade Wire

Tinned Marine Wire

Marine Electrical Wire

Marine Cable Wire

Marine Primary Wire

Marine Battery Cable

Boat Cable

Marine Wire Connectors

Marine Cable Gland

Conclusion

If you are looking for a reliable marine wire manufacturer from China, you are in the right place. As a professional manufacturer of marine wire, marine shipboard cable, ship cable, offshore cable, rubber cable, welding cable, electrical power cable, VFD / EMC cable, XLPE / PVC cable, solar cable and submersible pump cable, Honest cable aims to provide a complete cable solution for you.

Honest cable has already delivered our marine wires to Singapore,Thailand, The Philippines, Indonesia, Spain, Brazil, Myanmar, UK, New Zealand, Malaysia, Australia, Turkey, India, Ukraine, Pakistan, Greece, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Dubai, UAE, Croatia, USA, Jordan, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Mumbai, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Ho Chi Minh, Bangkok, Perth, etc.