[PSUBS-MAILIST] Wire type for submersibles

Alec Smyth via Personal_Submersibles personal_submersibles at psubs.org
Sun May 21 08:16:10 EDT 2017


My wiring harness was designed by a friend who is a subject matter expert,
and he had a cable requirement I would not have thought of. Besides
amperage rating, he also wanted every cable rated for 105 degrees C. I
believe this was a proxy that indicated the insulation material was
suitable. For what its worth I ended up using Ancor brand marine cable
throughout, as it meets the temperature requirement.


Best,

Alec

On Sun, May 21, 2017 at 1:44 AM, Alan James via Personal_Submersibles <
personal_submersibles at psubs.org> wrote:

> This is a summary of what I have been researching on wires.
> Steve wanted to hear this, but I would appreciate any other words of
> wisdom on this subject.
>    As a generalization G.L. says protective coverings, sleeves, sheaths &
> fillers are to be
> made of halogen free materials. This is because they are toxic & acidic
> when burning.
> PVC has halogens in it, & it is a common insulation on marine grade wire!
> Also PTFE
> (Teflon) insulation has halogens. Subconn connectors have PTFE wire
> insulation that runs
> in to the hull.
> In my view the halogen content won't matter if the wire is outside the
> hull. G.L. does say that materials
> & insulations for electrical equipment used in water are to be agreed with
> G.L. in each single case.
> G.L. also says insulation must be resistant to saltwater & oil vapors, not
> be hydroscopic & has to
> be flame retardant & self extinguishing.
> PTFE has a very high flash point so possibly gains approval for internal
> use from that perspective.
>    There is a standard for electrical cable for boats "UL1426", & when
> you search for marine electrical
> wire it will quote a standard like that.
> For sizing wire for submersibles ABS refers you to part 4, chapter 8 of
> the "steel vessel Rules" &
> table 6 in section 3.
>    It started to get complicated as G.L. have a section Annex E that deals
> with umbilicals etc.
> I came to the conclusion that I would use a PVC insulated marine grade
> wire that conformed to the
> UL1426 standard for external use. And use PTFE insulated wire inside the
> hull. My thinking on going
> with PVC over PTFE externally is that my glues would be more likely to
> stick to PVC than Teflon (PTFE)
> on my home baked through hulls.
> Cheers Alan
>
>
>
>
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