Wire size for 110 and 12volt

[bwaysteve]

I am close to picking up wire to rewire my 65 Ambassador.
What type and size is recommended for the 12 volt and 110?Would a metal jacket be overkill or will the grommets be sufficient to stop chafing?

[HowieE]

Grommets will be fine

Depending on the fuse or circuit beakers you us will determine the size wire.

On 12 volt DC circuits with 20 amp fuses you should use #12 stranded single conductor wire. Most fuses in the panel will be 20 amp.

On 110 volt AC circuits with 20 amp breakers you want #12 Stranded 3 conductor wire. Again most breakers in the AC panel will be 20 amp. If you have an AC unit even though it call for only a 20 amp circuit I would run #10 just to insure thee is minimal voltage drop in the wiring if you are in a campground with low power. The AC is the only thing in the trailer that will draw close to the rating of the breaker and the extra buck will be well spent.

[Jammer]

You might also consider the two- and three- conductor jacketed marine cable for the 12 volt runs. It's handy and keeps the wiring tidy.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by HowieE

Grommets will be fine
If you have an AC unit even though it call for only a 20 amp circuit I would run #10 just to insure thee is minimal voltage drop in the wiring if you are in a campground with low power. The AC is the only thing in the trailer that will draw close to the rating of the breaker and the extra buck will be well spent.

Voltage Drop Calculator Your extra buck and extra weight are giving you an extra 0.3 volts running and maybe 1 volt starting.

[dieseleagle]

If you have a three-way refrigerator that runs on 12V, there are two separate runs reguired. For the first run to the control board 12 guage is fine. For the power supply connection 8 guage is suggested. For the connection between the charger/converter and the house batteries you may want to consider a heavier connection. I used 4 guage welding wire, which is very flexible and should assist with robust charging.

The battery side is a whole project by itself. There is a battery disconnect, a battery separator and a battery isolator, all of which do different but important things. Might suggest discussing your needs with Randy at Bestconverter.com if you don't have a clear roadmap in mind.

[bwaysteve]

I did speak with Randy awhile back and he suggested a 55 amp Iota convertor and a 100 amp AGW battery for my needs.If I am thinking wiring for future solar is two batteries advised?Thanks everyone should be enough info to start checking out sources.
Now back to that floor replacement! Steve

[TomW]

HowieE & Jammer (marine wire is stranded) are right about running stranded wire as a replacement. Stranded wire handles the vibration associated with RVs much better than solid wire.

Tom