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Mate is charging his leisure battery but the wires are getting hot. The wires were made up by another mate
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To me they are too thin being 2 normal wires instead of one thick one. Is that correct ? This is the charger
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Cheers
It's the total cross sectional area that matters. So still too thin even with two.
18A is pretty hefty so will need decent cable. If it is getting noticeably warm then it's too thin. 2.5mm should do it but I'd probably go for 4mm
Yeh, assuming it's fused properly, there's no harm in going for a slightly heavier guage wire than what's nessesary.
Cables getting hot is a fire risk... It's not like electrical cables are expensive.
The fuse should always be the weak point in a circuit.. At the moment your wires are basically fuses!
you can work out what you need as its to do with cross section and number of threads no just one of these facts. I very much doubt the cable says this on it but the fact it is getting warm suggest [ quite strongly] the charge is getting or exceeding its maximum
http://www.vehicle-wiring-products.eu/section.php/48/1/cables
This will have what you need and its pretty cheap
http://www.vehicle-wiring-products.eu/product.php/320/multicore-cable for example you can get it for sub £2 er metre + VAT
Dont go for actual charging cable as that will have 60 + amps rating . IIRC my boat was set at 90 amps but its the dump when starting that does the high load not the actual charging.
As mentioned above, cross section is what matters, you could have 1 thick or 400 thin as long as the area is the same. What size cable is he using? I have the very same charger on my camper, I can't remember what size the cabling is off hand but can look in a bit. Also, how long is the cable run? Ideally the charger should be as close to the battery as possible.
Charging cables often get warm but shouldn't be hot. Does your friend know what size cables he used when making the wiring? Using the gauge of the wire (AWG or something similar) you can look up the max current capabilities. Be aware that there is a difference between AC current carrying capability and DC. Typically AC current carrying capabilities of a wire are more than DC. Also if you're thinking of fusing it then get DC fuses too. The blade types you find in cars/motorbikes are the easiest to get hold of.