--- In electricboats Lonner wrote:
>
> Typically, I found green slime corrosion, wicking away
> from the terminals as much as a foot!
>
> If you operate in salt water, look for fully tinned marine grade
> wire and cable. If I remember correctly, that spec. is also
> included in the ABYC recommendations.
Just wanted to add a few comments about wiring here. Reading this thread I didn't catch any references to how the cables are made. I always use adhesive lined heat shrink to provide a protective barrier between the cable insulation and the lug. If you find corrosion only on the end, it's not coming through the insulation. You also have to make sure your lugs are corrosion resistant. Some lugs have a small hole in the end of the cavity the cable is in. Either avoid this style of lug or tin the connection afterwards to seal it up.
But be careful when tinning cables (not the same as tinned marine grade cable.) A common practice is to dip the crimped lug into solder to seal it or solder the cable end into the lug. In either case you may introduce a new problem. When you do this some solder wicks up the cable a bit. This makes the end of the cable rigid, which isn't a problem unless the cable isn't secured from movement. If the cable is free to move, the cable will start fraying at the end of the solder filled section. Eventually you may create a bad section that could overheat under heavy draw.
I've had very good luck with 2/0 welding cable, crimped connections and adhesive lined heat shrink. In my case I have flooded NiCad batteries which are very corrosive to copper. I've never had a problem with cable corrosion or overheating.
One more point. Heat is a great indicator. As another poster mentioned, if you want a quick check for problem areas, see whats heating up. That's a good way to identify a weak link. Remember though, warm isn't hot. Some motors are happy to run all day hot enough that you can't hold your hand on for long. But heat is loss/inefficiency so the cooler the better. And a loose battery connection can heat up enough to melt a post right off you battery.
Anyway, enough rambling, have fun sailing.
DAC
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