> If I recall correctly - and it's been a mort of years since I read it - > the ABYC spec prohibits soldered end fittings. However, that's not my > primary reason: in terms of the mechanical structure of the connection, > I don't like the idea of a rigid place inside the wire where it will > flex all day long with the motion of the boat (same reason that I > wouldn't use non-stranded wire.)
I've often wondered about that issue myself. I once owned a car that had constant breaks in the door wiring at the hinge location. The wire was multi-strand but it repeatedly broke after the dealer replaced it. I got fed up, and looked at it myself. While I had no means of direct comparison, the individual strands of the wire seemed to be of the same gauge as I had seen on my previous, much more reliable vehicles. I suspected it was because the insulation was stiff and was cracking before the wire failed, but wasn't sure. I didn't want to bother with testing my theory so I just spliced some good wire, in place of the factory stuff, and didn't have a problem afterwards. The geek in me would love to know what the interaction of the gauge of the individual strands vs the wire gauge vs insulation flexibility is, in regards to fatigue induced breakage. > > I also like spritzing a shot of Teflon grease into any non-sealed > connections, particularly if they're exposed to the weather, or could > get splashed with salt water (e.g., the bilge pump wires that come off > my outboard.) Another minor detail that makes my life less > maintenance-intensive. :) I agree. hehe no matter if you read that as you wrote it, or as my eyes 1st read the last line... with a "W" in place of the "L" in life. I read once, that RNLI call outs were mainly due to engine and electrical problems. I wonder how many would have been prevented by a little bit of extra money and effort spent on the wiring. Especially in an era of people who rely solely on electronics to navigate. Bad wiring causes fires, slowly damages equipment due to unstable power or power spikes, corrodes hulls and fittings, or simply causes all sorts of frustrating ghost problems. Amazing how people spend good money on gear, and then use crap connectors or, in simply baffling cases... simply use the twist and tape !!! method. Cheers, Roy _______________________________________________ Liveaboard mailing list [email protected] To adjust your membership settings over the web http://liveaboardonline.com/mailman/listinfo/liveaboard To subscribe send an email to [email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] The archives are at http://www.liveaboardonline.com/pipermail/liveaboard/ To search the archives http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] The Mailman Users Guide can be found here http://www.gnu.org/software/mailman/mailman-member/index.html
