Which cable dimension should you use for which user?

Correct cable dimension | Choosing the right cable dimension for each user is not always easy. This can mean taking what you have on hand and hoping it works, which it often does, at least initially.

Unfortunately, this is not a completely successful reasoning and the risk of equipment failure due to loss, overheated cables or even fires is imminent if you do not choose the right cable dimension for the right user.

With the help of Victron's Energy cable calculator available in the "Victron Toolkit" app, anyone can choose the right cable dimension without being a specialist in the subject.

The app works for both AC and DC and it takes into account the length of the cable, the amperage and the loss you consider reasonable for the installation.

Regarding the loss, it is usually said that 3% is reasonable for "small" users and 10% for "large" users such as bow, stern, windlass, winches, etc.

If you know that you or the previous owner of your boat did not have full control of this, it may be good to do some random samples on selected users to see how it looks and make any adjustments.

In the screenshot below we see that a user of 10A who has a cable length of 2.4m needs a 2.5mm2 cable to reach a maximum loss of 2.8% or in this case 0.3V.

If you want to take a closer look at our range of cables, you can find it under the link here.

/Digital Skipper