That’s a good question. There are charts online for 3% voltage drop based on the needed amperage and total length. Note that the length is the total wire length, not the commonly mistaken duplex/triplex length (i.e. not the distance from source to device). For an automatic bilge set up with a 3 way toggle, the total length is likely to close to 4X the length of a single wire run.
Here is an example: A Rule 1500 pump located 10 feet from the 3-way auto/off/manual toggle (assumed toggle close to battery) uses over 40 feet total wire length. If the pump draws 10Amps then for a 3% voltage drop, 8AWG wire is required. If the pump and switch are directly connected (i.e. no wire run to a 3-way toggle), then only 20 feet of 10AWG wire is required. Here is a link to the West Marine 3% voltage drop chart. https://www.westmarine.com/WestAdvisor/Marine-Wire-Size-And-Ampacity <https://www.westmarine.com/WestAdvisor/Marine-Wire-Size-And-Ampacity> - Paul E. 1981 C&C Landfall 38 S/V Johanna Rose Fort Walton Beach, FL http://svjohannarose.blogspot.com/ > On Jul 25, 2018, at 10:48 AM, cnc-list-requ...@cnc-list.com wrote: > > From: David <davidrisc...@msn.com <mailto:davidrisc...@msn.com>> > To: "cnc-list@cnc-list.com <mailto:cnc-list@cnc-list.com>" > <cnc-list@cnc-list.com <mailto:cnc-list@cnc-list.com>> > Subject: Re: Stus-List I am so done with bilge pumps... > Message-ID: > > <cy4pr16mb1653aef0a6368f89a2d943deda...@cy4pr16mb1653.namprd16.prod.outlook.com > > <mailto:cy4pr16mb1653aef0a6368f89a2d943deda...@cy4pr16mb1653.namprd16.prod.outlook.com>> > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252" > > So what size wire would not cause a voltage drop...
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