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Bonding wire

Discussion in 'Technical Discussion' started by Beau, Jun 15, 2011.

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  1. Beau, Jun 15, 2011
    #1
    Beau

    Beau Senior Member

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    Hi folks

    I have a single strand bonding wire, a bit thicker than a copper single strand used in a typical 120v system, which bonds all my thru-hulls to a transom zinc. What material is that wire made of, bronze, copper?? I need to replace a short section.
  2. Fishtigua, Jun 15, 2011
    #2
    Fishtigua

    Fishtigua Senior Member

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    My guess is tinned copper wire, as the bilge gets a little saltwater and regular copper can go green. Popular makes are Anchor or Cobra. Try to find what gauge has been used on the rest of the boat. There should be a AWG number on the other existing wires.
  3. Capt J, Jun 15, 2011
    #3
    Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    It's actually tinned twisted multi-strand copper wire and not single strand. It should be #8 green.
  4. Beau, Jun 15, 2011
    #4
    Beau

    Beau Senior Member

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    The wire is unsheathed, and almost without doubt is a single strand. But I will check more closely when I get an opportunity next week. It's the thickness of a thin wire hanger and has the same physical attributes....
  5. Pascal, Jun 15, 2011
    #5
    Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    older hatts like mine have copper strips for bonding, so it's possible some builders used single strand copper wire...

    in any case it's copper, so you can use marine copper wiring to repair
  6. Beau, Jun 15, 2011
    #6
    Beau

    Beau Senior Member

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    I believe it's copper also, but since it connects bronze thru hulls, I thought I'd ask....
  7. DON GREER, Aug 17, 2011
    #7
    DON GREER

    DON GREER Member

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    The bonding wire should be stranded copper. The size varies with the application but error on the large size. You can buy standard copper that is coated or tinned but be sure to make your connections carefully as not to scratch the coating. You might consider have a shrink sleeve up the wire at the connection point, re-tinning after you connect and then moving the shrink sleeve down to the connection and applying heat to it to provide secondary protection at the connection

    MAKE SURE THAT THE SHORE POWER GROUND HAS NOT BEEN CONNECTED TO THE BOAT GROUNDING SYSTEM ANYWHERE