6 ga to 10 ga

[hipster_dufus]

ok i can use 6 ga wire from my battery to a terminal,the tm does not have a 6 ga wire coming from it what do i do?ideally i would like to run 6 ga all the way to the trolling motor, plus i want to use my 50 amp breaker in line too, i know someone has an idea

[MyKeyBe]

I take it you have 10 gauge wire coming from the trolling motor? Run the 10 gauge to the breaker and the 6 gauge from there. Unless the breaker is more than 16 feet from the trolling motor the 10 gauge will handle the load fine. If you want to be extra sure mount the breaker within 4 feet of the trolling motor. Here is a link to wire gauge sizes for different amp loads and wire run lengths:

http://www.powermastermotorsports.com/charge_wires.html

Hope it helps.

[Ben]

First, you will want to have the breaker at the battery terminal.  If the manufactor of the motor thought it needed six guage, he would have used it.  The motor pigtale is short enough the wire they use is fine.  The further current has to run through a wire, the greater resistance.  That's why you use a larger diameter wire from the battery to the front of the boat.  Current also travels the outer surface of a conductor, that's why you should use the fine wire battery/welding cable.  The surface area of this cable is much greater than solid conductor or standard multi-strand six guage wire.  If you use standard wire, you should use at least a 4 ga.

Where the two cables are connected together is where you need to concentrate.  This is ususally the point of greatest resistance.  Make sure to use a connector rated for load plus 50% or use lugs that can be bolted or crimped and soldered.

What kind of 50 amp breaker are you using.  50 amp is rather large and you should be using one that's rated for the voltage and current you will be using.   That has an effect on when the breaker will actually trip.  A 50 amp AC house breaker is not going to trip at the same point a 50 amp 12 VDC breaker