DLO Cable First Impressions
DLO is a universal label for "Diesel Locomotive" electric cable. I am very picky about the cable I use. First of all it has to be true size wire not SAE sub-size. Rope stranded which means the threads are tufted and spiraled. More conductor per foot. And rope stranded fine wire is more flexible.
Tinned is nice but the ends meaning terminals have to be soldered and dual wall adhesive shrink tubing used to keep the tin from turning black and becoming useless.
The insulation is the kicker. Flexible wire usually means neoprene jacketing (Hypalon) and like welding cable, neoprene cuts through or wears through far too easily for my finicky taste.
The alternative was polyvinyl chloride. PVC. Fair cut resistance, but pretty stiff. If the jacket is thin, the hazards are obvious.
So Skycraft.com has DLO cable, for significantly less money than genuinedealz.com sells their "Boat Cable" for. Boat Cable is not as flexible as I would like and the insulation is marginal for abrasion and misuse.
I ordered 30 feet of 4AWG DLO wire.
DOWNSIDES (and they are not insignificant)
Available in any color as long as it's black
Minimum footage purchase required
The wire is imprinted along it's length with more standards and approvals than a person can shake stick at. SAE, ASTM, NEC, UL, CSA, and half a dozen more. The standards also include a 2,000 volt wet or dry rating.
From pure guesswork I would have to say the insulation is 2+ times as thick as what is found on regular premium cable. I decided to abuse it like a redheaded step child...
Stuck the end of the wire to a commercial pedestal grinder. The heavy grinder chews through regular insulation like it was warm butter. Not this stuff. It smoked and of course got badly eroded. But it was more like grinding hardwood than wire insulation. Then I torched it. Smoke and fumes, but no fire. No way will this stuff support a fire.
It takes more effort to cut than PVC and a lot more effort than neoprene but no sweat, it's not -that- much harder to strip.
Why am I even posting this?
Many folks want to run a charging cable lead from their pickup to a double socket then back to their trailer. It takes a considerable amount of wire and the wire should be some stout stuff. The DLO fills the bill to a "T"
If I remember correctly the 2/0 size stresses a 15 foot minimum purchase, making for a pair of 7-1/2' leads. This stuff is available up to sizes beyond 4/0, all the way down to 14 gauge. Any size DLO requires a varying minimum purchase.
But I have found the wire to re-locate the battery in my Tode. The 34 is going bye-bye and a 31 AGM is going into the trunk. I'll be damned if I am going to suffer a failed group 34 battery in Huehuetenango, Guatemala.
No, the 4 gauge is not going to be used. I am going to order 2/0 and run that to an insulated distribution block where the battery tray is. The starter demands 128 amperes at 30F cold start, so I'll fit a 150 ampere breaker. The DLO will be spiral wrapped in black nylon.
And yes, Landyacht, the 10 ohm 50 watt resistor gets fitted so I can Gerber spoon-feed the AGM with appropriate voltage. The 31 has four-times the capacity of the 34.
Tinned is nice but the ends meaning terminals have to be soldered and dual wall adhesive shrink tubing used to keep the tin from turning black and becoming useless.
The insulation is the kicker. Flexible wire usually means neoprene jacketing (Hypalon) and like welding cable, neoprene cuts through or wears through far too easily for my finicky taste.
The alternative was polyvinyl chloride. PVC. Fair cut resistance, but pretty stiff. If the jacket is thin, the hazards are obvious.
So Skycraft.com has DLO cable, for significantly less money than genuinedealz.com sells their "Boat Cable" for. Boat Cable is not as flexible as I would like and the insulation is marginal for abrasion and misuse.
I ordered 30 feet of 4AWG DLO wire.
DOWNSIDES (and they are not insignificant)
Available in any color as long as it's black
Minimum footage purchase required
The wire is imprinted along it's length with more standards and approvals than a person can shake stick at. SAE, ASTM, NEC, UL, CSA, and half a dozen more. The standards also include a 2,000 volt wet or dry rating.
From pure guesswork I would have to say the insulation is 2+ times as thick as what is found on regular premium cable. I decided to abuse it like a redheaded step child...
Stuck the end of the wire to a commercial pedestal grinder. The heavy grinder chews through regular insulation like it was warm butter. Not this stuff. It smoked and of course got badly eroded. But it was more like grinding hardwood than wire insulation. Then I torched it. Smoke and fumes, but no fire. No way will this stuff support a fire.
It takes more effort to cut than PVC and a lot more effort than neoprene but no sweat, it's not -that- much harder to strip.
Why am I even posting this?
Many folks want to run a charging cable lead from their pickup to a double socket then back to their trailer. It takes a considerable amount of wire and the wire should be some stout stuff. The DLO fills the bill to a "T"
If I remember correctly the 2/0 size stresses a 15 foot minimum purchase, making for a pair of 7-1/2' leads. This stuff is available up to sizes beyond 4/0, all the way down to 14 gauge. Any size DLO requires a varying minimum purchase.
But I have found the wire to re-locate the battery in my Tode. The 34 is going bye-bye and a 31 AGM is going into the trunk. I'll be damned if I am going to suffer a failed group 34 battery in Huehuetenango, Guatemala.
No, the 4 gauge is not going to be used. I am going to order 2/0 and run that to an insulated distribution block where the battery tray is. The starter demands 128 amperes at 30F cold start, so I'll fit a 150 ampere breaker. The DLO will be spiral wrapped in black nylon.
And yes, Landyacht, the 10 ohm 50 watt resistor gets fitted so I can Gerber spoon-feed the AGM with appropriate voltage. The 31 has four-times the capacity of the 34.
