Where to buy electrical supplies (CANADA)

I am planning on performing a major rewire of my Marine Trader 36 Sundeck in the spring and I am currently researching suppliers etc. I am in a pretty remote area of Canada myself and finding a reasonable selection of tinned Marine Wire at competitive prices appears to be a little problematic.

I am looking for reliable Internet vendors that don't charge an arm and a leg for wire and other electrical supplies (and economical shipping etc..) in Canada. (Or US suppliers with simple Canadian shipping policies and fees… I think DelCity may fall into this category if anyone can confirm their experience from Canada?)

(Amazon.ca does not have the same selection as Amazon.com for Marine wire and accessories unfortunately)

Marine Wiring, Boat Cable and Electrical Genuinedealz.com


Will make custom lengths with your choice of heat shrink and terminal ends for a reasonable price.


Many happy customers here on TF have posted before.

Although I cannot give you any specific lead here are some pointers ...

Defender.com ... not just wires but a good selection of marine supplies including electrical cables and wires. They have dedicated Canadian checkout and ship to Canada ... they are on the East Coast in CT. Good customer service if you have questions before or after the sale.

Amazon.com ... I was able to order using my Canadian AMEX and ship the order to my Canadian address. Have you tried?

Bestboatwire.com ... best selection I found of good quality cables and wires. Give them a call and ask about shipping to Canada.

In all cases when shipping from US, be prepared for additional duty/taxes and Canadian shipper "bonding" fees that could amount to 20+ percent of the order amount ... with the Canadian shipper fees being half of that ... what a scam.

psneeld said:

Marine Wiring, Boat Cable and Electrical Genuinedealz.com

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Yup, I agree. Good quality, prices and service delivered to your door. What's not to like?

tinnedmarinewire.com photos as discussed in pm.

Defender does have a clearance section and they did have a bunch of wire on clearance.

However when I compared to Genuinedealz for what I needed, Genuinedeazl was still cheaper and free shipping.

I like to deal with www.marineoutfitters.ca. They are in Kingston, Ontario. Good prices and excellent service, with fast shipping.

David

David Rive said:

I like to deal with www.marineoutfitters.ca. They are in Kingston, Ontario. Good prices and excellent service, with fast shipping.

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Good Canadian lead that could be cost efficient, no outrageous "bonding" fees. I've been to their store a number of times. Most items on the website are not in actually in stock ... count a few extra days for them to get together your stuff and ship your order.

Greetings,
Mr. A. Welcome aboard. At the risk of derailing your question (NOT my intention) after only 8 posts, I vaguely recall a discussion on TF where tinned wire is not necessary nor required in marine applications. So you may be able to achieve your ends with a Canadian wire supplier and use a US marine supplier solely for the connections if necessary.

Marine wire, cable and connections

If you are on the West Coast (or even if you are not) I have had excellent service and product from VERTEX MARINE

Vertex Marine | Marine Cable and Marine Electrical Wiring

They have a great selection and prices that I could not find anywhere even at wholesale levels.

How big a project? Batteries and or house wiring? I'd maybe start with a list of wire size, color, lengths, lugs, terminal strips, connectors, posts, etc. Get things organized and email the list to some of the venders mentioned already on this thread. They have some good experience and maybe some suggestions. When we did Hobo I found I could by a 50' roll of wire for less then 20' bought by the foot.

Funny, I was just on Defender comparing prices at my local chandlery. I just bought a 100' roll of tinned 14/3 for $90 cad locally. So the best deals aren't always on line.

Richard W said:

Amazon.com ... I was able to order using my Canadian AMEX and ship the order to my Canadian address. Have you tried?

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Yeah I used to order a lot from Amazon.com but now a lot of product simply states it does not ship to XXXXXX Canada... it can be gotten on Amazon.ca usually from 3rd party vendors looking to make a quick buck who list it at 4-10 times the market value...

Richard W said:

In all cases when shipping from US, be prepared for additional duty/taxes and Canadian shipper "bonding" fees that could amount to 20+ percent of the order amount ... with the Canadian shipper fees being half of that ... what a scam.

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Oh I agree - watch out for UPS especially... FedEx used to be bad too but they have improved thier service and pricing lately it appears. I have good luck with USPS - but wire would be a hassle as it is heavy etc..

David Rive said:

I like to deal with www.marineoutfitters.ca. They are in Kingston, Ontario. Good prices and excellent service, with fast shipping.

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Yes I reviewed thier site - looks promising - and another that I have found as well is ca.binnacle.com/ - I actually just ordered from them the other day a BlueSea Clamp on meter and an Anchor double crimp ratchet tool. Like Richard mentioned about MarineOutfitters, Binnacle don't list stock status on their site.... After my order I did get an email stating that the Meter was out of stock, delivery was 10 days... and the crimper was in stock. (And on sale!) - so either way not bad so far... In Canada, apparently in Halifax, Nova Scotia,... Nice easily navigable website, and apparently free shippin on most orders over $99...

Tolly Roger said:

If you are on the West Coast (or even if you are not) I have had excellent service and product from VERTEX MARINE.

They have a great selection and prices that I could not find anywhere even at wholesale levels.

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Thanks for the link - I may look at them - they are a wholesaler themselves but no distributor here locally so they may sell direct etc...

RT Firefly said:

I vaguely recall a discussion on TF where tinned wire is not necessary nor required in marine applications. So you may be able to achieve your ends with a Canadian wire supplier and use a US marine supplier solely for the connections if necessary.

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You are correct - Tinned is not required but it is nice to have and it is really not that much more (supposedly) - so if I can source it at a reasonable cost - why not use it...

It's really one of those projects where if I am going to do it myself, I am going to make a big production of the effort... a pride thing... Won't improve the resale value of the boat - just in my mind LOL

As for the connectors - that actually is not an issue - tons of suppliers locally or online for those... Brands like Panduit, T&B, or Burndy are all quality and easily procured.
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As for my mentioning DelCity.net earlier in my first post... I did some checking for Canadian customers...

Shipping to Canada is easy with Del City. By utilizing our UPS Canada Standard shipping option all charges for your order will be itemized on the payment page during checkout. This includes all freight costs, border crossing fees, duties, and taxes. UPS will not collect any additional fees at time of delivery. By selecting UPS Canada Standard you will also receive a flat rate fee of $14.99 on all order up to $300. Any order exceeding $300 will be charged a flat 5% fee on your order total.​

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So that looks like it should be pretty simplified - it is sort of the same way B&H Photo ships to Canada - I have dealt with them in the past and it's quite an enjoyable experience for the most part.

I am in agreement with RT, unless your wires are in the bilge or outside, there is no reason to get tinned wire. Battery cables should be tinned (mine are welding cables and have no corrosion, so go figure) but my boat was built in 1975 and there is a lot of serviceable, non-tinned wire in my boat that continues to give good service. Save some money and use "normal" wire, especially if you are shopping with our cheap-ass Loonie.

Where are you?

Xsbank said:

I am in agreement with RT, unless your wires are in the bilge or outside, there is no reason to get tinned wire. Battery cables should be tinned (mine are welding cables and have no corrosion, so go figure) but my boat was built in 1975 and there is a lot of serviceable, non-tinned wire in my boat that continues to give good service. Save some money and use "normal" wire, especially if you are shopping with our cheap-ass Loonie.

Where are you?

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Another thing to keep in mind is if your in Ontario ( which it sounds like) your boating in fresh water. So unless you plan on heading to the salty part of the world you've got leeway and can use nontinned wire.
This is available in a lot more locations.

I asked for a size of battery cables terminated and shrink wrapped. The guy said they did not have them. A worker said he could make them after work. He brought them (4) in next day soldered terminals, cut to my size and shrink wrapped. $20. Felt like 30 years ago.

In case you haven't already stumbled across this:

Making Your Own Battery Cables Photo Gallery by Compass Marine How To at pbase.com

mbevins said:

Another thing to keep in mind is if your in Ontario ( which it sounds like) your boating in fresh water. So unless you plan on heading to the salty part of the world you've got leeway and can use nontinned wire.

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Actually I am on the North Atlantic... so Salt is my environment. I do have a fair bit of wiring below decks as well so I would prefer tinned there... so rather than buying both types... figure just one etc...

Northern Spy said:

Funny, I was just on Defender comparing prices at my local chandlery. I just bought a 100' roll of tinned 14/3 for $90 cad locally. So the best deals aren't always on line.

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Yes - for sure - your absolutely correct! - Once I do up my schematics etc... I will make a trip to several ships supply houses locally as well... Their advantage being obviously consolidation on freight for stock orders etc... I've not made the trip to these folks yet so I am unaware what they stock etc...

Just trying to Narrow down good Canadian sources for reference and supply... Thanks everyone for the replies (and the pointers as well!)

Try Vertex but when I tried last year they would not deal with me direct. I'm an electrician and do some small [very]scale work for others but to no avail.

But try them, maybe they will relent.