Is Wiring of Kat's Circulating Tank Heater Adequate for Amperage Draw

Updated 01/26/2023 | Published 01/24/2023

Question:

I was using this heater for 3 months this winter and it ended up setting my car on fire. I have a 50/50 coolant water mix an one ordinary day im alerted by a passing driver that my car is on fire. After investigating i found out that the cord coming out of the heater is underrated for 1500 watts, it got too hot and set my plastic belly pan on fire. about 1/4 inch clearance between heater cable coming out of the bottom and my belly pan This caused significant damage to my car so im not too pleased. Why is this heater not using 10 gauge wire to be safe? Car is a VW Jetta TDI Diesel

asked by: Tony T

Expert Reply:

I'm really sorry to hear about your vehicle catching on fire. I can't even imagine how stressful that would be. I ran this by a guy who was an electrician in a past life though and for the 12.5 amps that this heater draws 10 gauge wire would be more than adequate.10 gauge wire at 12 volts can pretty easily handle 30 amps so 12.5 amps would be no problem at all. He thought that there must have been a short that caused the fire. This could have been due to an issue with the heater potentially but the wiring gauge itself would not have been the problem.

expert reply by: Jameson C