Not explained more but mentioned, was auto jumper cables. They are designed for large amps (large gauge) ... for a short time... starting an engine should take only seconds. The insulation is more flexible for convenience...on the same rated conductor, the heat generated is short term. Continuous high amp circuits require insulation that is capable of handling the generated heat... so is denser, less flexible than jumpers, and of a different chemical composition. i.e. do NOT use jumper cables as hi amperage cable run, as their insulation WILL melt, causing a short circuit & eventual fire !
6/3 with ground - the extra red wire is normally used for a second power circuit so you can run 240 volt equipment (120 volts on black + 120 volts on red ) Yes, it can also be used for a three way switch.
Thank you sir for taking the time to make this video, learning is wonderful! One point to make about current and voltages, ratings and specs... Always use a wire gauge calculator, there are plenty of free online ones and charts to refer to (Google for one), to help with calculating gauge, length, conductor type, etc, based on voltage and current. Both factor in, 600v listed on the cable is only the rating for insulation, and safety. One thing for DIY'ers to also understand, is that voltage x amps = watts... So a 1200w load at 12v is 100 amps current, and a 1200w load at 120v is 10 amps, this is why jumper cables on a car need to be very large gauge, and household runs a lot smaller. Length loss matters more as the voltage is lower, higher voltage can travel farther with less loss. That's why on solar it is better to use higher voltages like 48v for battery banks, and higher for solar panel runs, to keep costs lower on cabling, as you are able to use smaller gauge on the longer runs (due to lower amperes). It can get very expensive to use a 12v battery bank if the inverter is not right next to it, as you may need cable that is very large. For example, I just wired an inverter in a guy's RV Trailer where the inverter is in the back, and the batteries are in the tongue by the hitch, and had to buy a 25 ft pair of 3/0 cables (didn't want to use chassis for ground), and cable cost $178... So higher voltage saves lots of money on cable costs.
Good video, Thanks... Couple of points. The voltage rating is for the INSULATOR, or plastic coating... it is not for the conductor (copper/aluminum (yes... there IS aluminum... but out of favor and hard to find)) ... the current carrying capacity has to do with the cross-sectional area and metallurgical properties of the physical conductor. Modern wiring sizing is based on cross-sectional area. Stranded cables will actually be physically a little larger than solid -- because solid has no air space between all the strands as there is only one strand. I'm not aware of varying metallurgical formulations for electrical wire on the market today, so theoretically, stranded vs solid wire of the same gauge has the exactly the same current carrying capacity. Voltage and power losses are based on distance, but also by cross-sectional area. Stranded wire is much easier to work with in most applications, and is my go to choice. What WILL impact losses are terminations and turns/bends. having monitored complex cable plants for years using thermal imaging, I can tell you that sharp bends are to be avoided, and crappy terminations, or terminations that are starting to corrode have caused nearly 100% of the failures and pre-failures that needed rework. The remaining miniscule percentage of cable plant fails were due entirely to conductor damage, either manufacturing inconsistency or (mostly) damage incurred during installation and/or maintenance. Current Flows. the easiest way to think of where your losses are/can be is to think of water FLOWING through a hose. If you crimp the hose, flow is reduced. if you place a sharp bend (but not quite a crimp), flow is also reduced. In wiring, this introduces RESISTANCE, and resistance lowers voltage and available power downline. This resistance is also a natural property of the metal used (which is why there are few wiring formulations out there) Personally, I'd prefer to have the cabling sized for at least 150-200% of maximum possible load. This reduces wiring resistance to a cost effective minimum, thus I-squared-R (power) losses, which show up as heat (and can have a runaway effect -- was going to say snowball)
Dan Murray Aluminum wire isn't hard to find. Absolutely everyone in the US has aluminum wire coming off the utility pole to the main breaker. I have 2/0 aluminum wire from my 8kw solar array to my charge controllers. Aluminum wire is very much still around.
Thanks for taking the time to explain. Very nice high level introduction to selecting proper wire sizes. One note, your guidance on stranded vs solid is not accurate. Solid wire has lower voltage drop but is less flexible, can break under continuous bending and is generally more difficult to work with. Stranded is typically slightly larger in physical size, much more flexible and easier to work with but can lead to higher costs, high voltage drop, higher capability derating and can lead to loose terminals over time due to inherent vibrations of the machinery or the A/C current flowing through it.
Current rating (Amps) is a function of the conductor cross section. Voltage and temperature rating is a function of the insulator. Stranded or solid conductors of the same cross section have identical transmission properties at DC or AC frequencies - I'm referring to 60hz. A stranded conductor will have a larger diameter than a solid conductor of the same cross section due to the voids between the strands. Stranded conductors are generally not allowed to be installed in the walls per NEC code. Exceptions apply so consult an electrician. Solid conductors are preferred in applications where the conductor is not subjected to frequent bending or flexing.
around here you can run stranded in walls but need to be encased in conduit. I'm not sure what you mean by" cross section" the electrons travel on the surface of the wire so my logic tells me that there would be less resistance with stranded wire vs solid...? I thought gage of the wire was a size measurement? like you compress the stranded into a solid they would be the same size.
The reason that an appliance is labeled at a specific voltage is because that is how it is tested and the resulting amps at that voltage. A drop of 10 volts from 120-110 in a house is highly unlikely. Three wire NM cable is not only for switches. It is also for stoves and dryers that need 120/240 volts.
Just a bit of general information to clear up any possible confusion. The voltage rating on the insulation, is just that, it is what the jacket of the cable, be it Teflon, rubber, etc. is rated at. The cable itself is almost unlimited where voltage is concerned. Solid core wires are not going to have more loss per unit length / diameter than stranded cable. Stranded scores in high power high frequency application only. You can think of very high frequency current as wanting to leave the wire altogether and radiate. Skin effect is a phenomenon that increases (decreases depth) proportionally to frequency and only the outer edge of the conductor carries the current. Below about 150hz this is not really an issue. Silver plating is an excellent way to use a semiprecious metal to full advantage here, silver being the best conductor we have presently. Wire carrying current will heat up, the thinner the gauge the greater the resistance per unit length and the resistance to flow causes heat. It's common sense really, what's the maximum current demand on your system? Choose the gauge of wire accordingly. If it's high voltage too, sort out your insulation as well.
Also was just reading the comments, and see I may have repeated much that has already been said. There is some good talk regarding terminations and reliability. The best terminations these days are from high pressure crimping, and the crimps are so good they become indistinguishable from the cable itself. Screw connections are trouble, solder is variable and heats the cable and insulation. High pressure crimps are expensive, as is the tool to do it - but you only ever need do it once - and they can be bolted down or whatever depending on style chosen. And they look nice.
+Martin de Angelis thanks for the info. Sometimes it's good when people repeat it helps to confirm what one says and the info doesn't get buried so easily becus it's repeated.
I crimp AND solder my terminals.Screw connections ARE trouble-prone,indeed.The screw terminals on my inverter get hot,I would prefer a solid,threaded post.
Electricity runs on the outside of the wire (strand), so the multi-strand is more efficient. You can use either solid or multi-strand on AC or DC, it is just more efficient to use the multi-strand.
Don't want to sound like an arse, but that is not quite correct, so purely for educational purposes - I stick my oar in )) DC is not influenced at all by skin effect as it is purely an AC phenomenon, and increases with frequency, I'm sure there will be a good wiki page on 'skin effect'. Sorry again for barging in.
ddd228/Dave in Seattle: Yes multi strand is more efficient but that's not the reason exactly why your car has multi strand wire. Solid cable is fine in the home but not in a car for 2 reasons. Hz and movement. Your car has multi strand cable because the average alternator (AC current) runs at around 400 Hz as opposed to 60 Hz in your home. Which brings us back to the skin effect conversation mentioned. And a car is moving which generally means the wires are moving. Solid wire is not flexible which makes it prone to breaking where multi strand is very flexible and good for use where wire movement is likely to happen. Then there is the heat dissipation requirement mentioned by Chuck Wagner. wire size is chosen (and rated) based upon how well it dissipates heat. Using the AWG standard, a 4/0 wire with 90C insulation is rated for 260 amps but that same wire with 60C insulation is only rated for 195 amps. That's why nobody measures wires in watts. It always baffles me why I see youtube videos where someone connect there RV battery bank together with 4/0 wire and then they run a #6 AWG or even a #2 AWG wire from the battery bank, through a 250 amp fuse, to their 3000 watt inverter. If you pulled 250 amps through that wire, the wire would probably melt long before the fuse blew. There is smaller diameter cable that can handle the 250 amps but its generally a specifically rated welding cable for that amperage not a standard AWG wire you can buy at Home Depot.
A easier way to explain sloid wire versus stranded is electricity goes around the wire not through it. The more strands you have the more amps you have compared to a single strand.
Solid wire has less resistance than stranded and thus less voltage drop as distance increases - believe you got this backward. Do not forget about code requirement of increasing amperage requirements for continuous loads by 125%. Current (amps) on hot roofs in conduit have to be further corrected for temperature and corrected again if number of conductors in the conduit exceed 3 wires - Section 690
Also stranded is used in situations where you have vibration, even a little. Stranded will not come loose but solid is much more likely to. Master Electrician of 43 years who worked in industrial settings with motors etc told me this.
And of course the other reason stranded wire is used it’s a whole lot easier to bend and fish through tight spaces. And DC power runs current on the outside of the strand and AC runs current on the inside of the strand
It's folklore that solid core cable has mores losses than stranded. The skin effect only becomes apparent at high frequencies. To the point where if you're moving lots of power around in the tens of MHz range you basically just use copper pipes as no current flows in the centre of the conductor at all. DC has a frequency of Zero Hz, therefore skin effect is not relevant. However, what *can* often happen when solid core is used is that it can be harder to connect to. Screw terminals contact a smaller surface area, where as stranded cable tends to be nicely "squashed" into the terminal well or contact plate thus making a superior connexion. The higher resistance connexion of the solid core can give rise to more heating making the situation even worse in a vicious cycle. The electrolysis action of DC current can also exacerbate the problem. This is likely where it's bad rep comes from. The solution is simple - make a good connexion. Solder a tail on or a lug etc The problem with cable ratings is that they are essentially safety ratings. And with these cables often used on high voltage circuits a certain voltage drop can be tolerated that's no good on low voltage DC systems. If you want to size cables generously, but not go into over the top overkill mode, *Current Density* is a good way to work it out. 1mm^2 cross sectional area per 3 amps is a good rule of thumb for 12VDC circuits. Of course all you Yanks will have to consult your tables to convert that into AWG! lol
Hope you can see this 6yrs after you posted this: I'm installing a 2K watt inverter. Batteries to inverter mounting location is 15'. I decided to go with 4/0 welding cables. My question is: what gauge should I use to ground the inverter to the chassis (semi truck) the inverter came with some doubled-up wires that are stamped 16-8 on the eye-connectors (not sure what that means) Oh ya, this stuff makes my brain hurt 😂
i am no expert. some of this stuff hurts my brain too. lol... for all grounding use 6awg bare or green wire. . i am guessing you should be ok on 4/0 . maybe touch the wire to see how hot the outside insulation gets. if its super hot you may want to get larger cables. i think you are going to be fine.
Semi truck battery/starter wire is 4/0 and has very fine strands. And, since semi's have multiple batteries, you can purchase inter-connect cables for wiring batteries together pre-made. Great for heavy solar wiring!
I looked into moving 12VDC at 10A(120W) accross 80' and found that i needed to run 4/0 cable to do it(very in-practable and expensive) Iron rod would have been cheaper(like a car frame) to keep cost down. Ended up installing a 500W grid tie inverter, and charging the remote battery bank.
Not sure why you needed 4/0 2awg can do it with only a .32 voltage drop. One thing people forget is that you can double a smaller wire to carry more load. Two 1/0 wires can do a better job then a 4/0 for about the same price. Just make sure you fuse the individual wires according to their amperage rating.
Why solid ware over distance carry less amperage than stranded cable? Because electrons run on the surface of the copper wire not inside. Meaning that solid has less surface area that stranded. stranded are compose of many wires given a more surface area for electrons to carry. Hope it help someone.
I went with the solid for the 120v becus of the direct bury it came it. my thinking is if I go with any other wire I have to also buy something to put it in so the mice don't eat the coating. the direct bury from what I heard is more rubber material so the mice wont chew it plus it is better for direct bury reducing my cost on conduit. the distance I have the solid wire going isn't going to lose enough to be un-useable if you will. you do bring up a great point. thanks for the comment.
Good info. I'm getting ready to install some solar panels on my RV and it's nice to get confirmation that my choice of wire for the installation is correct.
Most of the EC 3 wires for panels are 10 G. multi-strand cables. 8G. IS available,if needed. The critical wire sizes are from the inverter to your batteries. If your charge controller will handle the voltage, run your panels in SERIES to the CC.My MPPT CC will handle up to 90 V.I have seen as much as 80 V. input and that's OK with my CC.HIGH volts and low amps is good.
Be careful when choosing to wire your solar panels in series. I'm no solar expert by any means, but form the research I've done, when you are wired in series and any part of any panel gets shaded then all panels in series with produce as if they were all shaded. If wired in parallel and one panel gets shaded then the rest of the panels will still be producing to their individual full capabilities . If this is true then series wiring is only applicable for use if you know you will be in full sun most of the time.
Cool...just subbed in. I am running a DIY 4.9KW home off-grid solar power station. I use 4/0 between my 24v battery bank and 3.5KW inverter. Works great...kinda like using a garden hose to drink from a Big Gulp. The cable is actually TEMCo welding cable...with a lot of strands. Zero heating issues...tested with infrared thermometer. Great topic on wires/cables...have fun out there!
Electrons travel on the surface, and stranded has more surface area than solid of the same gauge. And the "RED" wire is "HOT2", black being HOT1, and white being neutral (bare wire is ground). 3 wire is for running 240vac, so always assume Red means dead if your heart gets shorted between it and the black wire...
also if i recall right, AC volts travels mostly center core, where as DC flows easier outter wire (aka more center vs's more outter skiin, least thats what i was told yrs ago.
could be. i really dont care how it travels i just care about which wire i should be using. solid for ac and stranded for dc. however when you have really large cables you use stranded also known as welding cable mainly becus its flexible compared to a really thick solid copper rod.
@@ArizonaHotHomestead how it travels is part of the reason to choose the right wire, notice they dont use braided wire in main home wall lines. there is a reason.
I don't see how the losses with the multi stranded wire is less when the resistence is more, it makes sense to me that the resistance is what causes the loss a 12 AWG solid copper wire has 1.588 ohms of resistence per 1000' of wire 10 AWG is only 1 ohm per 1000', but for the 12 AWG multi stranded wire the resistence depending on how many strands of wire in it ranges from 4.76 ohms to 5.18 ohms per 1000' and 10 AWG multi strand ranges from 3.22 to 3.64 ohms per 1000'.
i was told it has to do with the way ac and dc runs on the wire. i am no expert just know solid for ac and stranded for dc unless you are going super big on the wire you use stranded becus its flexible.
Thanx a lot sir, your video help me alot in understanding what wire should i use on my 12v loads running on the entire house. Currently im running thhn#14 and with a mix of speaker wire.
wow way to small. go bigger. never use speaker wire for any electrical. depending on loads and distance 6 to 12 stranded is great. in fact i use 6 to run the wire from the battery shed to the rv and barn than 10 or 12 on short runs to the loads. . when wires are to small like that speaker wire they will heat up causing the outer cover to melt and than catch anything it touches on fire.
Thank you sir, and not for further trouble I was installing a 1kw / 24v inverter with 240ah total battery capacity, any suggestion on what wire can i use or substitute to battery cable AWG#8(this is the only available size in my place) i'll be running it on 2 meters.
if 8 is the biggest you can get go with it. once you run the line measure the volts to see what drop you have between the beginning and ending of the wire. depending on your loads on each line may depend on how many lines you run. i would think for the most part you will be ok .
@@ArizonaHotHomestead Electrical terminals have temperature ratings. The distribution panel in your home has terminals breakers that are rated for 75°c. So even though you have a THHN wire rated 90°c you cant exceed the terminal rating. Because it's not so much about amps as much as heat , the same wire will have different ampacities in different conditions. ( free air, a hot engine compartment, on a roof, in conduit, 3or more conductors in a conduit.)
DC current runs on the outside essentially skates on the outside of the wire so if you have one wire solid or you have 25 wires stranded you can see the reasoning for using Stranded wire in all DC applications
ArizonaHotHomestead AC and DC both. We are planning on importing a 5th Wheeler for our family to travel Australia in and part of making the RV to Australian standards is changing all of the solid copper into strandard.
Here in the USA I don' think I've ever seen solid wire used in any mobile applications. It's used mainly in buildings, inside Romex, or when it's pulled through a conduit. I don't think you'll ever see it in an RV.
Dave Bethel yes we do, that is one of the few things we have to change to make the RV Australian Standard. Otherwise I wouldn't of said it in the first place
Solid wire is for static installations such as inside walls. It is cheaper than stranded wire. Stranded wire is for installations that need more flexibility or for applications where the wire would have movement. Large gauge wire would be too difficult to work with if it was solid.
Sir one emergency question... A parallel circuit consisting of 2 same load/resistance where the total maximum current is 15 amp. It is protected by 15amp fuse. That means max 7.5 current is allowed in each wires. Now, I removed one of the load. And, I replaced the other second load with new load which consumes max 10amp. That means only one new load is connected in the circuit. That means there's more 2.5amp difference of current flow in the new load circuit. So, in the old load, max is 7.5 per wire. In the new load max is 10 per wire. So, just 2.5 amp difference. Now, coming to my question... If the new circuit is ON say for max 10 seconds, will the circuit immediately BURNS up within 10 seconds??? Of course, it will be hot. How long (30 secs etc) can the wire stay unburnt? How long can it stay safe? Or, How much extra current can be passed beyond the maximum limit for any given gauge wire?
The fans inside inverters arent designed to install it vertically cause the bearings of fan will fall suddenly.Watch out... The effort in bearings there is axial,and are not designed to do that.
Could you answer a question? I have a 30A solar charge controller, with 2 separate inputs, for 2 150w panels, what AWG cable would be needed for this. Thank you.
i am not an expert but i would use the largest size that will fit. the documents of the charge controller should tell you the size it will handle. most pv wire is 10 or 12 gauge. i dont remember.
AWG isn't a good indicator of current capacity. I have 14awg, and that's rated for 30 amps, and 16awg at 21 amps. Best way to select cable is read the manufacturers data sheet. I use Farnells for that.
wow 14awg rated for 30 amps. i think that might be max before it starts to melt the outside of the wire. i would never think 14awg could handle that many amps. thanks for the info.
4 100watt 5.4amps per panel over a 85'' cable run to an 40amp mppt charge controller. what size wire is best for this application? Take in mind this is just a starter kit and most likely up my panels and battery bank size in future.
I have 110w / 35v solar panel to a 20 amp controller, will I be good with 10 gauge from panel to controller and 6 gauge from the controller to the paired 6v RV battery? Should both be stranded wire too?
If we assume that this cable 4 × 10 mm square each won the red, yellow and blue bears 50A and the sum of the three azazens becomes 150A question here won the cold black (neutral) is only 50A how to withstand the load charged against 150A
Does ac come out of the inverter? If so why do you recommend stranded from your inverter to your box? And what about charging from shore power, if your running ac to it to charge your dc batteries would you have to use stranded as well? Thanks for the video, God bless!!
becus of the size of wire. when the wire gets really thick you want to use stranded just so you can work with it other wise it makes it really difficult to work with.
Great explanations for wire sizing. Right smack dab in the middle of my electrical build on my van. A question occurred to me and that is, if a heavy duty set of jumper cables is rated for 1000v and 500 amps at 0 awg and is stranded and has similar temp ranges, shouldn't it work for any service in the van? Way above my pay grade😁
I’m a bit confused on the solar panel wires. I’m recommended to get 4awg wire that will go to the inverter since my solar panels are over 100ft from the house however it’s saying that mc4 connectors only fit 10-14awg. So how does this work?
you can get mc4 for 8awg wire. here is what i would do. use a electrical box at the panels and inside the box wire the panels wire to a 4awg. example 10awg with a 4awg. you might want to use a small bus bar just make sure they have an insulator. one for the positive and another for the negative. if your charge controller can take a 4 awg or if you are using a breaker inside with your components before it gets to the charge controller and it doesnt take the 4awg wire again use a box and bus bars to reduce the wire to a wire that will fit . does that make sense? good luck. oh by the way i am no expert.
You should keep your conductors at 10 to 14 as short as you can. Mount some Mc4 connectors to the side of a junction box with #10 inside the box. Splice the #10 to the #4 inside the box and run the #4 in pvc back to whatever you are feeding. Do the same thing on the home end.
not an electrician but love to deal with it. my dad was an electrician so i got most of my knowledge from him. the rest is from experience, and the internet. back in the day i did take some electrical courses.
Vid was a great help! QUESTION: I'm looking at a new Grand Design trailer. It is "prepped" for solar with a 10ga wire coming down from the roof into the front storage for connection to a inverter. If I get this trailer I am thinking of 600 to 700 watts in panels on the roof. Is the 10ga wire they installed heavy enough to go to a charge controller? Thank you!!!
10ga is a 30amp wire so it should be fine. 700w should be 24v with is 24amps. . it should be fine. if possible you might think about 6ga. i would only do it for peace of mind and i like to use bigger wire. ... what if..... what if you get more watts in the future. what if.........
great job, but remember the distance of the wire run. The longer the run , larger the strain on the wire, so yes normally a # 12 AWG wire is fine for up to 20 Amperes, but if it is a longer distance you will need to step up to a #10 AWG wire.
Hello I'm new to this but I'm very somewhat confused... where do you find terminals to fit 4/0 awg wire? I had to go to our electric supplier to get the 4/0 wire but they did not have terminals to fit. I looked online but I'm not sure what diameter the wire is. Nowhere on the wire it's self does it say.
the wire is also called welding cable. the connectors are also called Studs . here is a link to amazon amzn.to/2Hya5yt my cable doesnt have the diameter either but does say 4/0 awg..... i deal with Alternative energy for my solar they are a local non profit business. Alternative Energy Discount House Phone: (928) 521-0888 you can always call Larry and tell him i referred you and maybe you can buy some studs from him and he call mail them to you. good luck to you.
if you wire the panels in series to increase volts it will help with voltage drop and a 6 gauge would work but it you want to run 2 it will reduce the voltage drop but maybe to big for some connections so you may not a junction box to reduce the size ..
i am no expert but what i am told is electricity dc or ac will have a voltage drop over a period of distance. the size of wire if bigger than needed will have a less drop than a smaller wire. dc will drop faster than ac .
Use a voltage drop calculator online. It’s all about power loss. The higher the %lost the more money you wasted (to a point) I would suggest you size wire for 3-5% voltage loss. Four utility solar, I designed to 1% average. Lost power there is lost income. Owners want income.
I'm having a real tough time finding out what size wire I should use to wire 4 6 volt T-105 225 amp hour batteries in series then parallel to end up with 12 volts 450 amp hours, and how do you find out that information. How should Amps and Amp hours be treated different??
amps and amp hours is same thing. use the biggest cable/wire as possible to prevent the wires from getting hot and losing volts. i would use 0 awg. or bigger. maybe get away with 2 or 1 awg but feel the wire and if seems to hot replace with bigger wire.
The whole voltage drop part is bogus. This is from Google search. "The total cross-section area, AWG or "circular mill" size of a stranded conductor is equivalent to that of a solid conductor for the same designated wire size. ... Similarly, there will be no less or more voltage drop whether you use stranded or solid wire and the current carrying capacity is the same." Especially Bad was the lamp cord and voltage drop from 120 to 110 volts in the short cord. The difference between solid and stranded is flexibility. Electricians pulling conductors through conduit prefer stranded. Pulls easier. Otherwise most of the other information was reasonable.
I’m sorry I’m just as confused as when I got here. 😢 the best I can do is , the higher the amperage the thicker the wire or the higher the voltage the thicker the wire or the same with watts, I guess? I really don’t understand anything really.😢
The voltage rating of conductors is based on the insulation on the conductor. It is voltage rated so that at that voltage or less, two conductors next to each other will not arc. Watts is a unit of power and what you pay your utility company to borrow. Amps is the electricity flowing through the wire. Amps in wires causes heat because of resistance in the wire. Increase amps will increase heat in the wire. Increase the wire size to reduce resistance in order to reduce heat to a level that will not damage the insulation. Hope this helps you!
being that size i would feel good in using standard auto battery cables. the 75amps is less than a video i did in wiring 2 12v batteries and on them i am using auto battery cables.
My biggest issue is getting/affording big enough wire to stop voltage loss. My first installer used some so thin, I am going to have to pay for new wires if I want any efficiency.
its hard to really say but I think it you have 6awg from your solar/components/battery to your rv that would help reduce loss.. your rv is already wired as 6awg. mine was so I assume all are. wire right to your dc part of the trailer. use only the 120v rv plug when you need to. that should also help reduce your emf too. I would think.
think this way volts wont kill you but amps will. you want large wire so the voltage loss over distance is less becus most devices need so many volts to operate. example some 12 devices need at least 11.7 volts or it wont turn on. the amps for the wire is only the rating so you dont over load the wire and other components. for your loads you add up the amps of use and dont exceed the rating for the wire. 10awg max 30amps regardless of volts. large wire to reduce voltage loss but limit amps on each wire to prevent fire and damage to all components.
Question... I have to hook two 12v 9ah batteries together that then go inside a UPS Battery backup. I have T2 connectors for it, but wondered what sort of wire type/size I should use (the length would be like 2-3 inches).
If I have 2 24v 305w solar panels and will be running them in parralel going about 15' to charge controller what gauge wire should I use from the panels to the controller? I have a Victron BlueSolar 12V or 24V MPPT 100/50 Charge Controller - 50 Amps / 100 Volts . What size fuse would I need? Each panel has "Current at max power (Imp): 9.33 Amps DC".
i would use 6 gauge stranded wire. for the fuse use 50amps. the goal of the fuse is to protect the controller so if it can handle 50 amps and you only have 2 panels totally 610 watts 50 is perfect.
Not explained more but mentioned, was auto jumper cables. They are designed for large amps (large gauge) ... for a short time... starting an engine should take only seconds. The insulation is more flexible for convenience...on the same rated conductor, the heat generated is short term. Continuous high amp circuits require insulation that is capable of handling the generated heat... so is denser, less flexible than jumpers, and of a different chemical composition. i.e. do NOT use jumper cables as hi amperage cable run, as their insulation WILL melt, causing a short circuit & eventual fire !
great point.
6/3 with ground -
the extra red wire is normally used for a second power circuit so you can run 240 volt equipment
(120 volts on black + 120 volts on red )
Yes, it can also be used for a three way switch.
thanks
Yes thats exactly what I was thinking, two hots a neutral and a ground.
Means of 7029 sir?
Thank you sir for taking the time to make this video, learning is wonderful! One point to make about current and voltages, ratings and specs... Always use a wire gauge calculator, there are plenty of free online ones and charts to refer to (Google for one), to help with calculating gauge, length, conductor type, etc, based on voltage and current. Both factor in, 600v listed on the cable is only the rating for insulation, and safety.
One thing for DIY'ers to also understand, is that voltage x amps = watts... So a 1200w load at 12v is 100 amps current, and a 1200w load at 120v is 10 amps, this is why jumper cables on a car need to be very large gauge, and household runs a lot smaller. Length loss matters more as the voltage is lower, higher voltage can travel farther with less loss. That's why on solar it is better to use higher voltages like 48v for battery banks, and higher for solar panel runs, to keep costs lower on cabling, as you are able to use smaller gauge on the longer runs (due to lower amperes).
It can get very expensive to use a 12v battery bank if the inverter is not right next to it, as you may need cable that is very large. For example, I just wired an inverter in a guy's RV Trailer where the inverter is in the back, and the batteries are in the tongue by the hitch, and had to buy a 25 ft pair of 3/0 cables (didn't want to use chassis for ground), and cable cost $178... So higher voltage saves lots of money on cable costs.
thanks for the info.
Good video, Thanks... Couple of points. The voltage rating is for the INSULATOR, or plastic coating... it is not for the conductor (copper/aluminum (yes... there IS aluminum... but out of favor and hard to find)) ...
the current carrying capacity has to do with the cross-sectional area and metallurgical properties of the physical conductor.
Modern wiring sizing is based on cross-sectional area. Stranded cables will actually be physically a little larger than solid -- because solid has no air space between all the strands as there is only one strand.
I'm not aware of varying metallurgical formulations for electrical wire on the market today, so theoretically, stranded vs solid wire of the same gauge has the exactly the same current carrying capacity.
Voltage and power losses are based on distance, but also by cross-sectional area. Stranded wire is much easier to work with in most applications, and is my go to choice. What WILL impact losses are terminations and turns/bends. having monitored complex cable plants for years using thermal imaging, I can tell you that sharp bends are to be avoided, and crappy terminations, or terminations that are starting to corrode have caused nearly 100% of the failures and pre-failures that needed rework. The remaining miniscule percentage of cable plant fails were due entirely to conductor damage, either manufacturing inconsistency or (mostly) damage incurred during installation and/or maintenance.
Current Flows. the easiest way to think of where your losses are/can be is to think of water FLOWING through a hose. If you crimp the hose, flow is reduced. if you place a sharp bend (but not quite a crimp), flow is also reduced. In wiring, this introduces RESISTANCE, and resistance lowers voltage and available power downline. This resistance is also a natural property of the metal used (which is why there are few wiring formulations out there)
Personally, I'd prefer to have the cabling sized for at least 150-200% of maximum possible load. This reduces wiring resistance to a cost effective minimum, thus I-squared-R (power) losses, which show up as heat (and can have a runaway effect -- was going to say snowball)
full of info. thanks.
Dan Murray Aluminum wire isn't hard to find. Absolutely everyone in the US has aluminum wire coming off the utility pole to the main breaker. I have 2/0 aluminum wire from my 8kw solar array to my charge controllers. Aluminum wire is very much still around.
Thanks for taking the time to explain. Very nice high level introduction to selecting proper wire sizes.
One note, your guidance on stranded vs solid is not accurate. Solid wire has lower voltage drop but is less flexible, can break under continuous bending and is generally more difficult to work with. Stranded is typically slightly larger in physical size, much more flexible and easier to work with but can lead to higher costs, high voltage drop, higher capability derating and can lead to loose terminals over time due to inherent vibrations of the machinery or the A/C current flowing through it.
good into thank.
Current rating (Amps) is a function of the conductor cross section. Voltage and temperature rating is a function of the insulator.
Stranded or solid conductors of the same cross section have identical transmission properties at DC or AC frequencies - I'm referring to 60hz.
A stranded conductor will have a larger diameter than a solid conductor of the same cross section due to the voids between the strands.
Stranded conductors are generally not allowed to be installed in the walls per NEC code. Exceptions apply so consult an electrician.
Solid conductors are preferred in applications where the conductor is not subjected to frequent bending or flexing.
thanks for the info. a bit to techie for me but i appreciate it. when people read the comments it will help them.
around here you can run stranded in walls but need to be encased in conduit. I'm not sure what you mean by" cross section" the electrons travel on the surface of the wire so my logic tells me that there would be less resistance with stranded wire vs solid...? I thought gage of the wire was a size measurement? like you compress the stranded into a solid they would be the same size.
The reason that an appliance is labeled at a specific voltage is because that is how it is tested and the resulting amps at that voltage. A drop of 10 volts from 120-110 in a house is highly unlikely. Three wire NM cable is not only for switches. It is also for stoves and dryers that need 120/240 volts.
thanks. also from what i understand some appliances need at least 110 volt to operate. .
Just a bit of general information to clear up any possible confusion. The voltage rating on the insulation, is just that, it is what the jacket of the cable, be it Teflon, rubber, etc. is rated at. The cable itself is almost unlimited where voltage is concerned. Solid core wires are not going to have more loss per unit length / diameter than stranded cable. Stranded scores in high power high frequency application only. You can think of very high frequency current as wanting to leave the wire altogether and radiate. Skin effect is a phenomenon that increases (decreases depth) proportionally to frequency and only the outer edge of the conductor carries the current. Below about 150hz this is not really an issue. Silver plating is an excellent way to use a semiprecious metal to full advantage here, silver being the best conductor we have presently. Wire carrying current will heat up, the thinner the gauge the greater the resistance per unit length and the resistance to flow causes heat.
It's common sense really, what's the maximum current demand on your system? Choose the gauge of wire accordingly. If it's high voltage too, sort out your insulation as well.
Also was just reading the comments, and see I may have repeated much that has already been said. There is some good talk regarding terminations and reliability. The best terminations these days are from high pressure crimping, and the crimps are so good they become indistinguishable from the cable itself. Screw connections are trouble, solder is variable and heats the cable and insulation. High pressure crimps are expensive, as is the tool to do it - but you only ever need do it once - and they can be bolted down or whatever depending on style chosen. And they look nice.
+Martin de Angelis thanks for the info. Sometimes it's good when people repeat it helps to confirm what one says and the info doesn't get buried so easily becus it's repeated.
I crimp AND solder my terminals.Screw connections ARE trouble-prone,indeed.The screw terminals on my inverter get hot,I would prefer a solid,threaded post.
Electricity runs on the outside of the wire (strand), so the multi-strand is more efficient. You can use either solid or multi-strand on AC or DC, it is just more efficient to use the multi-strand.
thanks for the info. I like it when people chime in with valuable information. thanks.
Don't want to sound like an arse, but that is not quite correct, so purely for educational purposes - I stick my oar in )) DC is not influenced at all by skin effect as it is purely an AC phenomenon, and increases with frequency, I'm sure there will be a good wiki page on 'skin effect'. Sorry again for barging in.
Multi strand is more efficient.That's why your car has them.Otherwise,they would all be solid core wires.
ddd228/Dave in Seattle: Yes multi strand is more efficient but that's not the reason exactly why your car has multi strand wire. Solid cable is fine in the home but not in a car for 2 reasons. Hz and movement. Your car has multi strand cable because the average alternator (AC current) runs at around 400 Hz as opposed to 60 Hz in your home. Which brings us back to the skin effect conversation mentioned. And a car is moving which generally means the wires are moving. Solid wire is not flexible which makes it prone to breaking where multi strand is very flexible and good for use where wire movement is likely to happen. Then there is the heat dissipation requirement mentioned by Chuck Wagner. wire size is chosen (and rated) based upon how well it dissipates heat. Using the AWG standard, a 4/0 wire with 90C insulation is rated for 260 amps but that same wire with 60C insulation is only rated for 195 amps. That's why nobody measures wires in watts. It always baffles me why I see youtube videos where someone connect there RV battery bank together with 4/0 wire and then they run a #6 AWG or even a #2 AWG wire from the battery bank, through a 250 amp fuse, to their 3000 watt inverter. If you pulled 250 amps through that wire, the wire would probably melt long before the fuse blew. There is smaller diameter cable that can handle the 250 amps but its generally a specifically rated welding cable for that amperage not a standard AWG wire you can buy at Home Depot.
@@martinda7446 you got it this guy is going to burn his place down someday. He’s off on a lot of issues not just electrical
A easier way to explain sloid wire versus stranded is electricity goes around the wire not through it. The more strands you have the more amps you have compared to a single strand.
so true.
Solid wire has less resistance than stranded and thus less voltage drop as distance increases - believe you got this backward. Do not forget about code requirement of increasing amperage requirements for continuous loads by 125%. Current (amps) on hot roofs in conduit have to be further corrected for temperature and corrected again if number of conductors in the conduit exceed 3 wires - Section 690
Also stranded is used in situations where you have vibration, even a little. Stranded will not come loose but solid is much more likely to. Master Electrician of 43 years who worked in industrial settings with motors etc told me this.
.
And of course the other reason stranded wire is used it’s a whole lot easier to bend and fish through tight spaces. And DC power runs current on the outside of the strand and AC runs current on the inside of the strand
I did watch 'til the end. I am not an electrician but wanted to know more about the wire. Thanks for sharing!!!
you are welcome. i hope it made sense
It's folklore that solid core cable has mores losses than stranded. The skin effect only becomes apparent at high frequencies. To the point where if you're moving lots of power around in the tens of MHz range you basically just use copper pipes as no current flows in the centre of the conductor at all. DC has a frequency of Zero Hz, therefore skin effect is not relevant.
However, what *can* often happen when solid core is used is that it can be harder to connect to. Screw terminals contact a smaller surface area, where as stranded cable tends to be nicely "squashed" into the terminal well or contact plate thus making a superior connexion.
The higher resistance connexion of the solid core can give rise to more heating making the situation even worse in a vicious cycle. The electrolysis action of DC current can also exacerbate the problem. This is likely where it's bad rep comes from. The solution is simple - make a good connexion. Solder a tail on or a lug etc
The problem with cable ratings is that they are essentially safety ratings. And with these cables often used on high voltage circuits a certain voltage drop can be tolerated that's no good on low voltage DC systems.
If you want to size cables generously, but not go into over the top overkill mode, *Current Density* is a good way to work it out. 1mm^2 cross sectional area per 3 amps is a good rule of thumb for 12VDC circuits. Of course all you Yanks will have to consult your tables to convert that into AWG! lol
great information. thanks.
Hope you can see this 6yrs after you posted this: I'm installing a 2K watt inverter. Batteries to inverter mounting location is 15'. I decided to go with 4/0 welding cables.
My question is: what gauge should I use to ground the inverter to the chassis (semi truck) the inverter came with some doubled-up wires that are stamped 16-8 on the eye-connectors (not sure what that means)
Oh ya, this stuff makes my brain hurt 😂
i am no expert. some of this stuff hurts my brain too. lol... for all grounding use 6awg bare or green wire. . i am guessing you should be ok on 4/0 . maybe touch the wire to see how hot the outside insulation gets. if its super hot you may want to get larger cables. i think you are going to be fine.
Semi truck battery/starter wire is 4/0 and has very fine strands. And, since semi's have multiple batteries, you can purchase inter-connect cables for wiring batteries together pre-made. Great for heavy solar wiring!
thanks
6/3 is for 240v split phase usage...2 hots, one neutral, and ground
thanks.
I looked into moving 12VDC at 10A(120W) accross 80' and found that i needed to run 4/0 cable to do it(very in-practable and expensive)
Iron rod would have been cheaper(like a car frame) to keep cost down.
Ended up installing a 500W grid tie inverter, and charging the remote battery bank.
wow 80 feet long way. if you could increase the volts you can reduce the wire size. or bring the 2 closer together.
Not sure why you needed 4/0 2awg can do it with only a .32 voltage drop. One thing people forget is that you can double a smaller wire to carry more load. Two 1/0 wires can do a better job then a 4/0 for about the same price. Just make sure you fuse the individual wires according to their amperage rating.
Why solid ware over distance carry less amperage than stranded cable? Because electrons run on the surface of the copper wire not inside. Meaning that solid has less surface area that stranded. stranded are compose of many wires given a more surface area for electrons to carry. Hope it help someone.
I went with the solid for the 120v becus of the direct bury it came it. my thinking is if I go with any other wire I have to also buy something to put it in so the mice don't eat the coating. the direct bury from what I heard is more rubber material so the mice wont chew it plus it is better for direct bury reducing my cost on conduit. the distance I have the solid wire going isn't going to lose enough to be un-useable if you will. you do bring up a great point. thanks for the comment.
only at high frequency
Angel Gonzalez thank you
My eggs
@@paulapril Thanks for that clarification.
Good info. I'm getting ready to install some solar panels on my RV and it's nice to get confirmation that my choice of wire for the installation is correct.
Most of the EC 3 wires for panels are 10 G. multi-strand cables. 8G. IS available,if needed.
The critical wire sizes are from the inverter to your batteries. If your charge controller will handle the voltage, run your panels in SERIES to the CC.My MPPT CC will handle up to 90 V.I have seen as much as 80 V. input and that's OK with my CC.HIGH volts and low amps is good.
nice. good luck with your set up.
Be careful when choosing to wire your solar panels in series. I'm no solar expert by any means, but form the research I've done, when you are wired in series and any part of any panel gets shaded then all panels in series with produce as if they were all shaded. If wired in parallel and one panel gets shaded then the rest of the panels will still be producing to their individual full capabilities . If this is true then series wiring is only applicable for use if you know you will be in full sun most of the time.
Remember the higher the voltage the smaller the wire. A mppt charge controller will allow you up to 150 volts then change it to your battery voltage.
Cool...just subbed in. I am running a DIY 4.9KW home off-grid solar power station. I use 4/0 between my 24v battery bank and 3.5KW inverter. Works great...kinda like using a garden hose to drink from a Big Gulp. The cable is actually TEMCo welding cable...with a lot of strands. Zero heating issues...tested with infrared thermometer. Great topic on wires/cables...have fun out there!
thanks and welcome aboard... garden hose I like the reference..
I subbed back. thanks again.
I subbed back. thanks again.
You went way overboard with your wiring. You could have used 1/0 wiring.... 3500w/24v=145amps.
www.cerrowire.com/ampacity-charts
Electrons travel on the surface, and stranded has more surface area than solid of the same gauge. And the "RED" wire is "HOT2", black being HOT1, and white being neutral (bare wire is ground). 3 wire is for running 240vac, so always assume Red means dead if your heart gets shorted between it and the black wire...
thanks for the information.
also if i recall right, AC volts travels mostly center core, where as DC flows easier outter wire (aka more center vs's more outter skiin, least thats what i was told yrs ago.
could be. i really dont care how it travels i just care about which wire i should be using. solid for ac and stranded for dc. however when you have really large cables you use stranded also known as welding cable mainly becus its flexible compared to a really thick solid copper rod.
@@ArizonaHotHomestead how it travels is part of the reason to choose the right wire, notice they dont use braided wire in main home wall lines. there is a reason.
Your a very good teacher
shucks. lol. thanks. i was hoping to make it a simple as possible.
I don't see how the losses with the multi stranded wire is less when the resistence is more, it makes sense to me that the resistance is what causes the loss a 12 AWG solid copper wire has 1.588 ohms of resistence per 1000' of wire 10 AWG is only 1 ohm per 1000', but for the 12 AWG multi stranded wire the resistence depending on how many strands of wire in it ranges from 4.76 ohms to 5.18 ohms per 1000' and 10 AWG multi strand ranges from 3.22 to 3.64 ohms per 1000'.
i was told it has to do with the way ac and dc runs on the wire. i am no expert just know solid for ac and stranded for dc unless you are going super big on the wire you use stranded becus its flexible.
Thanx a lot sir, your video help me alot in understanding what wire should i use on my 12v loads running on the entire house. Currently im running thhn#14 and with a mix of speaker wire.
wow way to small. go bigger. never use speaker wire for any electrical. depending on loads and distance 6 to 12 stranded is great. in fact i use 6 to run the wire from the battery shed to the rv and barn than 10 or 12 on short runs to the loads. . when wires are to small like that speaker wire they will heat up causing the outer cover to melt and than catch anything it touches on fire.
Thank you sir, and not for further trouble I was installing a 1kw / 24v inverter with 240ah total battery capacity, any suggestion on what wire can i use or substitute to battery cable AWG#8(this is the only available size in my place) i'll be running it on 2 meters.
if 8 is the biggest you can get go with it. once you run the line measure the volts to see what drop you have between the beginning and ending of the wire. depending on your loads on each line may depend on how many lines you run. i would think for the most part you will be ok .
Holy cow. You are the first person I've seen to reasonably explain this so anyone can understand. Great job!
awesome. I was hoping I was able to explain in normal terms. lol.
Thanks Jeff
you is welcome. lol
Finally, someone explains it practically.
thanks. i try to make it simple.
Thanks for explaining everything in such an easy to understand way, man.
great. i was going for the simple to understand way. its so easy to make it complicated.
Thank you for making the video it is very informative
gee thanks. lol.. have a great day
Not just amps but insulation type,condition of use and terminal rating.
what is a terminal rating?
@@ArizonaHotHomestead Electrical terminals have temperature ratings.
The distribution panel in your home has terminals breakers that are rated for 75°c.
So even though you have a THHN wire rated 90°c you cant exceed the terminal rating.
Because it's not so much about amps as much as heat , the same wire will have different ampacities in different conditions. ( free air, a hot engine compartment, on a roof, in conduit, 3or more conductors in a conduit.)
DC current runs on the outside essentially skates on the outside of the wire so if you have one wire solid or you have 25 wires stranded you can see the reasoning for using Stranded wire in all DC applications
thanks for the input. i like it when others add good insight to one of my videos. thanks.
In Australia it is law in contruction buildings and even RV's to use only stranded. You don't even see that solid copper anywhere here.
is that just for dc currents? i think its code for permitted projects in usa for dc to use stranded and specific size.
ArizonaHotHomestead AC and DC both.
We are planning on importing a 5th Wheeler for our family to travel Australia in and part of making the RV to Australian standards is changing all of the solid copper into strandard.
Here in the USA I don' think I've ever seen solid wire used in any mobile applications. It's used mainly in buildings, inside Romex, or when it's pulled through a conduit. I don't think you'll ever see it in an RV.
Dave Bethel yes we do, that is one of the few things we have to change to make the RV Australian Standard. Otherwise I wouldn't of said it in the first place
If anything, resistance for DC current on solid core is less than (by less than 1%) than stranded.
thats to techni for me. dc use stranded. that easier for me to understand. lol
Solid wire is for static installations such as inside walls. It is cheaper than stranded wire.
Stranded wire is for installations that need more flexibility or for applications where the wire would have movement.
Large gauge wire would be too difficult to work with if it was solid.
thanks. good information
Why factory just make mark on the cable base on amps ?? Not code .
dont know. i would assume the wires are used in so many other projects where code doesnt apply.
Sir one emergency question...
A parallel circuit consisting of 2 same load/resistance where the total maximum current is 15 amp. It is protected by 15amp fuse. That means max 7.5 current is allowed in each wires.
Now, I removed one of the load. And, I replaced the other second load with new load which consumes max 10amp.
That means only one new load is connected in the circuit. That means there's more 2.5amp difference of current flow in the new load circuit.
So, in the old load, max is 7.5 per wire.
In the new load max is 10 per wire.
So, just 2.5 amp difference.
Now, coming to my question...
If the new circuit is ON say for max 10 seconds, will the circuit immediately BURNS up within 10 seconds??? Of course, it will be hot.
How long (30 secs etc) can the wire stay unburnt? How long can it stay safe?
Or, How much extra current can be passed beyond the maximum limit for any given gauge wire?
i have no idea. you would have to ask someone who knows something about that. i am just an avg guy sharing info i learn as i go. i am no expert.
Old video but helpful, Thanks
you betcha
You do not need that big 3 wire for separate light switches. You need them for 3 phase 120v to 240v hook ups for electric stove and dryer.
i used 1 size bigger for everything.
The fans inside inverters arent designed to install it vertically cause the bearings of fan will fall suddenly.Watch out...
The effort in bearings there is axial,and are not designed to do that.
thanks didnt know that
thanks now I can set up the furnace in my box van caper the right way.
Good exsplanation of wiring.. Make America Great Again!
awesome. be safe .
Could you answer a question? I have a 30A solar charge controller, with 2 separate inputs, for 2 150w panels, what AWG cable would be needed for this. Thank you.
i am not an expert but i would use the largest size that will fit. the documents of the charge controller should tell you the size it will handle. most pv wire is 10 or 12 gauge. i dont remember.
Great video!!! So glad I found this!! Thank you!!
you are welcome. have a great day
Stranded is always better cause conductivity depends on surface area. In other words, the stranded one will be more efficient.
which is why using dc power stranded wire will hold the volts better than solid.
You have to fact in the length of the run !
true.
He said that
AWG isn't a good indicator of current capacity. I have 14awg, and that's rated for 30 amps, and 16awg at 21 amps.
Best way to select cable is read the manufacturers data sheet. I use Farnells for that.
wow 14awg rated for 30 amps. i think that might be max before it starts to melt the outside of the wire. i would never think 14awg could handle that many amps. thanks for the info.
That was great, very to the point and informative!
thanks. its easy to get to wordy when trying to explain things.
4 100watt 5.4amps per panel over a 85'' cable run to an 40amp mppt charge controller. what size wire is best for this application? Take in mind this is just a starter kit and most likely up my panels and battery bank size in future.
thanks for the info, very informative.
awesome. have a great day
Very helpful and I thank you from Chile. Jim
awesome and welcome from chile.
Thank you excellent helpful information
great. i was hoping it would be helpful
Thank you, your video was very informative.
thanks for watching. glad it was informative
The reason they use stranded cables in cars is because its flexable like your home lamps ie flex
thanks.
Great stuff. Thanks
gee thanks
Yea the loss of volt's over distance is due to resistance (ohm's) You have heard of ohm's law right?
i know nothing about ohms law.
Thankyou for an excellent video!
you are welcome. thanks for watching.
Thanks again Jeff, more help.
awesome. glad the videos are helpful.
Man thank you for sharing information.
your welcome
Very helpful. Thank you!
you are welcome.
I have 110w / 35v solar panel to a 20 amp controller, will I be good with 10 gauge from panel to controller and 6 gauge from the controller to the paired 6v RV battery? Should both be stranded wire too?
i would do 6 gauge to both and yes to stranded. think this stranded for dc and solid for ac.
good
thanks for watching and have a great day
If we assume that this cable 4 × 10 mm square each won the red, yellow and blue bears 50A and the sum of the three azazens becomes 150A question here won the cold black (neutral) is only 50A how to withstand the load charged against 150A
i am not an expert. dont understand what you are trying to say. sorry.
Thanks a great explination I could understand
awesome. glad it came across so you could understand.
Does ac come out of the inverter? If so why do you recommend stranded from your inverter to your box? And what about charging from shore power, if your running ac to it to charge your dc batteries would you have to use stranded as well? Thanks for the video, God bless!!
becus of the size of wire. when the wire gets really thick you want to use stranded just so you can work with it other wise it makes it really difficult to work with.
So it can bend....the solid ones is hard to bend/cut..and not good for . movements...
You are very nice teacher , I have question if you don’t mind and that’s will be great for me 💐🌹
keep in mind i am no expert , i learn everything my doing and others. i will try to help what question do you have.
ArizonaHotHomestead I want to know how to select the right size of cable between battery and inverter ?
@@user-yv9ui6co6rwhat size is the inverter? how many amps?
ArizonaHotHomestead the size of inverter is 1500watt , 12v to 220v
ArizonaHotHomestead what is the equation or the calculation idea that I can apply to all inverters
Super presentation
gee thanks.
Great explanations for wire sizing. Right smack dab in the middle of my electrical build on my van. A question occurred to me and that is, if a heavy duty set of jumper cables is rated for 1000v and 500 amps at 0 awg and is stranded and has similar temp ranges, shouldn't it work for any service in the van? Way above my pay grade😁
above my grade too. but i think jumper cables may not hold that amps before melting the insulation cover. maybe no.
your right on the dc only, my 6 gauge handles every thing i throw at it
its a nice go to wire. lol
thanks so much for this video
you are welcome. i appreciate you watching
thanks for sharing good video
anytime
Good video helps a lot
awesome.
I’m a bit confused on the solar panel wires. I’m recommended to get 4awg wire that will go to the inverter since my solar panels are over 100ft from the house however it’s saying that mc4 connectors only fit 10-14awg. So how does this work?
you can get mc4 for 8awg wire. here is what i would do. use a electrical box at the panels and inside the box wire the panels wire to a 4awg. example 10awg with a 4awg. you might want to use a small bus bar just make sure they have an insulator. one for the positive and another for the negative. if your charge controller can take a 4 awg or if you are using a breaker inside with your components before it gets to the charge controller and it doesnt take the 4awg wire again use a box and bus bars to reduce the wire to a wire that will fit . does that make sense? good luck. oh by the way i am no expert.
You should keep your conductors at 10 to 14 as short as you can. Mount some Mc4 connectors to the side of a junction box with #10 inside the box. Splice the #10 to the #4 inside the box and run the #4 in pvc back to whatever you are feeding. Do the same thing on the home end.
Thank goodness for you. You are my best sub!!!
wow. thanks for the compliment.
Hey Arizona, are you an Electrician? And thanks, I enjoyed the video.
not an electrician but love to deal with it. my dad was an electrician so i got most of my knowledge from him. the rest is from experience, and the internet. back in the day i did take some electrical courses.
Thanks Jeff, Great job !
thanks
I got to make another switch. to amazon?!! I'm never gonna be able to get back to red bird district thanks for the up load man
any time
GOOD INFORMATION
thanks.
just cirious can a 60 amp breaker be used for an Air Conditioner
there should be information on the AC telling you the rated amps for the unit. go with that size breaker.
yes 60 amps breaker will work with any kind of air conditioner
Vid was a great help!
QUESTION: I'm looking at a new Grand Design trailer. It is "prepped" for solar with a 10ga wire coming down from the roof into the front storage for connection to a inverter. If I get this trailer I am thinking of 600 to 700 watts in panels on the roof. Is the 10ga wire they installed heavy enough to go to a charge controller? Thank you!!!
10ga is a 30amp wire so it should be fine. 700w should be 24v with is 24amps. . it should be fine. if possible you might think about 6ga. i would only do it for peace of mind and i like to use bigger wire. ... what if..... what if you get more watts in the future. what if.........
great job, but remember the distance of the wire run. The longer the run , larger the strain on the wire, so yes normally a # 12 AWG wire is fine for up to 20 Amperes, but if it is a longer distance you will need to step up to a #10 AWG wire.
so right. that's actually why on all my wiring I went with a size bigger.
awesome , and great job and video by the way man
Keep up the good work!!!!
thanks
Hello I'm new to this but I'm very somewhat confused... where do you find terminals to fit 4/0 awg wire? I had to go to our electric supplier to get the 4/0 wire but they did not have terminals to fit. I looked online but I'm not sure what diameter the wire is. Nowhere on the wire it's self does it say.
the wire is also called welding cable. the connectors are also called Studs . here is a link to amazon amzn.to/2Hya5yt my cable doesnt have the diameter either but does say 4/0 awg..... i deal with Alternative energy for my solar they are a local non profit business. Alternative Energy Discount House
Phone: (928) 521-0888 you can always call Larry and tell him i referred you and maybe you can buy some studs from him and he call mail them to you. good luck to you.
would I use120 feet 2 gauge wire from 20 400w pano 120 feet to the regular?
if you wire the panels in series to increase volts it will help with voltage drop and a 6 gauge would work but it you want to run 2 it will reduce the voltage drop but maybe to big for some connections so you may not a junction box to reduce the size ..
How does distance from solar array to inverter determine gauge?.
i am no expert but what i am told is electricity dc or ac will have a voltage drop over a period of distance. the size of wire if bigger than needed will have a less drop than a smaller wire. dc will drop faster than ac .
Use a voltage drop calculator online. It’s all about power loss. The higher the %lost the more money you wasted (to a point) I would suggest you size wire for 3-5% voltage loss. Four utility solar, I designed to 1% average. Lost power there is lost income. Owners want income.
I'm having a real tough time finding out what size wire I should use to wire 4 6 volt T-105 225 amp hour batteries in series then parallel to end up with 12 volts 450 amp hours, and how do you find out that information. How should Amps and Amp hours be treated different??
amps and amp hours is same thing. use the biggest cable/wire as possible to prevent the wires from getting hot and losing volts. i would use 0 awg. or bigger. maybe get away with 2 or 1 awg but feel the wire and if seems to hot replace with bigger wire.
The whole voltage drop part is bogus. This is from Google search. "The total cross-section area, AWG or "circular mill" size of a stranded conductor is equivalent to that of a solid conductor for the same designated wire size. ... Similarly, there will be no less or more voltage drop whether you use stranded or solid wire and the current carrying capacity is the same." Especially Bad was the lamp cord and voltage drop from 120 to 110 volts in the short cord. The difference between solid and stranded is flexibility. Electricians pulling conductors through conduit prefer stranded. Pulls easier. Otherwise most of the other information was reasonable.
interesting info. i would never use stranded wire with 120 v . for dc stranded does matter.
Great stuff!!!
gee thanks.
I’m sorry I’m just as confused as when I got here. 😢 the best I can do is , the higher the amperage the thicker the wire or the higher the voltage the thicker the wire or the same with watts, I guess? I really don’t understand anything really.😢
focus on amps. each size of wire is printed on the wire up to 600v.
The voltage rating of conductors is based on the insulation on the conductor. It is voltage rated so that at that voltage or less, two conductors next to each other will not arc. Watts is a unit of power and what you pay your utility company to borrow. Amps is the electricity flowing through the wire. Amps in wires causes heat because of resistance in the wire. Increase amps will increase heat in the wire. Increase the wire size to reduce resistance in order to reduce heat to a level that will not damage the insulation. Hope this helps you!
@@KevinCoop1 thanks 😊
Thank you for your 'breakdown' explanation!
you are welcome. thanks for watching.
thanks alot
you betcha
thanks
your welcome
Is 2g wire from the battery to a 2000w inverter okay?
100w 12v panel
10g wire to the 30amp controller
10g wire to the 36ah 12v agm battery
i am no expert. it seems a good size.
I have two 74w solar panel and two 12v 75ah battery. So what wire should i use to connect them
being that size i would feel good in using standard auto battery cables. the 75amps is less than a video i did in wiring 2 12v batteries and on them i am using auto battery cables.
My biggest issue is getting/affording big enough wire to stop voltage loss. My first installer used some so thin, I am going to have to pay for new wires if I want any efficiency.
its hard to really say but I think it you have 6awg from your solar/components/battery to your rv that would help reduce loss.. your rv is already wired as 6awg. mine was so I assume all are. wire right to your dc part of the trailer. use only the 120v rv plug when you need to. that should also help reduce your emf too. I would think.
Can you safe say the higher the Amp the better for any voltage applications.
thanks
think this way volts wont kill you but amps will. you want large wire so the voltage loss over distance is less becus most devices need so many volts to operate. example some 12 devices need at least 11.7 volts or it wont turn on. the amps for the wire is only the rating so you dont over load the wire and other components. for your loads you add up the amps of use and dont exceed the rating for the wire. 10awg max 30amps regardless of volts. large wire to reduce voltage loss but limit amps on each wire to prevent fire and damage to all components.
GREAT topic.
thanks
can i use 25mm wire in 2 pvc pennals ????
sorry the wire size i only know awg.
Question... I have to hook two 12v 9ah batteries together that then go inside a UPS Battery backup. I have T2 connectors for it, but wondered what sort of wire type/size I should use (the length would be like 2-3 inches).
what size are you able to use with the connectors? go with the biggest wire.
12 G. is fine.
nice video great info thanks :)
you are welcome :)
If I have 2 24v 305w solar panels and will be running them in parralel going about 15' to charge controller what gauge wire should I use from the panels to the controller? I have a Victron BlueSolar 12V or 24V MPPT 100/50 Charge Controller - 50 Amps / 100 Volts . What size fuse would I need? Each panel has "Current at max power (Imp): 9.33 Amps DC".
i would use 6 gauge stranded wire. for the fuse use 50amps. the goal of the fuse is to protect the controller so if it can handle 50 amps and you only have 2 panels totally 610 watts 50 is perfect.