I’m so glad I found you here I’m going to start a build soon myself and with the in-depth and very detailed videos are amazing… oh your van looks amazing I’m blown away.
All common sense good advice!Having struggled with 70mm2 flexible cables in a recent home UPS setup to avoid strain on connection studs etc, I've since discovered pre-fabricated insulated high current capacity industrial braided flexible busbar cables that I'm hoping will give me peace of mind feeding a 3kVA 24 Victron Multiplus that I intend to install on resilient mountings in a second installation in an off road vehicle subject to high vibration. Extreme care in avoiding cable chafing points, stress on fragile inverter cable connection terminals and preventing loosening from vibration are all areas for attention. In oversizing, don't overlook the manufacturer's downrating of inverters either when vehicle interiors are hot when deciding what capacity you really need.
I had to do the same upgrade after experiencing the same problem. I guess we can't trust the quoted cable rating........ Good idea with the nylocks but I'm sure Victron specify a torque rating for the supplied nuts.
Ahh..great to see you on here again...intrigued to know why you didn't use the 2 25mm leads per terminal that came with the Renogy inverter ..or did I miss that in a previous vid..🤔😊 anyway great vid as always...
Ah, yes. hoped nobody would notice that 😊. truth is that like all men, we choose not to read instructions and think we know best. Even after wondering why they had supplied 2 sets of cables did it still not occur to me to read the blurb. I then proceeded to install a 35mm cable. only after the problems started did I read the blurb and it said to double up the 25mm cables. Well firstly, cheap skates! why not supply a 50mm cable? secondly, I had since used one of the 25mm cables for something else so decided to buy a 50mm instead. all well that ends well and moral to the story is to read instructions first.... thanks for the comment.
I wont be using a buzzbar, as my set up will be pretty basic. Is this cable you used for the 240v sockets you use insjde the van? From the battery to battery, leisure to dc etc, all standard recommended sizes?
if it helps, in my van: 240v=2.5mm Arctic blue (yellow), DC-DC= 16mm, Inverter to busbar=50mm, battery to battery=35mm, busbar to 12v board 10mm. Dont think there is anything particularly 'standard' as every installation is different but those are the sizes based on my calculations for my van. hope tat helps in some way.
@wiltshirecustomcamper7203 what size busbar are you using? I've decided to use one now otherwise there'd be too many cables going to the battery terminals. Do you know how to size a busbar and cables? I have a 250amp fuse from my inverter and then want to run x2 blade fuse holders off it.
Instead of guessing there are voltage drop calculators online as an example 35mm cable 2 meters long will drop 0.26 volts at 100 amps that is 26 watts 50mm will be 0.18 volts , 18 watts. But your better off going to 24 or 48 volts and using a dc/dc charger much thinner cables and more capacity from the batteries as capacity drops as the current increases.
Thanks for the reply but I lost you after the word 'Instead', I'm all for the Clarkson approach of Speed, Hammer or Bigger covers most obstacles in life.
yes, fair point to make and nothing at all to do with the fact the yellow feed cables had been cut to length already and would need a connecting joint to achieve that.. :-) thanks for the question.
You've got one of those silly crimpers. Dodgy crimps probably heating the cable and not the cable. I've got the 3000w inverter and had no problems. You can get a hydraulic crimper for peanuts on Ali-express. This will give you a cold weld. I used those crimpers and found the crimps were getting hot. Table says 2000w is 33mm2. Keep the cables as short as possible and the same length. Easy stuff. Also, use fine strand copper and not CCA. CCA is cheaper but then you'd have to go bigger and it's very brittle.
Yes, they are silly crimpers, also I have found that the 10mm gap suitable for 16mm cable and the 16mm is suitable for 25mm cable and so on. utter rubbish really but lesson learned.....
I’m so glad I found you here I’m going to start a build soon myself and with the in-depth and very detailed videos are amazing… oh your van looks amazing I’m blown away.
Awesome, thank you!
All common sense good advice!Having struggled with 70mm2 flexible cables in a recent home UPS setup to avoid strain on connection studs etc, I've since discovered pre-fabricated insulated high current capacity industrial braided flexible busbar cables that I'm hoping will give me peace of mind feeding a 3kVA 24 Victron Multiplus that I intend to install on resilient mountings in a second installation in an off road vehicle subject to high vibration. Extreme care in avoiding cable chafing points, stress on fragile inverter cable connection terminals and preventing loosening from vibration are all areas for attention. In oversizing, don't overlook the manufacturer's downrating of inverters either when vehicle interiors are hot when deciding what capacity you really need.
Nice to hear from you again me old mucker hope family is well m8
Professional level gurning, love it.
Yes, my son roasts me over it every time but I just don't realise I am doing it.....
I had to do the same upgrade after experiencing the same problem. I guess we can't trust the quoted cable rating........ Good idea with the nylocks but I'm sure Victron specify a torque rating for the supplied nuts.
Ahh..great to see you on here again...intrigued to know why you didn't use the 2 25mm leads per terminal that came with the Renogy inverter ..or did I miss that in a previous vid..🤔😊 anyway great vid as always...
Ah, yes. hoped nobody would notice that 😊. truth is that like all men, we choose not to read instructions and think we know best. Even after wondering why they had supplied 2 sets of cables did it still not occur to me to read the blurb. I then proceeded to install a 35mm cable. only after the problems started did I read the blurb and it said to double up the 25mm cables. Well firstly, cheap skates! why not supply a 50mm cable? secondly, I had since used one of the 25mm cables for something else so decided to buy a 50mm instead. all well that ends well and moral to the story is to read instructions first.... thanks for the comment.
@@wiltshirecustomcamper7203 The current carrying capacity of 2 x 25mm is more than 1 x 50mm. A very tidy electrical installation.
I wont be using a buzzbar, as my set up will be pretty basic. Is this cable you used for the 240v sockets you use insjde the van?
From the battery to battery, leisure to dc etc, all standard recommended sizes?
if it helps, in my van: 240v=2.5mm Arctic blue (yellow), DC-DC= 16mm, Inverter to busbar=50mm, battery to battery=35mm, busbar to 12v board 10mm. Dont think there is anything particularly 'standard' as every installation is different but those are the sizes based on my calculations for my van. hope tat helps in some way.
@wiltshirecustomcamper7203 what size busbar are you using? I've decided to use one now otherwise there'd be too many cables going to the battery terminals.
Do you know how to size a busbar and cables? I have a 250amp fuse from my inverter and then want to run x2 blade fuse holders off it.
Instead of guessing there are voltage drop calculators online as an example 35mm cable 2 meters long will drop 0.26 volts at 100 amps that is 26 watts 50mm will be 0.18 volts , 18 watts. But your better off going to 24 or 48 volts and using a dc/dc charger much thinner cables and more capacity from the batteries as capacity drops as the current increases.
Thanks for the reply but I lost you after the word 'Instead', I'm all for the Clarkson approach of Speed, Hammer or Bigger covers most obstacles in life.
Why don't you turn the inverter?
The cables are then shorter and can handle more amps
yes, fair point to make and nothing at all to do with the fact the yellow feed cables had been cut to length already and would need a connecting joint to achieve that.. :-) thanks for the question.
Thanks for update.
Did this solve the heat issue on the cable?
Yes it did. no heat at all now and the inverter would switch off after about 7-8mins with a fault light where now it does not.
What do you think of that lug tool I got one from Amazon and feel it’s a bit naff
naff doesn't come close. if you want a 16mm crimp, use the 10mm setting and it might hold.... lesson learned.
You've got one of those silly crimpers. Dodgy crimps probably heating the cable and not the cable. I've got the 3000w inverter and had no problems. You can get a hydraulic crimper for peanuts on Ali-express. This will give you a cold weld. I used those crimpers and found the crimps were getting hot. Table says 2000w is 33mm2. Keep the cables as short as possible and the same length. Easy stuff. Also, use fine strand copper and not CCA. CCA is cheaper but then you'd have to go bigger and it's very brittle.
Yes, they are silly crimpers, also I have found that the 10mm gap suitable for 16mm cable and the 16mm is suitable for 25mm cable and so on. utter rubbish really but lesson learned.....
How is cable measured what is the 50mm
Thanks
thanks for the comment, the description here is quite good: www.12voltplanet.co.uk/cable-sizing-selection.html
👍
Warm is norm for high currents, hot is not. Electrical look up tables will specify what's OK..
Thanks for the reply, I agree to disagree on that one and go with, if in doubt go big approach..