I was an electrician in the military and then residential for a short time. I have to say this guy knows what he's talking about. Proper cable type and gauge for a battery to inverter tie is a little complicated, but he covers it nicely.
Finally a guy who talks a lot with out any bull shit!! You seconded my thoughts about using jumper cables and especially the ground wire welding welding cable! Welding cable is the wire I liked best for possibly connecting a inverter in my pick up truck
Geez! Who knew how complicated it can be??? This was EXTREMELY helpful & appreciated, especially since I haven't purchased my inverter or cables yet!! (Just the panels, so far.) Thanks very much--Carry on with more videos, please!
That is one of the disadvantages of fuses: They add more connection/failure points and have a non-insignificant voltage drop that must be accounted for with heavier or shorter cabling. Not all audio vendors are a rip-off, but some certainly are!
Still a bit confused. I have a 75 watt solar panel connected to a 12volt 30amp charge controller, connected to a 12volt car battery. I just bought an eliminator 1500 watt inverter. from battery to inverter will be about 2 feet. what awg or gauge wire do you recommend?
I just bought a Go Power 300 watt pure sine inverter from Amazon for the car. Other recommended purchases on Amazon were a 4 gauge/10 foot wire and inline fuse box so I bought both of those. The Go Power instructions say to use a 6 gauge wire for 10 feet. If the cable is a bit larger than recommended, will that fly with no troubles? Also, how the hell do you get those wires into the cab by the passenger side foot area? Is that the best place to put the inverter? Seems that distance would be about 8 foot from the battery in my 93 Corolla.
You can always use heavier gauge cabling without any problem - it's just more expensive, heavier, and more difficult to work with. Unless you purchased a marine grade inverter it should be located in a place that does not see water or condensing atmospheres, and the only place that fits those requirements is in the passenger compartment. As far as how to get the cabling there, well, that's up to your creativity. :) You may choose to drill/cut through the firewall and re-seal it with automotive grade seam sealer. I would not recommend using standard silicone caulk as it will crack and open back up. Seam sealer is expensive but very good stuff.
+knurlgnar24, hey there i have a question. I too bought car audio wire for a 2000watt inverter 4000 watt max. The wire is 1/0 and ofc copper. Its very heavy and end terminals i used had to be 2/0 cause the wire is high strand count & $3.60 a ft. Inner diameter is 13.5mm and outer 16mm. Now here is the question, i soldered the ends to the lugs, till they over flowed then i used shrink to seal the ends. Will those ends be ok with just shrink as insulation??
***** Update: I used heavy gauge wires - the maximum length recommended for my inverter (10 feet). Had to drill through the firewall as you stated here. Sealed the hole. Came out fine. I love my Go Power inverter. Yes it was expensive but it rocks. Last fall I traveled all over the country making videos and sleeping in my car. Every day I used the inverter to charge batteries and cook food in slow cookers. Excellent! Worked flawlessly. You taught me about pure sine. Thanks again. Brett
A total electrical newbie here - best video I have come across yet for this type of information, thank you so much for putting it out there on the interwebs.
When you mention that you put two cables in pararel that is the correct way BUT that does not converts two #2 G to one No way you need to review the pararel circuits in any electrician or electronic book, To make it easy and no math is simple . The result of two cables in pararel is less than the one that has least resistance.This means that it will get hotter or burn faster this is just a friendly advise its never to late to learn the right way
I'm on 10 liters of oxygen using a Respironics Millennium M10 oxygen concentrator, average power consumption 600w. Is it possible to power my concentrator in a vehicle while traveling using the correct size inverter?
I really like this video - especially the mentioning of often unwanted copper-clad aluminium ( CCA ) cables. Always check the wight of your cables.. :)
Sorry, but your statement about voltage drop is incorrect. The more resistance of the cable the more voltage drop , the higher the current draw , the warmer the wire.
I need let I have a inverter of 500 watt I want to installed to my car 🚙 but in the back how long I need a cable awg but I confuse i hope if can u help me
Helpful vid, thanks. I learned in high school electronics that electricity, which is the flowing electrons in the energy of voltage and current actually travel on the outside diameter of a wire, and not through the center, per se. That is the physics of how electricity moves along a conductor. So, accordingly, with stranded wire, the diameter of each strand provides more surface area for the EMF to travel compared to the same diameter solid wire. Also, then there is the added benefit that stranded wire is much more flexible, lasting much longer before breaking.
No I mean, I wanted to save on cable. So I ran one short 00 jumper from the Battery Neg to the Chassis, and one short one form the chassis to the bolt off the alternator bracket and then in my trunk I just put the negative cable from the inverter to the chassis and just ran one positive 00 all the way back to the trunk.
Ideally the chassis of the inverter should be connected to ground. This is a safety and EMI concern, but otherwise it doesn't really matter as far as function goes.
Great videos. Need confirmation. I bought a 1500 Watt continuous/3000 Watt Peak Modified Sine Wave Power Inverter from Harbor Freight of the Jupiter Model. 120V - 2 USB - short circuit overload protection - 115 +/- 10 VAC. I also got the kit wires which is 6 ft. - 2 AWG positive/negative and 6 ft. - 8 AWG ground wire. I want to power a Ryobi Electric Water Pressure unit. It will only run 15 to 20 minutes for each use. It said it was 13 amps, did not see any wattage. I was wondering, what would be the best way to attach it to the battery. Alligator claw clamps, special battery post if there is a thing. Quick connect? Any suggestion would be appreciated. Thanks…..I subscribed also.
I probably need more information to give you a good response. My first thought is that most 1500W inverters will not run your pressure washer - you may or may not get lucky there. My second thought is that you either need a few good batteries or one good battery (most car batteries are marginal even when new due to undersizing/cost cuts) and a running engine with low aux loads e.g. no headlights, etc. Alligator clamps to a lead post work well for these currents - for example if you have a battery with both side and top posts this works well. Clamping to anything but soft lead isn't going to work well. I'm assuming this is a standard car/truck and you don't want a permanent install and in that case you need a very good connection at 150A. Ring terminals bolted directly to the battery is best. There are 150A rated quick connectors like you see on forklifts that can be purchased. If you have side posts you can purchase slightly longer battery bolts to accomodate this. If top post there are other high current options available.
Oh, I see what you mean now. Yes, you can use the chassis of a steel vehicle for electrical current carrying ground. You may need to beef up the battery to chassis connection, though.
That would not be an optimal configuration. 120V AC peaks at around 170V, and phase corrected modified sine peaks at around 140V, so 168VDC nominal would be required to avoid the boost stage. 120VDC would not yield any meaningful benefit.
If you have a long run, wouldn't the best bet be to make a short run to the inverter itself, then a long run from the 120V outlets of the inverter to where you want your power? Dropping from 12 DC to 120VAC drops the current by 10, allowing you to have the long run with a standard extension cable instead of 2 or 1 gauge.
Yes. An assumption made in this video is that a person would know to locate the inverter as close to the batteries as is practical. I probably should have stated that directly in the video.
Without doing any calculations, yes, that sounds sufficient. Most 1500W inverters are well served with 4AWG wiring at reasonable lengths like 4ft. 2AWG will only provide better performance.
I purchased some from ACDC wire and supply recently and it was good stuff at reasonable prices. I got their 4/0 AWG. If you want other gauges you'd have to look at other sources as they really only do 4/0.
would like to know if you make a 4/0 allluminum but connector can it be done and should you solder it or crimp and can yo use a copper but connector on alluminum??Thanks
It isn't generally a good idea to connect copper to aluminum due to their galvanic differences, however I know that there are solutions out there intended to solve this very problem. I only work with copper cabling myself so I have little experience in that regard. Unless you're talking distribution wiring aluminum really has no practical application in household or low voltage wiring so I avoid it.
Just bought some heavy cable for an inverter install at a surplus store. It's a length of old welding cable I thought was 4/0. Turns out it's even bigger. The copper cross section is just under 9/16". I'm guessing it's 5.5/0 from the charts I've seen. Can't find lugs for it online. Any idea where to get them? I guess I'll stop by a welding shop, but will probably be $$$
Stop being stupid ! AMPLIFIER KIT'S have any size wire you like and are way cheaper Amp kits have a lot of other parts as well. You can get 00 wire in a dual amp kit for 65$ plus that kit has speaker wire and remote wire and fuses 250 amp. i have looked at every type of wire out there and AMP kit's for any solar set up is what I would do !
Hey all. I'm just getting started in solar power. so i apologize in advance for my novice questions. I've gotten my 2 deep cycle batteries. Next will be the 100w panel and control charger. Finally, goung with either 400, 800, 1000w pure sine inverter. my question is what size (gauge) from the charge controller to battery, battery to battery, and battery to inverter. All 3 components will be in corner of my home (roughly 3x3 area) I know distance places a part in choosing the correct wiring. also, where do I out inline fuses and what size fuses?
I'm looking to hook up a 1000W pure sine inverter in my '08 Corolla. I want to use the inverter to power a battery charger for landscaping equipment. The company of the equipment states the charger needs 550W to work properly. So I figured why not go with 1000 instead of 600. I was initially going to install the inverter in the trunk (for ease of access). Until I read your comments about a moisture free environment. Now I will install it under the passenger seat. I'm just curious about: 1) should I ground the inverter to the body instead of back to the battery? 2) will this be a problem for my battery/electrical system in the car? 3) any recommendations for wire size and in line fuse amperage? 4) anything else my noob self may have overlooked? Thanks in advance for any advice and for this truly informative set of videos!
Great information thanks ! Just wondering though You talked about Voltage Drop and Heat effect/ High amp draw fire hazards etc. But what happens from the inverter to the load? I'm going to need probably a 25' 8/3 or 6/3 cable for AC outlets in RV parks to plug in. Then the longest run of 14/2 cable is going to be about 30'. So 25' of 6/3 plus 30' of 14/2 is the longest run. Is there a way to cut off that 25' of 6/3 cable and go straight to the 14/2 cable through the Circuit Breaker box?
It is only a 'rule of thumb'. One could go into the engineering tradeoffs for a particular application but the complexities of optimizing the system quickly get far more involved than the effort that is practical for most applications. I stated 0.2V as a good value to choose and design for for general applications.
just what i needed. Need to work on the math part some more but think I am good. You are correct about the Inverter manual. They must sell a rubber stamp to all companies for their response. That includes Xantrex. Have a Freedom XC 2000 coming looking forward to getting it connected.
I just received my new 1kw pure sine wave Odyssey 24v inverter. You haven't mentioned a hookup which goes through the Solar Charge Controller. I expect to MAKE a few lithium ion 24v batteries for this system. I suppose that the gauge wire used should be the same through the charge controller connections. Right now I have 10 gauge in place and 10 amp circuit breakers as disconnects but i see that I'll need to increase that to 60 amp circuit breakers. (Surge watts might come to 1.4 kw) It looks like they've sent me 2' of a much thicker gauge wire than the #10 that I have used so far. Should I change it or am I all right?
I'm putting the car battery in the trunk of my race car. I need about 20ft from battery to killswitch to starter. I'll be running the neg from engine to frame and battery to frame 5ft ish total. I went to a supply store that wanted about 7 bucks a ft for 1/0 gauge. Went to Napa they told me I need 2gauge that was 3.50 a ft but I knew that was too thin. I have decided to go with welding wire because it was cheaper. I found a supplier online 1/0 gauge 20ft for about 42 bucks. I'm just wondering how well welding wire is regulated?
Awsome videos... Been watching a bunch of them and using the info in my array set up. I have a question I am hoping someone can advise.... I am upgrading my Battery Bank to (4)- 100ah AGM batteries .... I have a 2000/3000 watt PSW Inverter (Ran 1/0 awg to it at 28" each way) So now when the batteries I am adding to array (will be 4 total) come what gauge can I get away with for the interconnects between the batteries In Parallel ? They will be aprox 10" long each or less , I don't know till I arrange them ... I have a few ft. of 4 awg I was hoping to use.... I don't work the inverter nearly as hard as it can take ...maybe 120 amps tops with a mini microwave for a short time...
When installing an inverter in a vehicle, what are your thoughts on connecting the negative side of the inverter to the vehicle chassis rather than directly to the battery negative terminal?
I wouldn't recommend that in general for two reasons: 1. The ground connection of the battery is guaranteed to be well connected to the engine in order to power the starter. The chassis connection is often quite weak in comparison. 2. Vehicles often have grounding issues with simple things like fuel pumps, lights, etc. If the chassis connections can hardly handle 10's of amps 100's of amps seems like a potential problem. There's nothing wrong with using the chassis conceptually, I just think people in general will overlook the practical aspects and end up with problems and a cable straight to the inverter fixes that. Or make sure the entire ground path is clean, corrosion free, and adequate. That would work too.
All I can say is AWESOME!!!!!!!! Simple explanation for getting started. I have watched dozens of videos in hopes of finding one on wire sizing. You have done a fantastic job of explaining for the beginner. I am currently setting up my camper to run on solar as much as possible. This is what I'm starting with in hopes that it will serve my needs. 100 watt mono crystalline panel 3000 watt inverter 2-160 ah AGM deep cycle communication batteries 30 amp controller And I have about 100ft of 00awg welding lead cable, score! I estimate a total of 5-6ft to tie the batteries together and connect to the inverter Mainly what I will be using would be a small camper fridge lights and radio and occasional power tools. I am a prospector and am used to not having power sometimes but would be nice to keep the food clod for longer without burning a lot of gas. Thanks again for all the info and I have subscribed and plan on checking out more. Btw This for mat is excellent if the person doing it knows their stuff and you sir do seem to.
watched pretty much all your videos .looking to do a cargo van conversation to camper.after watching your reviews i have decided on the tiger claw 15000 converter because of cost and the pure sine wave. im thinking of four 100amphr 12volt deep cycle batteries in parallel and a 400 amp controller.run off 3 100 watt flex solar panels.do you think this would power a 500k a/c unit? along with some lights.a small micro wave,small portable ice maker.small tv .not all run at the same time of course. does the set up sound ok? new to all this.
Great job....very thorough I'm a house wife with no knowledge of inverter and battery..amps..ect...and I was able to follow you and retain all the information you provided. Thank you
Hi knurlgnar24 I was wondering where you get your wire at. I am looking to buy some 0 gauge cable to wire my two golf cart batteries together and then wire them to my 1500 watt inverter. I have some cheap 2 gauge cable connecting my two golf cart batteries together right now and it tends to get very hot when I draw 1500 watts.
Also after doing some further research. I've come to the conclusion that my little Corolla's alternator may not be able to handle the draw from the inverter on the battery. So it was suggested to put another battery in the car. I will be getting a Group 27 deep cycle battery. Should I get an ACR or Isolator? Don't think I would need one since I will only have the inverter running when the car will be. Any other advice or suggestions?
It's a pleasure watching and learning from your video's. In this video you figured the same length of cable from battery to inverter but is there any reason that in a automotive situation you couldn't use a short length of Negative cable and ground to the closest appropriate chasis ground? Ex: Place the inverter in the bed of truck, run a positve cable from engine compartmant to inverter, say 10' and ground the negative to chasis with a 2' ground wire to bed or frame. If this is applicable do you use the same figuring for total cable lenght in the formulas? Thanks for your time and keep up the good work !
quality car audio wire is usually over sized cheap car audio wire is undersized (for example sky high car audio 1/0 is about 3/0 size from what i have read and seen) as you said check reviews before you buy (disclaimer i dont have hands on experience with shca wire but there is plenty of info online)
Welding cable uses thinner strands, which conduct AC voltage better. But for DC wiring, it is more susceptible to corrosion and has higher resistance. You are better off looking for fully tinned "number three machine wire" which is closer to battery cable.
Informative videos are always the most helpful. Especially to cross reference the info. To bad less people are covering doing videos about the basic technical needs like trade skills of the past. Now its videos about how to program your Amazon fire stick with Cody. Or the like.
I know it's not really your thing but reviews on solar charge controllers would be greatly appreciated and even pros and cons of 12, 24, 48 volt systems would be interesting.
How about on a 2000 watt inverter can I run 6 feet of 1 AWG for the positve cable and 6 feet for the negitive. And should I have a 200 amp fuse or 250 amp fuse installed ??
Excellent videos! Using your explanation/demonstration on the proper selection of cabling for inverters I decided to go with the welding cables. Reason? I own and operate a tractor and trailer and need an inverter for the creature comforts of home while on the road and know that the proper investment in equipment will keep the operator and others safe. Now I may understand why some semi trucks catch on fire while parked; many of those fires start when the driver is tucked in his/her bunk with a ceramic heater for the winter months or a stand alone air conditioner for the summer months. Or, the driver has too much plugged in and the system and cabling is overloaded and the truck burns to the ground. The AWG table and calculator helped to Super Simplify the decision making process. Thanks again!
Thank you for this video ... I was looking online for inverter cable set around 15feet long I just found 10feet will be short and can't find the cable size the one I need and I no want to buy it and do cable extension ... Can you tell me from where I can find cables for the inverters from the shop .. Thank you
Bit late for comments on this video I know. But I've watched many of your videos and find them vary informative and easy to understand ( unlike a lot of the guff out there ). Yes these non project based videos are great ( especially in my case solar related ). Concise and to the point, keep it up. Cheers.
Out of everybody on RUclips you are the best I love the way you explain everything for a beginner like myself I even watched the videos that don't pertain to me because I like the way you explain everything you're the bomb buddy
Thank you: this is the video I was looking for an answer,have 24v 2800w inv surge 5600watts 4x6v batteries by 210 AH in serial so I guess 1/0 with 150AM circuit breaker before inverter will do the trick..,Hope I am right .
I don't know your cable lengths but that sounds about right. The most common error is undersizing cables and it sounds like you won't make that mistake. How many AH are your 6V batteries? If standard GC2 batteries you may be battery limited. That isn't a problem if you're aware of it but it's a limitation that is important to recognize.
@@knurlgnar24 What I have done so far is 4 by 6 v batteries in serial at 215 AH exactly,have used (and overkill) 2/0 cables .. the maximum length is 2 metres one negative cables only rest much shorter as I have no room in van so 2 batteries either side side ,then before the inverter I have 150 A circuit breaker and before cir cbrkr have and Isolating switch 200AH ,the solar is 300Watt 24V panel 9.2A open circuit &28v open as well so have 15A fuse to before my 30A MPPT and 30A fuse on the positive side to battery bank also . tested today batteris went up to 25.6v only(not fully charged but ok) used Microwave no issue.. hot water kettle 1300 watts noticed voltage going down to 23.6 but remained there and when finished jumbed back to 25.2V, then physically checked all wires and non was warm whatsoever cold and nice)it is raining and winter still in Sydney ) . let me know if good.. thanks so much
At last, some very rare information about the mystery of wiring! And you're dealing with it pretty well. I like the way you break the process down into comprehensive steps. Keep up the good work!
Just bought 2/0 welding cable 20ft. Mounting my 1500w sine inverter in cargo area on my 4runner with hopefully 10ft or less each cable. Hope I it’s correct and enough to power my inverter correctly.
Based on the limited information in your comment it sounds to me like you are head-and-shoulders above what most people do. Commonly people install 4AWG at the heaviest and then wonder why it doesn't work well.. I think you will be pleased with the result! I am not familiar with the 4runner charging system but I know they are good vehicles otherwise. If you have heavy loads you run for long periods of time you may want to monitor the temperature of the alternator just to make sure it can handle the load since many vehicles cannot in their factory form.
@@knurlgnar24 Yea been doing a lot of reearch and most guys say 2/0 for 1500w more than 7ft length. At least I know I have heavy cables, never hurts other than cost. Lol
A thumbs up on the vid. But I sure would like to hear more about crimp vs. solder ;-) I sized my cable based on voltage drop. Hadn't thought about heat. Thanks for the info. I got what looks to be a good 2AWG jumper cable for my inverter. I crimped ring terminals on one end, but couldn't wait until final installation (~3ft) to try out the inverter, So I hooked the clamp ends up to the batteries, today, and fired it up. Whooo! 20ft (x2) of cable had a huge voltage drop.
hi, does the battery sizes matter to use ? and does the inverter produce the wattage is says on it what i mean will the inverter produce the wattage no matter the type of battery i use or does it depends on the battery? and in what way is the inverter better what i mean, should i stay with 12 volts and 1.3 amps or increase the voltage ( how much volts) and leave amps alone or leave the volts alone and increase the amps ( how much amps) or increase both?
If you are going to use an inverter in a vehicle to charge anything larger than a cellfone consider using a second battery and a splitter. It's actually cheaper than what the guy in the video is telling you to do.
Congratulations really good explanation on how to choose the right cable for your application.i have a question for you in my case I bought a 1500 watts inverter and I planned to run cables 10ft long do I need 4/0 or 2/0 thanks
Without knowing the specifics of your application I would be fairly confident saying that 2/0 is adequate and that 4/0 would be overkill. 4/0 would work great but cost more and likely not give you much benefit considering the added cost. But if you think you might upgrade to a 3kw inverter in the future you'd be ready...
I was an electrician in the military and then residential for a short time. I have to say this guy knows what he's talking about. Proper cable type and gauge for a battery to inverter tie is a little complicated, but he covers it nicely.
Finally a guy who talks a lot with out any bull shit!! You seconded my thoughts about using jumper cables and especially the ground wire welding welding cable! Welding cable is the wire I liked best for possibly connecting a inverter in my pick up truck
As a certified Master electrician I approve of this tutorial video. Excellent walkthrough
Geez! Who knew how complicated it can be??? This was EXTREMELY helpful & appreciated, especially since I haven't purchased my inverter or cables yet!! (Just the panels, so far.) Thanks very much--Carry on with more videos, please!
Good Stuff man keep the videos coming!
Purchase welding cable , it will be of bigger and it will be flexible too for easy bending.
That is one of the disadvantages of fuses: They add more connection/failure points and have a non-insignificant voltage drop that must be accounted for with heavier or shorter cabling. Not all audio vendors are a rip-off, but some certainly are!
I like this guy ,,, no bull shit
Still a bit confused. I have a 75 watt solar panel connected to a 12volt 30amp charge controller, connected to a 12volt car battery. I just bought an eliminator 1500 watt inverter. from battery to inverter will be about 2 feet. what awg or gauge wire do you recommend?
Good video but why no links to the seller? I'd buy from them just based on your tests alone.
Great informative video. It will let me sleep at night knowing failure will not be A factor in my application thanks so much M.M.
I just bought a Go Power 300 watt pure sine inverter from Amazon for the car. Other recommended purchases on Amazon were a 4 gauge/10 foot wire and inline fuse box so I bought both of those. The Go Power instructions say to use a 6 gauge wire for 10 feet. If the cable is a bit larger than recommended, will that fly with no troubles?
Also, how the hell do you get those wires into the cab by the passenger side foot area? Is that the best place to put the inverter? Seems that distance would be about 8 foot from the battery in my 93 Corolla.
You can always use heavier gauge cabling without any problem - it's just more expensive, heavier, and more difficult to work with. Unless you purchased a marine grade inverter it should be located in a place that does not see water or condensing atmospheres, and the only place that fits those requirements is in the passenger compartment. As far as how to get the cabling there, well, that's up to your creativity. :) You may choose to drill/cut through the firewall and re-seal it with automotive grade seam sealer. I would not recommend using standard silicone caulk as it will crack and open back up. Seam sealer is expensive but very good stuff.
*****
Thanks. I've learned a lot from you.
+knurlgnar24, hey there i have a question. I too bought car audio wire for a 2000watt inverter 4000 watt max. The wire is 1/0 and ofc copper. Its very heavy and end terminals i used had to be 2/0 cause the wire is high strand count & $3.60 a ft. Inner diameter is 13.5mm and outer 16mm.
Now here is the question, i soldered the ends to the lugs, till they over flowed then i used shrink to seal the ends.
Will those ends be ok with just shrink as insulation??
***** Update: I used heavy gauge wires - the maximum length recommended for my inverter (10 feet). Had to drill through the firewall as you stated here. Sealed the hole. Came out fine.
I love my Go Power inverter. Yes it was expensive but it rocks. Last fall I traveled all over the country making videos and sleeping in my car. Every day I used the inverter to charge batteries and cook food in slow cookers. Excellent! Worked flawlessly. You taught me about pure sine. Thanks again.
Brett
really want to say thanks ive learned more than i ever even new existed about wire . very cool !!!
How about from battery to solar charge controller to inverter? Do you have insight on that? I'd appreciate it. Thanks!
A total electrical newbie here - best video I have come across yet for this type of information, thank you so much for putting it out there on the interwebs.
These videos have been very helpful . Thanks for sharing.
When you mention that you put two cables in pararel that is the correct way BUT that does not converts two #2 G to one No way you need to review the pararel circuits in any electrician or electronic book, To make it easy and no math is simple . The result of two cables in pararel is less than the one that has least resistance.This means that it will get hotter or burn faster this is just a friendly advise its never to late to learn the right way
I'm on 10 liters of oxygen using a Respironics Millennium M10 oxygen concentrator, average power consumption 600w. Is it possible to power my concentrator in a vehicle while traveling using the correct size inverter?
I really like this video - especially the mentioning of often unwanted copper-clad aluminium ( CCA ) cables. Always check the wight of your cables.. :)
Great video for the newbee. I haven't found any other videos explaining AWG size and length. Thanks
3000watt/6000watt surge. So should I get 300 or 350 amp wire? Its gonna be mounted behind my truck seat prob around 12 to 15ft each way pos and neg.
If you get a bigger gauge wire will that make a difference ? I also have to install an inverter 15 feet away i was thinkong of getting 2/0 gauge.
Sorry, but your statement about voltage drop is incorrect. The more resistance of the cable the more voltage drop , the higher the current draw , the warmer the wire.
I need let I have a inverter of 500 watt I want to installed to my car 🚙 but in the back how long I need a cable awg but I confuse i hope if can u help me
do you have the link for the wire? thanks for all the good info on your videos
You are giving real valuable information to me of course thumbs up.. :)
Thank you so much for doing this video! Very helpful!
I have been searching for this information and you provided it thankyou for that
Helpful vid, thanks. I learned in high school electronics that electricity, which is the flowing electrons in the energy of voltage and current actually travel on the outside diameter of a wire, and not through the center, per se. That is the physics of how electricity moves along a conductor. So, accordingly, with stranded wire, the diameter of each strand provides more surface area for the EMF to travel compared to the same diameter solid wire. Also, then there is the added benefit that stranded wire is much more flexible, lasting much longer before breaking.
That is called the skin effect and is exhibited in AC circuits. These cables were sized for the DC side of the system.
No I mean, I wanted to save on cable. So I ran one short 00 jumper from the Battery Neg to the Chassis, and one short one form the chassis to the bolt off the alternator bracket and then in my trunk I just put the negative cable from the inverter to the chassis and just ran one positive 00 all the way back to the trunk.
Ideally the chassis of the inverter should be connected to ground. This is a safety and EMI concern, but otherwise it doesn't really matter as far as function goes.
hi what about welding cable ?
Great videos. Need confirmation.
I bought a 1500 Watt continuous/3000 Watt Peak Modified Sine Wave Power Inverter from
Harbor Freight of the Jupiter Model. 120V - 2 USB - short circuit overload protection - 115 +/- 10 VAC.
I also got the kit wires which is 6 ft. - 2 AWG positive/negative and 6 ft. - 8 AWG ground wire.
I want to power a Ryobi Electric Water Pressure unit. It will only run 15 to 20 minutes for each use. It said it was 13 amps, did not see any wattage.
I was wondering, what would be the best way to attach it to the battery. Alligator claw clamps, special battery post if there is a thing. Quick connect? Any suggestion would be appreciated. Thanks…..I subscribed also.
I probably need more information to give you a good response. My first thought is that most 1500W inverters will not run your pressure washer - you may or may not get lucky there. My second thought is that you either need a few good batteries or one good battery (most car batteries are marginal even when new due to undersizing/cost cuts) and a running engine with low aux loads e.g. no headlights, etc. Alligator clamps to a lead post work well for these currents - for example if you have a battery with both side and top posts this works well. Clamping to anything but soft lead isn't going to work well. I'm assuming this is a standard car/truck and you don't want a permanent install and in that case you need a very good connection at 150A. Ring terminals bolted directly to the battery is best. There are 150A rated quick connectors like you see on forklifts that can be purchased. If you have side posts you can purchase slightly longer battery bolts to accomodate this. If top post there are other high current options available.
Oh, I see what you mean now. Yes, you can use the chassis of a steel vehicle for electrical current carrying ground. You may need to beef up the battery to chassis connection, though.
For best results you should haVE A 120 VOLT dc BATTERY BANK connected to a 120 volt DC to 120 volt AC inverter
That would not be an optimal configuration. 120V AC peaks at around 170V, and phase corrected modified sine peaks at around 140V, so 168VDC nominal would be required to avoid the boost stage. 120VDC would not yield any meaningful benefit.
If you have a long run, wouldn't the best bet be to make a short run to the inverter itself, then a long run from the 120V outlets of the inverter to where you want your power?
Dropping from 12 DC to 120VAC drops the current by 10, allowing you to have the long run with a standard extension cable instead of 2 or 1 gauge.
Yes. An assumption made in this video is that a person would know to locate the inverter as close to the batteries as is practical. I probably should have stated that directly in the video.
How do you feel about using the Chassis as the ground? Is is acceptable?
After watching both of these, I threw away my new inverter and took up heavy drinking!!!😱🤪🍺🍺🍺
You, sir, have reached enlightenment.
I’m hoping I understand this… so if I have a 1500w inverter, a 2AWG is sufficient at 4ft?
Without doing any calculations, yes, that sounds sufficient. Most 1500W inverters are well served with 4AWG wiring at reasonable lengths like 4ft. 2AWG will only provide better performance.
Would like to see a video on fusing a setup like this too.
Ditto ^^
And another question here,Installation of home energy storage system, inverter and cable are purchased separately?
Where to buy?
I purchased some from ACDC wire and supply recently and it was good stuff at reasonable prices. I got their 4/0 AWG. If you want other gauges you'd have to look at other sources as they really only do 4/0.
can the ground be bolted to a car chassis?
would like to know if you make a 4/0 allluminum but connector can it be done and should you solder it or crimp and can yo use a copper but connector on alluminum??Thanks
It isn't generally a good idea to connect copper to aluminum due to their galvanic differences, however I know that there are solutions out there intended to solve this very problem. I only work with copper cabling myself so I have little experience in that regard. Unless you're talking distribution wiring aluminum really has no practical application in household or low voltage wiring so I avoid it.
I came across your video, I know it's many years old but I really learned a lot. Thank you.
Glad to hear that this old video is still useful! Thanks for the comment.
Great video I just bought a 2000 W inverter and I’ve been scratching my head trying to figure out my wire size. this helped out a lot. Thank you.
Just bought some heavy cable for an inverter install at a surplus store. It's a length of old welding cable I thought was 4/0. Turns out it's even bigger. The copper cross section is just under 9/16". I'm guessing it's 5.5/0 from the charts I've seen. Can't find lugs for it online. Any idea where to get them? I guess I'll stop by a welding shop, but will probably be $$$
Awesome, simple and very easy to understand with very good, helpful knowledge, thankyou.
Stop being stupid !
AMPLIFIER KIT'S have any size wire you like and are way cheaper Amp kits have a lot of other parts as well.
You can get 00 wire in a dual amp kit for 65$ plus that kit has speaker wire and remote wire and fuses 250 amp.
i have looked at every type of wire out there and AMP kit's for any solar set up is what I would do !
Hey all. I'm just getting started in solar power. so i apologize in advance for my novice questions. I've gotten my 2 deep cycle batteries. Next will be the 100w panel and control charger. Finally, goung with either 400, 800, 1000w pure sine inverter. my question is what size (gauge) from the charge controller to battery, battery to battery, and battery to inverter. All 3 components will be in corner of my home (roughly 3x3 area) I know distance places a part in choosing the correct wiring. also, where do I out inline fuses and what size fuses?
Thank you for making this video..it was very informative and helped explain a bunch of questions I had about inverter cable types and sizes..
I'm looking to hook up a 1000W pure sine inverter in my '08 Corolla. I want to use the inverter to power a battery charger for landscaping equipment. The company of the equipment states the charger needs 550W to work properly. So I figured why not go with 1000 instead of 600. I was initially going to install the inverter in the trunk (for ease of access). Until I read your comments about a moisture free environment. Now I will install it under the passenger seat.
I'm just curious about:
1) should I ground the inverter to the body instead of back to the battery?
2) will this be a problem for my battery/electrical system in the car?
3) any recommendations for wire size and in line fuse amperage?
4) anything else my noob self may have overlooked?
Thanks in advance for any advice and for this truly informative set of videos!
Great information thanks ! Just wondering though You talked about Voltage Drop and Heat effect/ High amp draw fire hazards etc. But what happens from the inverter to the load? I'm going to need probably a 25' 8/3 or 6/3 cable for AC outlets in RV parks to plug in. Then the longest run of 14/2 cable is going to be about 30'. So 25' of 6/3 plus 30' of 14/2 is the longest run. Is there a way to cut off that 25' of 6/3 cable and go straight to the 14/2 cable through the Circuit Breaker box?
Why is 0.2v okay but not 0.96 at 4:20 on video? I understand the math but not the conclusions's assumptions. Why?
It is only a 'rule of thumb'. One could go into the engineering tradeoffs for a particular application but the complexities of optimizing the system quickly get far more involved than the effort that is practical for most applications. I stated 0.2V as a good value to choose and design for for general applications.
just what i needed. Need to work on the math part some more but think I am good. You are correct about the Inverter manual. They must sell a rubber stamp to all companies for their response. That includes Xantrex. Have a Freedom XC 2000 coming looking forward to getting it connected.
I just received my new 1kw pure sine wave Odyssey 24v inverter. You haven't mentioned a hookup which goes through the Solar Charge Controller. I expect to MAKE a few lithium ion 24v batteries for this system. I suppose that the gauge wire used should be the same through the charge controller connections. Right now I have 10 gauge in place and 10 amp circuit breakers as disconnects but i see that I'll need to increase that to 60 amp circuit breakers. (Surge watts might come to 1.4 kw) It looks like they've sent me 2' of a much thicker gauge wire than the #10 that I have used so far. Should I change it or am I all right?
I'm putting the car battery in the trunk of my race car. I need about 20ft from battery to killswitch to starter. I'll be running the neg from engine to frame and battery to frame 5ft ish total. I went to a supply store that wanted about 7 bucks a ft for 1/0 gauge. Went to Napa they told me I need 2gauge that was 3.50 a ft but I knew that was too thin. I have decided to go with welding wire because it was cheaper. I found a supplier online 1/0 gauge 20ft for about 42 bucks. I'm just wondering how well welding wire is regulated?
You can't make up your mind.
Hi guys, I just picked up a Cotek SD3500 and I bought 4/0 welding cable. Can I use 4/0 in a short length like that. Thanks for your knowledge.
Awsome videos... Been watching a bunch of them and using the info in my array set up.
I have a question I am hoping someone can advise....
I am upgrading my Battery Bank to (4)- 100ah AGM batteries .... I have a 2000/3000 watt PSW Inverter (Ran 1/0 awg to it at 28" each way) So now when the batteries I am adding to array (will be 4 total) come what gauge can I get away with for the interconnects between the batteries In Parallel ? They will be aprox 10" long each or less , I don't know till I arrange them ... I have a few ft. of 4 awg I was hoping to use....
I don't work the inverter nearly as hard as it can take ...maybe 120 amps tops with a mini microwave for a short time...
When installing an inverter in a vehicle, what are your thoughts on connecting the negative side of the inverter to the vehicle chassis rather than directly to the battery negative terminal?
I wouldn't recommend that in general for two reasons: 1. The ground connection of the battery is guaranteed to be well connected to the engine in order to power the starter. The chassis connection is often quite weak in comparison. 2. Vehicles often have grounding issues with simple things like fuel pumps, lights, etc. If the chassis connections can hardly handle 10's of amps 100's of amps seems like a potential problem. There's nothing wrong with using the chassis conceptually, I just think people in general will overlook the practical aspects and end up with problems and a cable straight to the inverter fixes that. Or make sure the entire ground path is clean, corrosion free, and adequate. That would work too.
All I can say is AWESOME!!!!!!!!
Simple explanation for getting started. I have watched dozens of videos in hopes of finding one on wire sizing. You have done a fantastic job of explaining for the beginner.
I am currently setting up my camper to run on solar as much as possible.
This is what I'm starting with in hopes that it will serve my needs.
100 watt mono crystalline panel
3000 watt inverter
2-160 ah AGM deep cycle communication batteries
30 amp controller
And I have about 100ft of 00awg welding lead cable, score!
I estimate a total of 5-6ft to tie the batteries together and connect to the inverter
Mainly what I will be using would be a small camper fridge lights and radio and occasional power tools.
I am a prospector and am used to not having power sometimes but would be nice to keep the food clod for longer without burning a lot of gas.
Thanks again for all the info and I have subscribed and plan on checking out more.
Btw This for mat is excellent if the person doing it knows their stuff and you sir do seem to.
I have a 15000w inverter. If I go by your philosophy (1500amps) will I need a huge cable to go 5 feet?
watched pretty much all your videos .looking to do a cargo van conversation to camper.after watching your reviews i have decided on the tiger claw 15000 converter because of cost and the pure sine wave. im thinking of four 100amphr 12volt deep cycle batteries in parallel and a 400 amp controller.run off 3 100 watt flex solar panels.do you think this would power a 500k a/c unit? along with some lights.a small micro wave,small portable ice maker.small tv .not all run at the same time of course. does the set up sound ok? new to all this.
Great job....very thorough I'm a house wife with no knowledge of inverter and battery..amps..ect...and I was able to follow you and retain all the information you provided. Thank you
Hi knurlgnar24 I was wondering where you get your wire at. I am looking to buy some 0 gauge cable to wire my two golf cart batteries together and then wire them to my 1500 watt inverter. I have some cheap 2 gauge cable connecting my two golf cart batteries together right now and it tends to get very hot when I draw 1500 watts.
Also after doing some further research. I've come to the conclusion that my little Corolla's alternator may not be able to handle the draw from the inverter on the battery. So it was suggested to put another battery in the car. I will be getting a Group 27 deep cycle battery. Should I get an ACR or Isolator? Don't think I would need one since I will only have the inverter running when the car will be. Any other advice or suggestions?
It's a pleasure watching and learning from your video's. In this video you figured the same length of cable from battery to inverter but is there any reason that in a automotive situation you couldn't use a short length of Negative cable and ground to the closest appropriate chasis ground? Ex: Place the inverter in the bed of truck, run a positve cable from engine compartmant to inverter, say 10' and ground the negative to chasis with a 2' ground wire to bed or frame. If this is applicable do you use the same figuring for total cable lenght in the formulas?
Thanks for your time and keep up the good work !
quality car audio wire is usually over sized cheap car audio wire is undersized (for example sky high car audio 1/0 is about 3/0 size from what i have read and seen) as you said check reviews before you buy
(disclaimer i dont have hands on experience with shca wire but there is plenty of info online)
Welding cable uses thinner strands, which conduct AC voltage better. But for DC wiring, it is more susceptible to corrosion and has higher resistance. You are better off looking for fully tinned "number three machine wire" which is closer to battery cable.
Informative videos are always the most helpful. Especially to cross reference the info. To bad less people are covering doing videos about the basic technical needs like trade skills of the past. Now its videos about how to program your Amazon fire stick with Cody. Or the like.
Thumbs up today, Oct. 15, 2018....nice presentation and explaination. 😉
I know it's not really your thing but reviews on solar charge controllers would be greatly appreciated and even pros and cons of 12, 24, 48 volt systems would be interesting.
How about on a 2000 watt inverter can I run 6 feet of 1 AWG for the positve cable and 6 feet for the negitive. And should I have a 200 amp fuse or 250 amp fuse installed ??
Excellent videos! Using your explanation/demonstration on the proper selection of cabling for inverters I decided to go with the welding cables. Reason? I own and operate a tractor and trailer and need an inverter for the creature comforts of home while on the road and know that the proper investment in equipment will keep the operator and others safe. Now I may understand why some semi trucks catch on fire while parked; many of those fires start when the driver is tucked in his/her bunk with a ceramic heater for the winter months or a stand alone air conditioner for the summer months. Or, the driver has too much plugged in and the system and cabling is overloaded and the truck burns to the ground. The AWG table and calculator helped to Super Simplify the decision making process. Thanks again!
Thank you for this video ...
I was looking online for inverter cable set around 15feet long
I just found 10feet will be short and can't find the cable size the one I need and I no want to buy it and do cable extension ...
Can you tell me from where I can find cables for the inverters from the shop ..
Thank you
I have a large amount of 2/0 aluminum electric service cable. With proper bi-metal connectors, why would this cable not be usable?
Bit late for comments on this video I know. But I've watched many of your videos and find them vary informative and easy to understand ( unlike a lot of the guff out there ). Yes these non project based videos are great ( especially in my case solar related ). Concise and to the point, keep it up. Cheers.
Thats 100% good info - thanks (still being outside US I would face some converting issues ;)
Out of everybody on RUclips you are the best I love the way you explain everything for a beginner like myself I even watched the videos that don't pertain to me because I like the way you explain everything you're the bomb buddy
Thank you: this is the video I was looking for an answer,have 24v 2800w inv surge 5600watts 4x6v batteries by 210 AH in serial so I guess 1/0 with 150AM circuit breaker before inverter will do the trick..,Hope I am right .
I don't know your cable lengths but that sounds about right. The most common error is undersizing cables and it sounds like you won't make that mistake. How many AH are your 6V batteries? If standard GC2 batteries you may be battery limited. That isn't a problem if you're aware of it but it's a limitation that is important to recognize.
@@knurlgnar24 What I have done so far is 4 by 6 v batteries in serial at 215 AH exactly,have used (and overkill) 2/0 cables .. the maximum length is 2 metres one negative cables only rest much shorter as I have no room in van so 2 batteries either side side ,then before the inverter I have 150 A circuit breaker and before cir cbrkr have and Isolating switch 200AH ,the solar is 300Watt 24V panel 9.2A open circuit &28v open as well so have 15A fuse to before my 30A MPPT and 30A fuse on the positive side to battery bank also . tested today batteris went up to 25.6v only(not fully charged but ok) used Microwave no issue.. hot water kettle 1300 watts noticed voltage going down to 23.6 but remained there and when finished jumbed back to 25.2V, then physically checked all wires and non was warm whatsoever cold and nice)it is raining and winter still in Sydney ) .
let me know if good.. thanks so much
At last, some very rare information about the mystery of wiring! And you're dealing with it pretty well. I like the way you break the process down into comprehensive steps. Keep up the good work!
Just bought 2/0 welding cable 20ft. Mounting my 1500w sine inverter in cargo area on my 4runner with hopefully 10ft or less each cable. Hope I it’s correct and enough to power my inverter correctly.
Based on the limited information in your comment it sounds to me like you are head-and-shoulders above what most people do. Commonly people install 4AWG at the heaviest and then wonder why it doesn't work well.. I think you will be pleased with the result! I am not familiar with the 4runner charging system but I know they are good vehicles otherwise. If you have heavy loads you run for long periods of time you may want to monitor the temperature of the alternator just to make sure it can handle the load since many vehicles cannot in their factory form.
@@knurlgnar24 Yea been doing a lot of reearch and most guys say 2/0 for 1500w more than 7ft length. At least I know I have heavy cables, never hurts other than cost. Lol
Ah, I see you have a Bestek review--that is one I've been considering. Looks like I have a multitude of new videos to watch. Thanks again
A thumbs up on the vid. But I sure would like to hear more about crimp vs. solder ;-) I sized my cable based on voltage drop. Hadn't thought about heat. Thanks for the info.
I got what looks to be a good 2AWG jumper cable for my inverter. I crimped ring terminals on one end, but couldn't wait until final installation (~3ft) to try out the inverter, So I hooked the clamp ends up to the batteries, today, and fired it up. Whooo! 20ft (x2) of cable had a huge voltage drop.
hi, does the battery sizes matter to use ? and does the inverter produce the wattage is says on it what i mean will the inverter produce the wattage no matter the type of battery i use or does it depends on the battery? and in what way is the inverter better what i mean, should i stay with 12 volts and 1.3 amps or increase the voltage ( how much volts) and leave amps alone or leave the volts alone and increase the amps ( how much amps) or increase both?
FYI, At this time ALL Autocraft jumper cables are Copper Clad Aluminum
Well I thought it was good information because I really had no idea what the proper wire was. Thanks for the great videos!
If you are going to use an inverter in a vehicle to charge anything larger than a cellfone consider using a second battery and a splitter. It's actually cheaper than what the guy in the video is telling you to do.
Well presented Knurlgnar24 and easy to understand will follow more of your topics
Congratulations really good explanation on how to choose the right cable for your application.i have a question for you in my case I bought a 1500 watts inverter and I planned to run cables 10ft long do I need 4/0 or 2/0 thanks
Without knowing the specifics of your application I would be fairly confident saying that 2/0 is adequate and that 4/0 would be overkill. 4/0 would work great but cost more and likely not give you much benefit considering the added cost. But if you think you might upgrade to a 3kw inverter in the future you'd be ready...
knurlgnar24 thanks and sorry I just check and the one that I bought is 4 not 4/0
so many people dont know about this and blame the product ,great video ,808 back out
Thank you for doing this video. The explanation of why so many strands in the wire for these setups was very helpful.
2000watt inverter, will 15 amp coaxial work to battery to inverter? say no more than 3 feet.
Awesome information. Thanks for helping me select the correct cable for my installation.
Hi, nice video. Thanks for explaining a theme that is really complicate and involve a lot of math, in a simple way and so clear.
I now see all the comments on the subject, sorry to be reppeative. Thanks.
I like watching your videos and you have good well researched information
I would highly recommend this information. Thanks a lot Sr.!
Thanks very helpful
if you use a short heavy wire from batteries to inverter how long can wires from inverter be to application (load)