Forum Discussion

mike-uswest's avatar
mike-uswest
Explorer II
Apr 09, 2018

Solar panels and 10 GA wire?

I ended up buying a 2016 Arctic fox 25Y TT that has two 100 watt solar panels on it. I also have a Grape 160 watt solar panel that I was going to use a combiner box and put it on there. I just found out that the wire going to the Zamp controller is 10 GA. What problems is that going to cause? The run of the wire doesn't seem to be that long, maybe 8-10 feet. I thought they had 8 GA wire there, but I was wrong. Thanks for any answers.

Mike
  • Ed_Gee's avatar
    Ed_Gee
    Explorer II
    Apr 09, 2018
    I calculated a 2.1% voltage drop, less than .4 Volts on your system .....which is not going to be a significant issue for you. I based my calculations on your panels’ output being 18Volts with a maximum current of about 19 Amps.....on your 10 foot run of 10AWG cable. You will be getting away with using 10AWG because of the short run.
  • mike-uswest's avatar
    mike-uswest
    Explorer II
    Apr 09, 2018
    Yes they are. I don't have the numbers now, but I checked that , and they were very close.

    Mike
  • Lwiddis's avatar
    Lwiddis
    Explorer II
    Apr 09, 2018
    See the WindyNation wire chart at https://www.windynation.com/jzv/inf/choosing-right-wire-size

    Another "cheapout" on wire.
  • 2oldman's avatar
    2oldman
    Explorer II
    Apr 09, 2018
    360 watts is going to be about maxed out for that wire.

About RV Must Haves

Have a product you cannot live without? Share it with the community!8,793 PostsLatest Activity: Aug 22, 2023