How far is too far for the inverter?
My inverter is going to be about 4-5 feet from the battery bank, and maybe an additional foot or two by the time I run the wire. I am using 2 gauge wire. Is that too far? The inverter will only see...
Forum Discussion
OK, back to the OP's question:
Wire gauge is dictated by three things:
Length of run (distance= length of BOTH positive and ground).
Amp draw-- that is why the question about what watt inverter. Correct answer for a 300 watt inverter would clearly not work for a 2000 watt inverter.
Acceptable voltage drop. For some circuits, a 10% voltage drop under maximum load is acceptable. For "primary" circuits and inverters, 3% is an acceptable figure.
Here is a good discussion and chart showing correct wire choices: http://www.westmarine.com/WestAdvisor/Marine-Wire-Size-And-Ampacity
Wire gauge is dictated by three things:
Length of run (distance= length of BOTH positive and ground).
Amp draw-- that is why the question about what watt inverter. Correct answer for a 300 watt inverter would clearly not work for a 2000 watt inverter.
Acceptable voltage drop. For some circuits, a 10% voltage drop under maximum load is acceptable. For "primary" circuits and inverters, 3% is an acceptable figure.
Here is a good discussion and chart showing correct wire choices: http://www.westmarine.com/WestAdvisor/Marine-Wire-Size-And-Ampacity
