Portable panels wire size
Hey guys, I need some help. Would you consider giving me some advice please? I’m putting together a portable solar panel setup. The panel’s will be the following. Max Power: 140Wp Open Circui...
Forum Discussion
The Good: Your AC freezer, once it reaches thermostat setpoint will have a duty cycle of about 1/4, i.e. 25% runtime, even in a warm cabin area. Make sure you size the inverter big enough to handle the lock rotor draw of the appliance, probably 5-7 amps.
The Bad: Most of those wire size calculators should be used with two conductors since you have both a (+) and (-) phase. Don't know if the one you used calculates like that or not.
The Ugly: 100' is a long run. You will have some voltage and power loss at that distance, even using #10AWG. Since you plan to mount the modules at some point so some of that wire would be sacrificed and this is an adjunct to generator use, I'd just use it and surrender the lost power.
FWIW, when I was wiring my stuff, I soon realized I'd need some larger gauge wire (#4AWG) so I just bought a whole 100' roll of #4. I used the #4 for module to controller connections, also. The larger #4 welding cable was $1.00/ft. and I'm glad I got it, it is very easy to work with and I'm not throwing away as many watts.
The Bad: Most of those wire size calculators should be used with two conductors since you have both a (+) and (-) phase. Don't know if the one you used calculates like that or not.
The Ugly: 100' is a long run. You will have some voltage and power loss at that distance, even using #10AWG. Since you plan to mount the modules at some point so some of that wire would be sacrificed and this is an adjunct to generator use, I'd just use it and surrender the lost power.
FWIW, when I was wiring my stuff, I soon realized I'd need some larger gauge wire (#4AWG) so I just bought a whole 100' roll of #4. I used the #4 for module to controller connections, also. The larger #4 welding cable was $1.00/ft. and I'm glad I got it, it is very easy to work with and I'm not throwing away as many watts.
