Solar Wire Size..??? Fuses on panels...??
Ok, ready to install my solar system and I need to buy wire to go from panels to the solar controller Two, 140W panels, wired in parallel Here are the specs on the panel: The wire lengt...
Forum Discussion
10 gauge wire seams to be about the best compromise between cost and loss, 8 gauge would be better for the length of run you have but 10 gauge will work fine. 4 gauge is probably the best and if you have the cash to run 35' of 4 gauge which will require 70 total feet of wire then go big. Basically it comes down to how much line loss is acceptable for the cost of the wire.
As for the fuse I would put a 40 amp inline fuse at the controller if for the only reason to have a way to disconnect the solar panels from the controller and batteries. Its nice to be able to disconnect the solar input if you need to take the batteries off the trailer for any reason like I had to do when I took my trailer into the shop for front wall work and I knew they would have to remove the batteries to do there work. With my controller the battery's need to be hooked up before the solar panels or the controller may be damage, well you know the guys at the shop don't know this and if they did they probably wouldn't do it right anyway. Its sure easy to pull a fuse right at the controller then getting on the roof to disconnect panels or pulling the wires from the controller plus a fuse is always a good idea.
As for the fuse I would put a 40 amp inline fuse at the controller if for the only reason to have a way to disconnect the solar panels from the controller and batteries. Its nice to be able to disconnect the solar input if you need to take the batteries off the trailer for any reason like I had to do when I took my trailer into the shop for front wall work and I knew they would have to remove the batteries to do there work. With my controller the battery's need to be hooked up before the solar panels or the controller may be damage, well you know the guys at the shop don't know this and if they did they probably wouldn't do it right anyway. Its sure easy to pull a fuse right at the controller then getting on the roof to disconnect panels or pulling the wires from the controller plus a fuse is always a good idea.
