Solar Wiring Question
When I installed my 500 watt panel, 2000 watt inverter, 340ah solar system it was a learning process. I have a 35 foot bumper pull Toy Hauler. My four 12 volt deep cycle batteries are on the trailer...
Forum Discussion
1L243 wrote:
the Neg 4.0 wire goes from the Inverter to the Neg Buss then from the Neg Buss to the load side of the shunt. Then it goes from the battery side of the shunt to the Neg number four battery in the battery bank. The entire length is about 5 1/2 feet. The Chassis 2AWG ground goes from the trailer frame to the Neg battery Buss a distance of about four feet.
That works because the 4/0 is overkill. You have more wires with amps on them on the load side, but still not so many other amps that the amps being drawn by the inverter at the same time would have the total amps exceed the ampacity of the 4/0 on the battery side.
Better to call that "frame ground" instead of "chassis ground" so not to confuse it with the inverter or converter "chassis ground"-(-which are not "grounds" anyway, but "negative paths" --but let's not go there again :) )
You don't need the same ampacity on the pos as on the neg path in the circuit as long as both paths have enough ampacity, and you can have different ampacities in sections of the same path as long as the whole path has enough ampacity. It helps to have lots of ampacity the whole way to reduce voltage drop.
Changing out that bit of #2 with 4/0 would not do much for voltage drop since the amps on that section are low, and the frame has huge ampacity. If you see a voltage drop when the furnace comes on that you think is excessive, then look at the positive path for the furnace as the culprit rather than that bit of #2 on the neg side.
