Wire size for battery bank

2oldman wrote:

Clay L wrote:
Not sure why the clicky function is showing like that.

Because colon-b, :b is that face.

Yeah but it should show "HERE" not part of the url. I have made a post on the web site help section.

2/0 can do 330 amps (105C insulation). I doubt he'll go over that. Running the MW on that might drop the voltage down .3V but since it's a short period of time, running into the inverter alarm shouldn't happen (unless the batteries are pretty low in SOC).

Texas Two Steppers wrote:
If you've got 4-6v Trojan t105 batteries wired for 12v with 2/0 wire between them would 2/0 be the proper size to run back to your converter/charger which is 12' away? And I guess the hot wire would need to b fused somewhere near the batteries? This is not for me so don't assume anything from my signature.

I think you need to know the max current flow from the batteries in order to properly size the 12' cable run.

Clay L wrote:
Not sure why the clicky function is showing like that.

Because colon-b, :b is that face.

If you go HERE
You can download a small program that will calculate (find) the proper wire size for your application.

Not sure why the clicky function is showing like that. It does work but should only show "HERE" instead of a partial url. I tried to change it several times with no luck.

EDIT fixed "clicky"

Depends on the maximum charging amps.

I ran 8 gauge from my 45 Amp Progressive Dynamics 8245 Battery charger to my battery bank. 10 feet worth. if you have an 8280, which is capable of 80 amps charging, yep, go larger. That's wiring going for recharging electricity going into the batteries.

If this if for running your inverter to convert 12 DC to 120 AC, you'll need to go way larger in wire gauge. 2/0 or bigger? Depends on the size of the inverter and the length of the run. Heavier gauge wiring needed when you have huge draws of current coming out of the battery. You can see this just on a normal positive terminal cable, narrow gauge wire off the alternator /voltage regulator on the positive terminal, and much, much heavier gauge wire going from the battery to the starter motor.

On edit: 2/0 is probably overkill. But if you have it on hand you may as well use it. #4 is plenty in most cases and is about max you can fit in the converter terminals. Maybe #2 if the converter is a 90amp IOTA or 100 amp WFCO or Powermax.

For maximum charging performance pull 120v wire to move the converter closer to the battery.