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  1. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by aray8554 View Post
    I have a similar setup (only have 300ah) and I used 2/0 cable also and found that it will get pretty warm (resistance goes up) when pulling that much current and had issues with low battery status on the Multi Plus II. I switched over to 4/0
    whiched solved all my issues.
    How much current were you pulling from the batteries when the wire got warm? Do you have a guess as to the temperature? A good rule of thumb is that anything over 120F is uncomfortable to hold onto for most people.

    I do plan to keep a close eye on the wire temps. At 110A from the batteries the 2/0 wires were still under 100F (it is rated to 105C or 220F). I am keeping the 4/0 option in my back pocket though, it would only be three wires to swap out.

    Brian
    Brian and Lisa - Longmont, CO
    2021 Solitude 310GK
    2022 F350 Lariat DRW Powerstroke
    Firestone airbags - WirelessOne Airlift
    B&W Companion 20K
    Tireminder TPMS


  2. #22
    Site Sponsor SolarPoweredRV's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by CraigBair View Post
    Hi Brian! I’m working on exact same project on my 310. How r u routing solar panel wiring from roof to controllers? I’m thinking about drilling home next to shower roof vent and bringing my 2ga wire down chase there to utility bay. I’m adding 1200 watts of panels and using the Multiplus II.
    CraigBair; On my 2018 310 there was a "Satellite" chase that dropped down into the hold from the roof. The roof access was covered by a flat piece of metal and the hold was marked with a sticker that said "Satellite" (dropped down right next to the Nautilus about 18 inches from the door opening).

    I am a bit curious as to why you would be running 2awg cables down from your Solar panels. You should look into re-configuring your Solar Array to give you higher voltages from the roof to the Solar charge Controller so you can reduce the wire gauge (with higher voltages you can reduce the wire sizes), for example: My 4 Solar panels are 37 volts each, I ran two panels in series to give me 74 volts and I combined both series at the combiner box (in parallel) and ran the 74 volts down into the hold at 74 volts. I used 6awg wire because, I had a 100 foot spool, otherwise, I would have stayed with the 10 awg wires that I ran between panels on the roof. I also know that my Solar Charge Controller would not accept any wire larger than 6awg.
    David and Peggy
    2019 Ford F350 Lariat, 6.7L Diesel, Dually, Long Bed
    Running with 20k Reese Goosebox (Love It) and Ford Factory "Puck" system.
    Stopping with 8,000 lb Disc Brakes and Titan Hydraulic over Electric Brakes system.
    Powering all this fun with 1200 Watts of Solar, two Tesla, Model S, battery modules, 24 volt Victron Inverter.
    2018 Solitude 310 GK

  3. #23
    Site Sponsor SolarPoweredRV's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by aray8554 View Post
    I have a similar setup (only have 300ah) and I used 2/0 cable also and found that it will get pretty warm (resistance goes up) when pulling that much current and had issues with low battery status on the Multi Plus II. I switched over to 4/0
    whiched solved all my issues.
    Yes, I was thinking that 2/0 cabling was a little bit small to power a 3000 Watt Inverter.
    David and Peggy
    2019 Ford F350 Lariat, 6.7L Diesel, Dually, Long Bed
    Running with 20k Reese Goosebox (Love It) and Ford Factory "Puck" system.
    Stopping with 8,000 lb Disc Brakes and Titan Hydraulic over Electric Brakes system.
    Powering all this fun with 1200 Watts of Solar, two Tesla, Model S, battery modules, 24 volt Victron Inverter.
    2018 Solitude 310 GK

  4. #24
    Site Sponsor SolarPoweredRV's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by brandtb1919 View Post
    How much current were you pulling from the batteries when the wire got warm? Do you have a guess as to the temperature? A good rule of thumb is that anything over 120F is uncomfortable to hold onto for most people.

    I do plan to keep a close eye on the wire temps. At 110A from the batteries the 2/0 wires were still under 100F (it is rated to 105C or 220F). I am keeping the 4/0 option in my back pocket though, it would only be three wires to swap out.

    Brian
    The temperature of the wires is not really what is important, what is important is that hot/warm wires are wasting electrons, effectively reducing the amount of "useful" energy stored in your batteries. This only comes into effect when you are pulling high amps through your Inverter, i.e.: when running your A/C.
    David and Peggy
    2019 Ford F350 Lariat, 6.7L Diesel, Dually, Long Bed
    Running with 20k Reese Goosebox (Love It) and Ford Factory "Puck" system.
    Stopping with 8,000 lb Disc Brakes and Titan Hydraulic over Electric Brakes system.
    Powering all this fun with 1200 Watts of Solar, two Tesla, Model S, battery modules, 24 volt Victron Inverter.
    2018 Solitude 310 GK

  5. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by SolarPoweredRV View Post
    The temperature of the wires is not really what is important, what is important is that hot/warm wires are wasting electrons, effectively reducing the amount of "useful" energy stored in your batteries. This only comes into effect when you are pulling high amps through your Inverter, i.e.: when running your A/C.
    Temperature is important if you are exceeding the rating of the insulation, which I am not. The length of my 2/0 is only around a foot. At about 80 miliOhms per 1000 ft, I'm dissipating about 6W at a load of 200A (~2600W). From there I use double 1/0 wire (2 Pos, 2 Neg) to the inverter, which is about 40% LESS lossy than single 4/0. Since I don't plan to run the inverter at a full 3000W ever, I believe I am covered.

    The reason I asked about the temps is that aray8554 mentioned that their wires got "pretty warm". I can see this happening if the entire run to the inverter was a single 2/0 wire.

    I am actually a fan of over-sizing the wires from the solar panels given the relatively "long" distance they are running. Given the fact that solar panels are only about 20% efficient anyway, every Watt lost in the wiring is a Watt not going back into the system.

    Brian
    Brian and Lisa - Longmont, CO
    2021 Solitude 310GK
    2022 F350 Lariat DRW Powerstroke
    Firestone airbags - WirelessOne Airlift
    B&W Companion 20K
    Tireminder TPMS


  6. #26
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    2/0 cable

    Quote Originally Posted by brandtb1919 View Post
    How much current were you pulling from the batteries when the wire got warm? Do you have a guess as to the temperature? A good rule of thumb is that anything over 120F is uncomfortable to hold onto for most people.

    I do plan to keep a close eye on the wire temps. At 110A from the batteries the 2/0 wires were still under 100F (it is rated to 105C or 220F). I am keeping the 4/0 option in my back pocket though, it would only be three wires to swap out.

    Brian
    I was pulling around 130 amps with the ac on with the 2/0, but as the temp goes up, resistance goes up, voltage goes down and the inverter will set a low battery condition. Changed over to 4/0 cable and with an affective 700 watt solar system
    and 300ah batteries I could run the ac (75 F) for about 4.5 hours with temps around 100 degrees outside before using generator.

  7. #27
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    Preparing to move my 4 battleborns inside and build a panel wall. Multiplus is coming today!
    Have a 337RLS. Trying to figure out my best place to connect ground to chasis in the passthrough area. Where did you connect up yours. Anyone have suggestions?

    Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk

  8. #28
    Site Sponsor SolarPoweredRV's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by KDRunner View Post
    Preparing to move my 4 battleborns inside and build a panel wall. Multiplus is coming today!
    Have a 337RLS. Trying to figure out my best place to connect ground to chasis in the passthrough area. Where did you connect up yours. Anyone have suggestions?

    Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk
    Behind the wall, under the stairs, there is plenty of metal you can use for your grounding point. Just be certain to remove the paint to bare metal and spray paint the connection afterwords.
    David and Peggy
    2019 Ford F350 Lariat, 6.7L Diesel, Dually, Long Bed
    Running with 20k Reese Goosebox (Love It) and Ford Factory "Puck" system.
    Stopping with 8,000 lb Disc Brakes and Titan Hydraulic over Electric Brakes system.
    Powering all this fun with 1200 Watts of Solar, two Tesla, Model S, battery modules, 24 volt Victron Inverter.
    2018 Solitude 310 GK

  9. #29
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    Well, I have to mount Multi plus 2 in front pass through on 337RLS isn't tall enough! Have another question. I should probably just start a new thread.


    Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk

  10. #30
    Site Sponsor SolarPoweredRV's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by KDRunner View Post
    Well, I have to mount Multi plus 2 in front pass through on 337RLS isn't tall enough! Have another question. I should probably just start a new thread.


    Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk
    When you get the new thread started, post a link so we can easily follow along...
    David and Peggy
    2019 Ford F350 Lariat, 6.7L Diesel, Dually, Long Bed
    Running with 20k Reese Goosebox (Love It) and Ford Factory "Puck" system.
    Stopping with 8,000 lb Disc Brakes and Titan Hydraulic over Electric Brakes system.
    Powering all this fun with 1200 Watts of Solar, two Tesla, Model S, battery modules, 24 volt Victron Inverter.
    2018 Solitude 310 GK

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