How to Size Wires for a DIY Camper Van Electrical Setup

[@johnheilman1216]

You look like you're having fun and really enjoy what you do! Professionals make it look easy and they bring their own tools ... : ) ... thank you for all the teaching that you bring to the screen ...

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Glad it was helpful. Cheers!

[@jamesmason7124]

Hello from the high desert of New Mexico USA 🇺🇸. I was always taught to use a 2 percent voltage drop . I hope this helps you. Please keep up the good work and stay safe and charged

[@EXPLORISTlife]

2% falls within the 3% parameter for critical loads or 10% for non-critical loads as specified by ABYC; so you're good to go.

[@jamesmason7124]

@@EXPLORISTlife thank you , I've been building a 1967 GM TDH-4519 city transit bus into the perfect RV but it's been going really slow because I also live in it full-time and because of funds

[@thehastywombat]

Thanks mate, great tool, and video to back it up. My only recommendation is to have the unit of measure (in this case feet) to the Length box on the calculator. It wasn't immediately clear what I should be using, hence coming to this video.

[@scottchisholm5603]

I had no idea that this should have been on my radar. Thanks! It makes some level of sense now. Absorbing!

[@gsftom]

What u guys are doing is incredible! Sharing knowledge and helping people 😀

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Hey, Tom Freer! I appreciate that. Thanks for watching! 🙂😀

[@Alpha-ms9nj]

I agree and wish the rest of the worlds people would be as cool and sharing with each other. Alternative energy is the future, the more we learn in order to teach kids the better off they will be.

[@kennethdandurand3472]

At :35, AMEN! My decision was right, but it took me two days to find the video that shows me what to figure. I could ask my nephew, but that would be too easy. Thank you young man. Or, as Elvis would say, Thank you. Thank you very much!

[@dustytravels9458]

Such a Big Help, and so glad when you said; "Here's the Easy Way" ! ...my brain was starting to hurt just prior to that point.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Awesome! Glad it helped. Thanks for watching!

[@Field-Frenzy]

Your channel deserves more views. Excellent content.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

I appreciate that!

[@nategabig]

couldn't agree more....just remarkably relevant, especially since so many of us are trying to work even more remotely and be renewably responsible/focused

[@Roqwagn]

Hi Nate. I can tell you now much I appreciate all of this information you share. I have a 2019 sprinter 4x4 (2500). I am planning on installing a very small and simple electrical system. DC only. I am only going to have 100ah Battleborn at first with plans to possibly expand to more batteries down the road. (Which is why I am going DIY rather than a Goal Zero...expansion) I have been back and forth between 30A and 60A Dc to dc. The obvious benefits of the 60a being faster charge times. Also deciding between the Victron and Sterling as those seem to be the ones battleborn recommends. In talking to both battleborn and sterling they say 6AWG is the largest wire that fits and I would have to trim back 4AWG if I use it. I have an approximate 28 foot run. I have used all the wire size calculators etc. There will be a 5.69% voltage drop over that run with 6AWG. Battleborn tells me there is no risk to the battery or the sterling with that voltage drop and says the heat generated over the run will not be dangerous. The sterling calculator puts it in the "not ideal but ok" category and the sterling customer service representative was on the fence about whether it is a good idea or not. Get to the point!!!. I guess I am looking for a second opinion about using 6AWG with the 60A sterling over that run....dangerous? fine? Thank you in advance and for all you do!!

[@ruslanunis]

Thanks Nate for all your great instructional videos. I have a question about wiring, could you enlighten me? I'm wondering if CCA cables is OK for using in the van or would it be better to go with pure copper? There is a lot of information about sizes but not about materials for wires in vans

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Aluminum wire isn't appropriate, no. We have all of the correct wire sizes/types over in our store if you're trying to take the guess-work out of it: shop.explorist.life

[@MichaelCook1981]

Great calculator! I bought a dc to dc charger and the instructions were metric 2.5mm² is what the manufacturer recommends for install. That's way to small for my setup, I ran 8 AWG to be on the safe side. It's only a 20 amp dc charger, but if I want to upgrade down the line I can.

[@MultiObeone]

Thanks, your very articulate, I am trying to figure out how to rewire my entire 50ft boat. My son and I live on the boat, we want to make it safe and improve or update all the systems and certainly the wires, bus bars, and panels. To save money, I thought that I should build the panels from scratch. Do you have boat wiring diagrams ?

[@EXPLORISTlife]

The concepts in Most/All of my diagrams can be applied to boats: www.explorist.life/solarwiringdiagrams

[@MultiObeone]

Yes, he is great. I am learning

[@michaelcarman4875]

with this info i would give up building my van rv. and i have 40 years experience as a handy man. but you seem like a nice guy.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

That's fine. First, ultimately, if being a quitter is in your blood, that's your prerogative. Second, I'm not nice.

[@michaelcarman4875]

ok then@@EXPLORISTlife

[@xrmad]

Excellent video, but one thing I'm finding is having multiple chargers is going to be cheaper than one larger charger. Also splitting the array down into smaller arrays has the added advantage of limiting shading loss by having smaller strings

[@mattgrovesdc]

This is great, and I'm thankful for the information. One question that I have that I'm not able to find is figuring out if I should use the continuous amperage of the load or the start up amperage for the calculations. I don't want to skimp if I need to go with a bigger size. Thanks!

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Continuous, in most cases unless otherwise specified in the user manual.

[@mattgrovesdc]

@@EXPLORISTlife thanks a ton!

[@jdtracy]

I am planning on getting a 3000W inverter\charger but I will have a single 300Ah battery that has max continuous discharge of 200A. Should I still size the wires and fuses based on the 3000W inverter or the 200A max discharge of the battery? I've learned so much from your videos and website. Now it's just a matter of doing it. Thanks for all the info., so far.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Thats a no go. You need at least 400Ah of battery bank capacity and 250A discharge ability to support a 3000W inverter/charger.

[@jdtracy]

@@EXPLORISTlife Even if I don't intend on using 3000W of 120V? I am simply trying to get an inverter that could provide a little "future proofing" for if\when I have a bigger battery bank and solar array.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Its a no go. Remember...I teach people how to do this stuff CORRECTLY, so purposefully undersizing parts of the system against manufacturers recommendations is something I cannot provide validation for.

[@FiddlingwithmyWhistle]

One more question. If I am making my own Electrical Copper Bus bars, out of 6mm x 30mm how do I work out it's max amperage per foot ?

[@EXPLORISTlife]

I don't have a video about that at the moment to direct you to. Sorry!

[@FiddlingwithmyWhistle]

​@@EXPLORISTlife The end area of a 30 x 6 bar is 180mm2 can I just work off that ? and asume that it's grater than a 4/0 AWG wire at 107mm2 and if my logic is right... 30mm x 4mm (120mm2) would be very close to the same max amperage as 4/0 AWG wire

[@thetruthseekermtb8323]

Hi Nate. Great video. Thank you! For some reason the calculator link is not working for me.. ive tried in different devices, but still the same result. It says 'service unavailable'

[@MyGoogleYoutube]

No one talks about ampacity.... Nicely done :)

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Yeah, I noticed that too. Really only matters on pretty short runs; BUT... it does, indeed, matter.

[@UnstoppableTramp]

Go bigger it is as simple as that. I went 1 gauge up on everything and so far the setup has been bombproof

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Great plan. :) This calculator will give you a good, educated, starting point to size up from.

[@dodgeplow]

@@EXPLORISTlife lol exactly. 1 gauge up from what, right?

[@EXPLORISTlife]

@@dodgeplow For sure. 😂😂 Oh, you know... just somebody trying to cheapen the effort I put in to make these videos and resources. 🤣😑😑

[@dodgeplow]

@@EXPLORISTlife I know it's not necessary, but what's your viewpoint on using a 24-volt system for a van conversion? I'm 10 years away from it, but I like early planning ;)

[@EXPLORISTlife]

@@dodgeplow I only recommend that on systems bigger than, about, 1200w of solar or would have over a 3,000w inverter. Any less than that and the savings in wire sizes are outweighed by the need to purchase 12 to 24 and 24 to 12 volt boosters/converters.

[@adrianfleming5754]

THANK U , SO HELPFUL ,HAPPY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Hey adrian fleming, Thanks so much! Cheers! Merry Christmas!

[@Maggie5228]

Nate, what wire connectors do you recommend when using marine stranded wire, WAGO, crimp or heat shrink. I was leaning towards the WAGO brand.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

I use all three depending on the use case and what’s being connected.

[@wascarg5341]

Very well put together educational video . Great job; I have a question i would like to increase my crank voltage on my motorcycle 12v battery as I having hot start issues . Which cable you recommend and can I just add one parallel to the current one ? Thank you ;;;;

[@jonjessen]

Hi, there are missing some information in the calculator, that could be dangerous if misunderstood. Length - is it Meters? inches? Fuse recommendation - is it in amps? By the way excellent initiative!

[@Jesgus0914]

My biggest concern is the size wire (and fuse for that matter) required between my battery and fuse box. Not sure how to calculate that?

[@EXPLORISTlife]

It's calculated in the same way and is based on how much power is flowing through the wire. If you'd like to skip the calculations; our wiring kits at shop.explorist.life have it all figured out for you.

[@Sara-yp3xl]

What are your thoughts on doubling up a wire from my battery to my inverter

[@jeroenbonamie8311]

If you have 6 lights in parallel. Do you use the furthest point as the lenght of the cable times 2. Or add up all the connections to every lamp times 2?

[@EXPLORISTlife]

12V fuse block to furthest light x2 is the easiest way.

[@jeroenbonamie8311]

@@EXPLORISTlife oke thanks. Super helpfull 😊! Do you size the wires the same way for ledstrips? Or do you need to consider their lenght aswel for voltage drops? I want to wire two strips of 3 meter in parallel.

[@stever6986]

With so many RVs these days offering "pre-wired" for solar (or pre-wired for a solar controller and/or invertor), it would be great if you re-engineered your calculator to enter the gauge (and other specs) of the wires (that are used in the pre-wiring in a rig) to figure out what the maximum load (amps & volts) that can be used through them. Your calculator is like many on the internet that will figure out the wire size if you are buying the wire as part of the install, but there are not many calculators out there that let you input the wire size because its pre-installed. Just a thought because this "pre-wiring" thing is so common in RVs now.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

This chart will tell you how many amps a XX gauge wire will handle with XXX degree insulation ratings. The max voltage of the wire should be printed directly on the wire. www.coonerwire.com/amp-chart/

[@stever6986]

@@EXPLORISTlife Thanks... I'm sure an increasing number of people will be asking for references like this.

[@explor794]

Your sense of humor is brilliant, I have to watch a couple of times before I catch each of the jokes

[@jacksmith9925]

Hi Nate……I want to charge a LiFePO4 100ah from my 7-pin connection to my small trailer. The vehicle is 05 Lexus GX470 with stock alternator with 120 Amps. Can I run power through 7 pin to a dc-dc charger in trailer? I have very little knowledge other than watching your videos. TU🙏

[@dougCat]

I am trying to find the right wire size for my RV solar system. I have 2 panels that are in parallel. This is a 12 volt system. When looking into the voltage and amperage numbers, I have 17.7 volts and 16.6 amps coming from the array. Are these the numbers I use in the calculator, or should I use 12 volts? Want to make sure i have the correct wire size. Thanks

[@danielw6610]

Hi. Great video. Question on the calculator page. When you ask for total wire length, is the in inches, feet, mm, meters,......??????

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Great Question. It's in feet. I just added that little detail to the calculator. Thanks for the feedback.

[@scott.wallace8625]

My build is for a boat. Other than needing marine grade tinned wire is there any difference in sizing? Thank you I have been looking for content on this subject.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Most of the ANCOR wire is rated to 105 degress celcius. So with that, for the most part, you 'should' be good to go to the best of my knowledge.

[@scott.wallace8625]

@@EXPLORISTlife thank you sir.

Hello. When using your calculator, shall we enter the cable length only for the positive cable length or the sum of the positive and negative cable lengths?

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Both positive and negative.

@@EXPLORISTlife How many ft cables did you use for the orion in your last vehicle? What was your cable cross section?

[@tjt615]

Exactly what I needed. Thank you

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Glad it helped!

[@dougCat]

In your wire calculator, i am wondering what numbers to use for the voltage and current for my solar array. I have a 12 volt system, but my 2 panels in parallel are producing 16.6 amps IMP, and 18.4 volts VMP. Are these the correct numbers for the calculator?

[@AdA-d7y]

Hi. I have a question. I have a 12v system with 2x 100a batteries in parallel, and a 2000watt inverter. The appliance that uses the most power is my 2000 watt kettle. What size cable should I use to connect the batteries in parallel and what size cable to the inverter? Thanks in advance.

[@dougCat]

Are you using VOC and ISC numbers in your wire size calculation?

[@jwbcsb822]

Can you do a video for remote astronomy using 12v? I imagine a max night is 10A/hr. w roughly 10hr maximum usage.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Like, for powering a camera/telescope? Something like a Jackery would be more than enough for something like that: amzn.to/467SPeq

[@projet2907]

When you measure the lenght, is it back and forth? Or just the distance of the load from the battery? I was viewing a your Tube video that said to take the back and forth measurements. So if an inverter is 14 feet away, it would be 28 feet as length value. ?!

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Indeed! (Also... 14ft from batteries to inverter is a LOOOOOONG way...(if that was a real life example))

[@projet2907]

​@@EXPLORISTlife Yes I know right!!! Way too LOOOOOONG. . Yes,, real life in my trailer. A design by Airstream!! 14 feet from the battery box at the front tongue of the trailer outside back to under the bed and it's a 6G wire !! I think it should be 000 ??? . Plus, the 100A in-line fuse is way out there by the inverter, 12 feet from the batteries. It's been working fine for the past 5 years, but the inverter failed a couple of weeks ago, along with the converter that fried (on the other side of the trailer about 11 feet with a 4G wire), and the lithium batteries went defective. 🤪 No idea why all this happened. The dealer ran some tests (very little) and did not find electrical issues. So,, I would put 28 feet into the calculator ?

[@turdboman]

Hi, I have a sprinter motorhome with a 230 amp hour lithium battery, I want to add a 2nd 230 ah battery but don't know what size wire to use. the wire length will be about 5 feet. also do you sell wirers with lugs on them ?

[@DrifterJourney]

Fantastic video! Thanks for creating the calculator. It should come in handy for our curreny build.

[@billyk7831]

Hey Nate, how do you determine wire gauge size for a wiring a 12 volt battery bank?

[@EXPLORISTlife]

99% of the time, I just size those the same as the wires going from the battery bank to the Lynx Distributor.

[@billyk7831]

@@EXPLORISTlife ok thanks Nate. How is it that you determine what size gauge those wires would be from the battery bank to the lynx distributor tho?

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Sure! That's just going to be the amperage total of all loads and then calculated just as shown in this video. Or the easier method is just to follow my diagrams at www.explorist.life/solarwiringdiagrams as I've already done the work for you.

[@RetiredandLivingthedream]

Hi have watched many of your video’s. I’m struggling here. Installing a 4.5 KW inverter 24 volt battery. I bought 50sqmm welding cable the 50 sqmm lugs were too big. I bought 35 mm lugs, snug fit, my crisper set on 35 mm crimped the lug but pulls off. Set to 25 mm it is a tight crimp. So many things seem wrong with this. Can you help please.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

The lugs we sell in our store (shop.explorist.life) are guarenteed to fit together when using our recommended tools (kzbin.info/www/bejne/gXinfpSlmptmsM0). Outside of that, we have installation services available: shop.explorist.life/shop/consultations-installations/installation-request-deposit/

[@TinetaEllis]

when selecting wire size do i select it based on 'running' amperage or 'start up' amperage? my motorhome fridge/freezer uses 1.88 amps running but 3.75 amps at start up. Thanks Marcel

[@denisecallahan9370]

Hi, I am ready to wire the DC lines in my van. I have lights, a maxx air fan and a bathroom fan light. what size wires should i buy for these items. thanks for all you do

[@EXPLORISTlife]

This video you just commented on teaches you how to size those wires based on the amount of power they carrt and the length of wire used. You'll need to input the amps used and the length of wire needed into the calculator that I showed in this video to find your answer. I also have a cheatsheet guidebook for 12V branch circuits if that's more of your thing: www.explorist.life/shop/solar-wiring-diagrams/12v-branch-circuits/

[@HarmoniaAAxyridis]

Hi, with the calculator...what is the total length in > inches, feet, meters??

[@EXPLORISTlife]

It's in inches.

[@jonjessen]

​@@EXPLORISTlifeplease update it:-) i calculated my system based on that it was in meters. it could have been dangerous. luckily i found a table that had a different answer than you calculator and now i can rewire it all.

[@guyweber8204]

I have a question regarding the use of your calculator. As I increase the wire length the voltage drop across the length of the wire remains unchanged. Why? I would think the voltage drop across the length of the wire would increase as the wire length increases.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Great question! The voltage drop is a constant YOU are providing to the calculator. YOU are telling the calculator what percentage of voltage drop is allowable for the circuit you are calculating and the calculator is providing the wire size to stay within the voltage drop parameter you are telling it that's allowable.

[@jesse7113]

Thanks again for the videos. Can I connect different wire sizes together taking into account the wire size by length of the wire or will that to much stress on the smaller wire?

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Use Lever Nuts (like these: amzn.to/2Lg7osT) to connect different sizes of wires together.

[@FiddlingwithmyWhistle]

Sorry........ with your calculator. the Length, is that in Feet. It does not say. and if you are running batteries in parallel or series ? I am going to run four 12v batteries as a 48v system. so guessing I count the "series" jumper links between the 4 batteries. into the overall lenght ?

[@EXPLORISTlife]

The length is indeed in feet. I'll make a note on the calculator in my next update. I usually make the battery interconnect wires simply the same size as the wires exiting the battery bank. They don't really need to be figured into the length as long as the batteries are right next to each other.

[@FiddlingwithmyWhistle]

@@EXPLORISTlife Yes... I did watch the video again, and you did say feet. plus the second time around. I paid more attention to the part about max Amperage, and at 48v it's the amps that I need to cover, and when I do, my cable will be a lot shorter than it could be. Thanks

[@michaelreszke3804]

I’m hooking up a Victron 12-12-30amp dc to dc with only 6 feet run in wire. Why are others using 6ga wire ? Your calculator says 16ga ? Also should I go with only 30 amp fuse? Or should I go a little higher? What are your thoughts? Thank you in advance.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Wire and fuse sizes are listed on pg 7 of the user manual. Remember... manufacturers recommendations always take priority over charts and calculators. We include 6AWG wire in our Victron Orion 12/12/30 wiring kit as it's the largest wire that will fit in the Orion and covers 99% of use cases: shop.explorist.life/shop/all-products/camper-wiring-kits/component-wiring-kits/victron-orion-wiring-kit/

[@wexlife13]

I am putting together my battery solar system/ I purchased 3 of the diagrams from your website. I believe from my calculations a 24V/5000W/230 Inverter Charger would be best for my family, as we want to power 2 mini splits. Do you have any wiring diagrams in this realm for purchase?

[@csmetrustee]

Great video. Wish you would have spoke a bit more about temperature as most wire available at a home center will max out at ninety. The only problem I saw was regarding circular mils. They are thousandths of an inch. The electrical world is a very odd mix of metric and imperial. It's one is the reasons I refuse to use the modern abbreviation kcmil and stick with the older MCM. I prefer to emphasize that it's an imperial measurement by not mixing metric abbreviations.

[@isaacwiesermusic]

What wire size do I need to connect our batteries? And what size fuse for in between the battery and the bus bar? Our system is 2x 100ah lifepo batteries, 700w inverter, 30a charge controller, 350w Solar, all renogy components. We have a small load setup- DC: roof vent, dometic fridge, lights, and a diesel heater. 120v AC: a few laptops and camera batteries, and Starlink. I was very disappointed with Renogys online chat, they were not thorough and said I didn’t need a fuse in between the battery and the bus bar… isn’t that important to have like a 150-200a fuse there?

[@isaacwiesermusic]

Renogy also recommended having a 30a fuse in between the charge controller and the bus bar. And in one of your videos, you describe how it’s unnecessary to have one there. But renogy was saying you only need one there and it’s most important. Can you clear up where fuses go?

[@isaacwiesermusic]

Lastly, is the size of wire connecting batteries (and fuse next to batteries) determined by load size? Or does the amperage of batteries affect it?

[@EXPLORISTlife]

If you'll KZbin search "EXPLORIST.life How to Size Wires" and "EXPLORIST.life How to Size Fuses" and "EXPLORIST.life Where do Fuses Go", it will teach you everything you need to know about how to size wires/fuses and where everything should go. Alternatively, we have full system kits with properly sized wires and properly placed/sized fuses over in our store: shop.explorist.life

[@josehndz3]

Hey thanks for all of the free resources you provide. Thanks mostly to you're free resources and other sites Im just about finished my electrical set up. Quick question, so I have a my inverted hooked w 4awg wire (which is the lowest recommended by the manufacturer) and when I run things like the hot plate, and and some other small amp loads I noticed i get close to 150amp, cutting it close to the 160amp mark. Yes the wires get a bit hot but I can generally get away with cooking a meal on the hot plate without smelling melted wires. Do you think I can get away without rewiring to 2awg? Its a 2000w xantrex pro watt inverter w a 200amp fuse. Thanks!

[@royberg328]

This guy is way to smart for me

[@Wildearthcampers]

EXCELLENT WORK!!! ⚡️ just about to install my setup into my VW T6, I will defo link this in my install video. ✅💯🔧🤙

[@markelkins8432]

It would be so much nicer if your calculators also showed answers in the metric system, eg - wire gauge in mm, allowed for temperature in Centigrade, and also mentioned that mains voltage can also be 230Volts - and mention the green/yellow for earth, brown for live and black for neutral colour wiring codes.. like almost the rest of the world uses - except for North America. Perhaps metric lengths too? One day - even North America will use the Metric system.

[@wendybyrne1301]

This is such useful information, thank you! Is there an alternate method for determining wire gauge size for GROUND wires? It seems like some wiring diagrams have smaller sized AWG for ground wire than I might expect (to ground the negative buss bar) but I have not seen any writing or video that address how this wire size is selected.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Great Question! For ground wires: 1: Use the manufacturer recommended wire size, if available. Or if not available... 2: Use the ABYC Standard recommendation which is 'No smaller than one size smaller that the current carrying conductor of the device...' Which means, no smaller than one size smaller than the wire you used to connect the device to the battery bank (or busbars). I generally use the same size for the ground wire as I do for the wires supplying power to/from the device so I don't have to bother with as many different sizes of wire.

[@wendybyrne1301]

@@EXPLORISTlife This is interesting! I have been following information both from you and from FarOutRide, and learning a lot as I go along. It is helpful to have the explanations you give. I am using the FarOutRide wiring diagram for 320 watts solar and have 200Ah of lithium battery 9=(2 Battle Borns)... the ground wire is 4awg which is consistent with size recommendations per your response above in all cases except for this: the batteries are connected to each other and to the buss bars with 2/0 cable. Do the batteries not have to be grounded? if yes, why then is the ground wire in the diagram 4 awn and not 2/0 awg?

[@_Jake_Elkins]

Thanks for the vid! But the calculator isn’t bringing up any results when I type my stuff in…

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Ope, I see. It's fixed now. Was an update in the plugin the broke the programming code.

[@jonathankuhn2180]

If I have two 12v batteries, one being the starter in the engine bay, the other being a traditional starter battery that is 12 feet away in the trunk, and it is used to power an inverter that will run 500-1000watts for hours at a time, what sort of draw will go to through the cable connecting the to batteries? Which leaves me getting what size wire? I only plan on using the inverter while driving, so does having the second battery serve me in regards to being able to have a thinner wire run to the trunk since there is another battery instead of directly from the starter battery to an inverter 12 feet away? Because I can now keep the wire from the inverter to the second battery shorter than if it ran all the way to the front of the car?

[@EXPLORISTlife]

You'll want a DC DC charger between the starter and aux battery bank to limit/regulate the current flow and keep the two batteries separate: shop.explorist.life/shop/all-products/victron-orion-xs-12-12-50-dc-to-dc-charger-wiring-kit/

[@jonathankuhn2180]

@@EXPLORISTlife Thanks for the suggestion. What wire size do you suggest?

[@EXPLORISTlife]

lol, I literally linked you to a whole wiring kit that includes the proper wire size. 😉🤣

[@jimsminimodelsmccrea]

Hi,Ive been using the calculator to see what size of wire I needed for my system, but there is one part Iam not sure about in the calculations and that is dose the 100amps stay a 100amps or do you increase the amps to whay you have ? as I have 400amps which gives wire size of 0000 4/0 but if its cap at 100amps the wire size is just 4. sorry for the long post but any help would be well appreciated

[@tbvegaschannel]

I'm interested in the personal service. I have a 1960 Winnebago trailer that i've mostly gutted. I'm starting the electrical from scratch. I'd like to run the most basic system from battery and shore power. Lights, vent fan, water pump, water heater are basics., Space heater, crock pot, and microwave would be luxuries.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

This should get you started: www.explorist.life/3000w-inverter-400-600ah-400-to-1200w-solar-camper-solar-kit/

[@davidlee2903]

Great site and helped me a lot. Thanks

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Awesome! Glad it helped. Thanks for watching!

[@marcelorescala8935]

Great video, as always. Question: what size of wire should I use for grounding the MPPT (Victron 100/50 - 3 solar panels 175W - 12V system)

[@mikesmith4764]

If my batteries are 14ft from my outboard motor on a pontoon what size wire do I need to start it?

[@craigholliday3907]

basic question. No solar, just a regular van with a 12volt battery which powers the van electronics. I want to add a fan. If I have a sprinter van with interior lights in the cargo bay, can I simply steal power or pull power from a cargo light to power the Maxx air fan? I would do this by just splicing a 16 gauge wire to it.....what do you think? Thanks in advance.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

I would recommend running a dedicated circuit back to the fuse block for that. :)

[@jamesmorrison7876]

How exact does the length measurement need to be? In the engine bay, it's hard to measure.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Play around with the calculator with different measurement to see how different measurements affects the output.

[@shameelali2549]

I have 700watts of panels on my caravan roof,i have double insulated dual core 6mm wire,all is good but at 24amps the wires are just warm to touch is this ok?

[@EXPLORISTlife]

This may take some more in-depth troubleshooting. If you have purchased/are purchasing from our store (shop.explorist.life) reach out for some more personalized help: shop.explorist.life/support If you've purchased/are purchasing elsewhere, reach out to your dealer for support. We'd love to have you as a shop.explorist.life customer so we can provide a bit more help in the future. 🙂

[@ronjones2733]

Question, when you are upgrading your inverter. Do you have to run a new cable from the battery bank back to your inverter. I ask this because I have a 2017 Jayco Greyhawk 29mv, I replaced the stock house battery with 4 x 100 lithium and I upgraded the stock inverter "1000w" with a 3000w inverter, I upgraded the converter as well, with a model designed for lithium batteries "same brand" as stock. I have 4 x 100w flexible panels on the roof. I must say, I feel the system is terribly "under preforming" I'll furnace you with more specific details if you feel like digging into this with me. I had a company take a look at my setup and was told that some of my cables were undersized. But when they suggested that the cables leading into the inverter were too small, I had to stop and get a second opinion. Thanks in advance Ron, Indy

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Tripling your inverter capacity by upgrading from a 1000w inverter to a 3000w inverter is very likely going to require bigger wires. Like, for the Victron Multiplus 3000 (and most other 3000w inverters) 4/0 wire is required. I'm going to guess your 1000w inverter isn't using 4/0 cable.

[@ronjones2733]

@@EXPLORISTlife I'm going to confirm the size going into the inverter and share. is there anyway to find out from Jayco

[@EXPLORISTlife]

The gauge of wire should be marked on the side of the wire.

[@andrewburdett259]

Im trying to figure the wire size for the conductors coming from the solar panels to the solar controller, the distance is given, but the voltage and the amps are variable? Do you have any vids or calcs that would explain this? Cheers

[@EXPLORISTlife]

For that, you could just use the operating amperage and operating voltage of the array (kzbin.info/www/bejne/gXuYq3aPaqp1m7M). Don't worry about temperature compensation for the sake of that calculation.

[@billyk7831]

Hey Nate, does your wire size calculator work for AC 120 V wiring sizes?

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Nope. AC wire sizing is simple, though. If it's just for standard duplex household outlets, just use 12ga w/ 20A breakers for all of them.

[@billyk7831]

@@EXPLORISTlife Perfect. Thanks Nate!

[@kjjohnson230521]

@EXPLORISTlife Your calculator on the website may be broken. Using the same calculation from your video, 12V, 100A, 10FT, the calculator is giving me a result of 4 AWG, where you show in your video it is 1 AWG. It's also giving me other too-small recommendations across a variety of inputs

[@EXPLORISTlife]

The calculator formula has been reworked since this video was made to be more consistent with the ABYC calculator.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

The ABYC wire sizer app is also giving a 4awg recommendation on those parameters. 👍

[@KhaledHassan-gb5dd]

Why do you use non-insulated lugs instead of the insulated ones? I mean you add a heat shrink to it anyway so why don't use the insulated one.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

The non insulated ones fit better.

[@motodrew295]

Awesome videos! Q: Using a coach battery wired to the starter battery using a Voltage Sensing Relay to charge while driving. Also trickle charging the coach battery using solar while the vehicle isn’t running. Will this mess with the vehicle battery?

[@ronshaw6464]

Nate you talked about a wiring diagram I was interested in that since I am starting a new build and would need one soon

[@0tterpup]

Thanks for putting this calculator together for us. I am trying to determine the size of the circuit breaker I will need for my solar array. The wiring diagram that I’ve been referencing that you put together lists a 15A breaker switch. I plan to start with 440 Watt (based on 4x110 watt sunpower flexible solar panels) and add two additional panels eventually. I’m thinking to wire them in series/parallel and have calculated 56.4 volts at 11.8 amps with the full 6 panels and 37.6 volts at 11.8amp. The wire will run 15’- 20’. Will the 15amp breaker switch work?

[@EXPLORISTlife]

The breaker between the array and the charge controller is acting as simply a disconnect. Panels wired in parallel of any sort will trip the breaker. For this reason, I've increased the size of that disconnect to 50A in my newest diagrams because overcurrent protection in that location is not important but a dual pole disconnect as spec'd in my diagrams is, indeed, required by code.

[@donnaknox2206]

I’m not sure, but could I use 2/0 or 4

[@Y2KSailing]

Hi, how can you calculate the size of the copper bar? Is there any formula related to the Ampere?

[@floyd1526]

how do u put the wire-sizing-calculator on ur phone ??

[@godblessthelessfortunate3175]

Please help. Maybe I'm using your wire and fuse calculators wrong but I'm getting conflicting results. I am connecting a 5KW inverter to a 24V battery. If I did the calculations right, 5000W/24V = 208 A. Using those numbers, the wire size calculator yielded a return of 2AWG wire and a fuse of 208-330 with 241 recommended. However, when plugging the same numbers to the fuse calculator, it required me to change the wiring size to 2/0 before a fuse size of 300 is recommended.

[@earthenergyhex]

very helpful video

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Glad it was helpful. Cheers!

[@highwayhouse9299]

thanks for all the info. quick question. some of my 12 volt components such as my lights and my water pump have smaller gauge wires attached to them then the wire size your calculator is calling for. Can i attach a larger gauge wire to the smaller gauge wires? also is it okay to use slightly larger fuses then your calculator calls for? for example my truck fridge calls for a 15 amp fuse but the calculator says 10. thanks for all your help

[@gazztracker]

i.ve tried the calculator. but when it says leangth is it in inches feet or mtrs?

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Ft.

[@Mutsca9616]

So recently another KZbin channel did an interview with an off-grid installer "expert" who completely trashed the use of "lithium-ion" batteries for the RV application that a lot of us are installing. From what I understand it had mostly to do with fires and the discharge and charge rates and the loads. Not that it has a lot to do with proper wire size, with your knowledge of solar set-ups and lithium batteries, what is your take on the mobile application of these batteries vs. regular lead-acid batteries?

[@EXPLORISTlife]

There have been very VERY few fires in RVs related to lithium batteries. If we were that worried about fires, we also shouldn't install stoves/cooktops in our RV's, eh? Some people are just afraid of new technology. 🤷‍♂️

[@Mutsca9616]

That is what I was repeating to myself the entire time I was watching this person speak. They kept talking about how many years of experience he had and I was like that is not always an advantage. Sometimes it just means your set in your ways and not comfortable with change.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

@@Mutsca9616 Yeah, I'll regularly get somebody commenting on these videos trying to 'correct' me on things and they will start off with: "I've been an electrical engineer for the last 60 years and..." I'm like: "Bro... (old guys LOVE being called bro) if you're so smart, then why are you here on my video? Go make your own channel". 🤣🤣🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

[@thisguy2588]

would a 2/0 wire be good for a 300ah battery??

[@shawncohen]

Thanks for the video, very useful! Some websites suggest to use 10.75 and others 12.9 for the direct currant constant, any idea where this difference comes from and why you would use one over the other? Using a smaller number leads to a smaller wire diameter so less conservative if I've understood this correctly, so I am more inclined to use the 12.9. But saying that , the ABYC standards state 10.75 so is a legit source rather than random websites. Also, the circular mils definition I keep coming across online is the area of wire of diameter equal to 1000th of an inch instead of 1mm which makes sense to me, otherwise the 71,666 CM you have calculated would be a fairly chunky wire!

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Glad it helped! I am not sure why there are different figures for the Direct Current Constant.

[@JeffreyHarrington]

I'm a noob and I couldn't find an answer to this. After using the calculator to determine wire size, all of my requirements do not exceed 10 AWG. All of them range from 10 -14 AWG. Any reason I can not use 10 AWG throughout for the DC devices? (USB, Water pump, lights, and small monitor for security.) If I can, it would just be easier as I can find 10 AWG easier around my area than I can others.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

That is generally fine.

[@MYCHANNELWITHMYSTUFF]

Hi Nate, I’m no expert by any means and I’m just trying to wrap my head around fuse sizing so using your online calculator for wire and fuse size it says I need a 2awg wire and a 250A fuse. (6 feet total POS + NEG run @ 185 amps - 12V batt bank). Why is the fuse size so large? A 105c rated conductor for 2awg wire (665 strands of 30awg) has a maximum amp rating of 210 amps. Shouldn’t the fuse size be 170-200 amps?

[@EXPLORISTlife]

That calculator is built to ABYC standards which state that "Each fuse or trip-free circuit breaker shall be rated in accordance with ABYC E-9.11.a. and b. and also shall not exceed 150% of the conductor ampacity in Table I." So... as per ABYC standards, the fuse size is allowed to be up to 150% of the max ampacity of the wire the fuse is protecting. Source: ABYC E-9.11 (13) c. - law.resource.org/pub/us/cfr/ibr/001/abyc.E-09.1990.pdf

[@mikewagemann4129]

Wow, this is over the top. All the free resource are so helpful, I am extremly greatful you made it so even a idiot like me could understand how to do a install. I bought the explorist battle born battery pack and have almost completed the install. How do you benifit from this? I feel kinda guilty for not paying for the countless hours it took you to clearly lay everything out. I hope you at least get a % from the BB sale. Are you a rich savant who just hates the sound of generators? Or do you find having this channel help bring people to your consulting business? if so I will send people to you, mostly because I cant hold in my rage when they ask me about lead asid batteries.

[@CapnCody1622]

How can I determine how many amps are coming from my main van battery? I believe my alternator is 180 amps.

[@barbm.4301]

I would like to pay for a solar wiring diagram that is not connected to my alternator or shore power. I was going to get an inverter charger, but the available space in my van would not fit those big units. I also do not drive enough to charge my batteries. Also, my van is under warranty and the dealer told me any modifications to the wieing/charging system would void the warranty if the alternator burns out for example. Put a higher amp alternator in then have to upgrade wiring. Most shops will not do non-stock mods and I'm not a mechanic. I finally saved up enough to buy really good components, aftwr having no power for almost a year. I live in my van with no fridge and no lights. I just need to know wire gauge and fuse placement. Battleborn said use 1/0 wire from the battery to the inverter, but your wire calculator says use 2 gauge. So the equation was 3' of wire, two 100ah LiFePo 12v - 200amps. = 300 amp fuse, and 2 AWG wire?

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Apologies, but I am not offering a custom wiring diagram service, but I have diagrams available at the link below that generally meet the needs of 95% of people. Keep in mind that Inverter manufacturers generally recommend a specific wire size which is what all of my wiring diagrams at www.explorist.life/solarwiringdiagrams are based on. Battery capacity has no bearing on fuse size... only load output in terms of amps & volts.

[@garyfifield5858]

i just bought a DVR CCTV for my Peugeot 206 car and I have a problem the DVR voltage the DVR rage is 5 amps and the voltage range of the DVR is between 8 and 30 volts I need to charge a second battery in the engine bay TO SUPPLY THE DVR WHEN I AM NOT IN THE CAR NEED THE CABLE SIZE AND CHARGE THE SECOND BATTERY WITH A SWITCH TO TURM OF THE DVR WHEN DONT NEED IT ALSO SUPPLY AT 5AMPS 12 VOLT THE SPIT CHARGE AMPAGE IS TO HIGH TO RUN THE DVR AND MELT THR CABLES

[@Adventuresandechoes]

I HAVE THE SIMPLEST SETUP. 220 W of Solar, wired to my 30a charge controller, to a 12v 100 AH battery, and from the battery to an inverter. Whats wrong with that

[@xlamontx]

Awesome video. 👍🏾

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Thanks Lamont!

[@jeffwarner2049]

you rule!

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Hey, Jeff Warner! I appreciate that. Thanks for watching! 🙂😀

[@stevesiebenhaar8527]

Why do a lot of the DIY folks recommend 4/0 wire for 3000 watt inverter hook up. And these are fairly short wire runs.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Largely because it’s a manufacturer recommendation (Victron)

[@chrismiles4401]

I dont see the length of wire in a van being long enough to worry about voltage drop 🤷‍♂️ can't we just look up the amp rating of the wire on the manufacturers spec sheet?

[@EXPLORISTlife]

Feel free to not worry about it, I suppose. 🤣😂

[@inetblue]

Thanks for the video Nate! I compared the Coonerwire Amp chart to other charts found online. I can't understand why there is a difference. For example 10 AWG on coonerwire shows it can handle 67 Amps (105C). Other Ampacity charts shows 10AWG can only handle 35 Amps. The capacity is almost double consistently for all wire sizes on the Coonerwire chart.

[@b.s.g.1586]

Interesting, but this is for pure copper wire. The wire we get now is aluminium coated with copper. The conductance is lower & thus a heavier wire is often needed. This difference should be noted to avoid over loading wiring.

[@EXPLORISTlife]

All of the wire I recommend is pure copper. Other considerations need to be taken if you are using Aluminum.