Wire Size

hemmjo

I need to make some cables to send down to the Dominican Republic for a mission I work with. We need a temporary generator/charger/battery/inverter set-up for refrigeration. We already own the generator, charger and refrigerator. So all we need to get this going is an inverter and batteries. The cables I need will connect the batteries to the charger, and batteries to the inverter. In the spring we will be able to add solar panels and a charge controller to eliminate the need to run the generator every few days.

The charger, Iota DLS-30, does not specify wire size but max output is 30amps.
The inverter, MorningStar SureSine 300-115 calls for #6 wire.

I am confused by a couple of wire size charts I have found to choose wire size for the charger.

http://www.solar-electric.com/electrical-characteristics-awg-copper-wire.html

According to the chart above, max for #6 is 37 amps
According to the chart below, max for #6 ranges from 50-75 depending on insulation.

http://www.cerrowire.com/ampacity-charts

I can use all #6 for this project since the lengths are so short, but I am wondering why the difference in specifications?

Thanks,

John

mike95490

Re: Wire Size

don't buy any more yet!

look into a combo Inverter/charger, that can be programmed to use 80% of the generators rated capacity, 30A of charger @ 120V is only about 500W when you factor in the POWER FACTOR of the Iota.

And unless you KNOW for a fact, that the suresine WILL START your fridge, in most cases, even it's 600w surge, can't do it.

There are a couple of great threads here, one about Generator Sizing and one about Generator Support (assist) of loads, by the inverter.