Cable lengths (+ve/-ve) from bank buss to inverter

NicaSol
NicaSol Registered Users Posts: 32 ✭✭
in Off Grid Solar & Battery Systems #1

Time to replace my battery bank. Since Trojan L16s (and any other L16 or T105) are not available in Nicaragua at this time (and possibly never will be), I'm having to replace using Ritar Lead Carbon batteries (12V, 200 Ah). This means instead of two strings of 4 batteries I now have 4 strings of 2 batteries.

I will have the 4 series strings cabled to a common bus so that the negative/positive cable lengths from each string to their respective negative/positive buss are equal (see attached sketch).

My question - do the cables from the busses to the negative and positive terminals of the inverter also have to be equal in length (accounting for fusing, meter shunts, disconnect switches)? No problem either way. Just that the positive bus is a much shorter distance to the inverter than the negative and I would have a biggish coil of (possibly unecessary) cable on the positive side.

Thanks.

Ritar Battery Cabling 5.jpg


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Comments

  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,641 admin
    #2

    The cables do not have to match lengths with their opposite. I.e, of your positive cables are 2 ft. Long and your negative cables are all 3 feet long., that is fine.

    You can even have + 3ft and - 2 ft on one battery, and + 2 ft and - 3 ft on another.

    You need to match the overall cable path for each series battery string.

    http://www.smartgauge.co.uk/batt_con.html

    Bill

    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
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  • NicaSol
    NicaSol Registered Users Posts: 32 ✭✭
    #3

    Thanks Bill.

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