Confused and Seriously in Need of Help

[SunEagle]

Sunking, I'm really confused and hoping you can help me out. I just don't get it, how'd he manage to run this: http://imgur.com/a/pg2gb#FpnoIA7 without it catching fire?

He got lucky.

Running a high amperage load through small wires between the batteries and inverter will heat them and the terminations up. Do that a few times and you will loosen the terminations which can cause a spark or heat the wire insulation to the point it can catch fire.

In time he would have had a wire burn up or worse started a fire somewhere between the battery and inverter.

[inetdog]

He got lucky.

Running a high amperage load through small wires between the batteries and inverter will heat them and the terminations up. Do that a few times and you will loosen the terminations which can cause a spark or heat the wire insulation to the point it can catch fire.

In time he would have had a wire burn up or worse started a fire somewhere between the battery and inverter.

I think a good analogy would be the joke about the engineer who fell off the roof of a skyscraper. All the way down the people on the various floors he passed heard him yelling "So far, so good."

[SunEagle]

I think a good analogy would be the joke about the engineer who fell off the roof of a skyscraper. All the way down the people on the various floors he passed heard him yelling "So far, so good."

It isn't the fall that hurts it is the sudden stop at the end.

[J.P.M.]

It isn't the fall that hurts it is the sudden stop at the end.

But what a ride.

[Sunking]

Sunking, I'm really confused and hoping you can help me out. I just don't get it, how'd he manage to run this: http://imgur.com/a/pg2gb#FpnoIA7 without it catching fire?

Real simple he is not using full power. Go to 500 amps of 5000 watts and those wires melt and the insulation catches fire.

To run 500 amps safely requires a minimum 350 MCM cable in Free Air, and at 12 volts is only about 5 feet 1-way before you run into real power loss issues. A 350 MCM cable has a Diameter of 1 inch with Insulation Your link shows a picture shows what looks to be 10 AWG which is rated 50 amps maximum in free air and it has a diameter of roughly .25 inches.

Does running 500 amps through a 50 amp pipe sound safe, sound, and sane. Or does it sound really stupid and ignorant. FWIW a 10 AWG copper conductor has a Fusing Current of 330 amps at 10 seconds. That means it melts in 10 seconds with 330 amps flowing.

So do you want to push 500 amps through 10 AWG to test it? The person in your link with a 12 volt 5000 watt Inverter is either plain Ignorant or Stupid. Take your pick. Anyone who buys a 12 volt 5000 watt Inverter is either Stupid or Ignorant. Personally I would not go over 500 to 750 watts on a 12 volt Inverter, and that is pushing the limits of sanity.

Mod Note.
This post was flagged as being "rude". It is not being removed. It is, however - Honest. no salesmanship, no sugar coating. It's not meant to allow someone to feel good, it is pointing out a dangerous situation.

[sensij]

Check out the parallel wiring of those batteries in the picture... 4 in parallel is bad even when done well. I hope that not too much was invested in those batteries.

[Living Large]

I think a good analogy would be the joke about the engineer who fell off the roof of a skyscraper. All the way down the people on the various floors he passed heard him yelling "So far, so good."

This cleared my mind and gave me some perspective after reading this thread. Thanks for straightening me out.

[SunEagle]

Check out the parallel wiring of those batteries in the picture... 4 in parallel is bad even when done well. I hope that not too much was invested in those batteries.

The wires not only look to be different in length but may also be different AWG size. Now if the inverter was only 400 watts (~ 33amps at 12 volts) then he would be safer but still would have the issue of parallel battery wiring.

[Mike90250]

Sunking, I'm really confused and hoping you can help me out. I just don't get it, how'd he manage to run this: http://imgur.com/a/pg2gb#FpnoIA7 without it catching fire?

If you don't have fuses to go bad, you wont get a shutdown ?

Love that last photo, with the insulation whittled down at the charge controller, and the long bare wires.

I sure hope this was a quick "aliveness check" and not the actual install !

[inetdog]

Bucho,
Well before the fusing current, the insulation on the wire will melt or burn (which is the basis for NEC ampacity ratings, not fusing current). The disaster from losing the insulation may not be quite as immediate as exceeding the fusing current, but the eventual damage can be as bad or worse.

[Bucho]

Real simple he is not using full power. Go to 500 amps of 5000 watts and those wires melt and the insulation catches fire.

I so get that, I also suspect the inverter won't do 5000 watts.

Your link shows a picture shows what looks to be 10 AWG which is rated 50 amps maximum in free air and it has a diameter of roughly .25 inches.

Looking at the closeup of the wiring to the inverter I was thinking it was 14-2 NM-B.