I've posted elsewhere in the forum (https://diysolarforum.com/threads/diy-power-bank-design-review-for-camping.82764/) about a portable power bank setup I'd like to make using a 12v 230ah battery and 2000w psw inverter along with a couple mppt solar charge controllers and various 12v outlets. With some advice from members of the forum, I think I have the circuits and most components figured out but I've run into unexpected setbacks along the way. I've had to return some pieces of equipment (e.g., a 100amp fuse block that wouldn't seat 4awg lugs correctly, orders where I was sent the incorrect size of connectors - twice, crimpers that didn't match the awg gauges, etc.). But as I replaced those items, the layout has changed a bit and I've run into a few snags as I started to do the actual physical build. I've had to move things around to accommodate changes in component footprints and in particular, clearance within enclosures for running the wires and mounting the outlets and so on. It has become quite a complex 3D puzzle trying to fit everything.
As I've started to determine the actual wire/cable paths there are a few spots where I'm bending thick cables around things or having to use standoffs in an attempt to keep cables in the same plane within the build. For example, a large 300amp t-fuse block has its connections at a different height than the main cutoff switch cable that feeds it, and when the 2/0 cable exits the other side, the busbar connection is also at a different height. Since these components are in close proximity, I either have to use very short thick cables that don't want to bend, or use offset busbars to connect, or use standoffs to equalize the height of the connectors in the same plane. Other spots can use cable lugs seated upside-down instead of trying to bend thick cables or offset busbars. While I understand that may not be ideal, it seems to be an acceptable practice from what I've seen and read of other projects. One plus to the use of standoffs is that I can run thinner wires under busbars in the new space that the standoffs create.
But, I'm still left with spots where either 2/0 welding cable or 2awg cable needs to bend and change directions usually at either 90- or 180-degree turns over a limited distance. I figure such bends stress the cable/lug connections and it would be better to eliminate them where possible. (0-degree terminal lugs seem ideal in a couple spots. I also stumbled upon a Youtube video where a smaller project build kit was using pass-through battery terminal blocks (to connect to external chargers presumably) and I got the idea that such passthroughs could be utilized with 90-degree bent terminal lugs to make a sharp 90-degree change in direction and relieve any added stress to the cables.
For example, my build uses a pair of Ridgid toolboxes that are connected together via 2awg cables feeding flush-mounted Anderson SB175 cables on the exterior of the toolboxes. To get the cables feeding into the boxes, I think a pass-through terminal could feed a straight cable parallel to the side of the box through the toolbox wall where it would connect to a 90-degree lug that would direct the interior cable perpendicularly to the original direction on the outside. This alleviates bending the cable and probably would also shorten the length needed and facilitate placing other components in the build.
I've mocked up the connection from a couple screensnaps and attached it to this question. (The mockup illustrates both the 90-degree lug and a straight lug that has been inverted on the other end.) Is this an acceptable thing to do in terms of safety? Are there better alternatives that I just don't know about yet being new to electrical stuff? I figure a solidly crimped lug connection would be better than one of the screw down 90-degree terminal blocks that appear to just compress the cable using a bolt. Any other suggestions, warnings, or reassurances would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Joe
As I've started to determine the actual wire/cable paths there are a few spots where I'm bending thick cables around things or having to use standoffs in an attempt to keep cables in the same plane within the build. For example, a large 300amp t-fuse block has its connections at a different height than the main cutoff switch cable that feeds it, and when the 2/0 cable exits the other side, the busbar connection is also at a different height. Since these components are in close proximity, I either have to use very short thick cables that don't want to bend, or use offset busbars to connect, or use standoffs to equalize the height of the connectors in the same plane. Other spots can use cable lugs seated upside-down instead of trying to bend thick cables or offset busbars. While I understand that may not be ideal, it seems to be an acceptable practice from what I've seen and read of other projects. One plus to the use of standoffs is that I can run thinner wires under busbars in the new space that the standoffs create.
But, I'm still left with spots where either 2/0 welding cable or 2awg cable needs to bend and change directions usually at either 90- or 180-degree turns over a limited distance. I figure such bends stress the cable/lug connections and it would be better to eliminate them where possible. (0-degree terminal lugs seem ideal in a couple spots. I also stumbled upon a Youtube video where a smaller project build kit was using pass-through battery terminal blocks (to connect to external chargers presumably) and I got the idea that such passthroughs could be utilized with 90-degree bent terminal lugs to make a sharp 90-degree change in direction and relieve any added stress to the cables.
For example, my build uses a pair of Ridgid toolboxes that are connected together via 2awg cables feeding flush-mounted Anderson SB175 cables on the exterior of the toolboxes. To get the cables feeding into the boxes, I think a pass-through terminal could feed a straight cable parallel to the side of the box through the toolbox wall where it would connect to a 90-degree lug that would direct the interior cable perpendicularly to the original direction on the outside. This alleviates bending the cable and probably would also shorten the length needed and facilitate placing other components in the build.
I've mocked up the connection from a couple screensnaps and attached it to this question. (The mockup illustrates both the 90-degree lug and a straight lug that has been inverted on the other end.) Is this an acceptable thing to do in terms of safety? Are there better alternatives that I just don't know about yet being new to electrical stuff? I figure a solidly crimped lug connection would be better than one of the screw down 90-degree terminal blocks that appear to just compress the cable using a bolt. Any other suggestions, warnings, or reassurances would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Joe
