Alternative to wire nuts to connect multiple different awg wires in parallel

[silverramp]

I would like to find a more elegant solution than big wire nuts to wire my batteries in parallel and connect to my inverter. I have 6x 20aH 48V ebike batteries, each battery came with a 12awg (maybe its 14awg) positive and negative wire connected to the battery BMS. My 3500watt inverter uses a 2awg battery input. So currently I have a big wire nut with all the negatives (6x 12awg + 1x 2awg) and another wire nut with the positives. Its kinda awkward, and while I think I have the nut on well, I don't feel super confident that one of the thinner wires couldn't come out of the nut and leave me with a live stray wire and a battery system that only has 5 batteries connected in parallel.

Does anyone know of a more elegant solution to this other than a big wire nut?

TLDR: I want to connect 6x 12awg + 1x 2awg wires together.

 

[BentleyJ]

Power Distribution Blocks - Connectors, Cordsets & Terminals - Products

www.galco.com

 

[BentleyJ]

16330-3

Distribution Block, 3-P, 380A, Bx/Bx

www.galco.com

They should be available in 2 pole models also.

 

[silverramp]

That one is a bit pricey, but led me to what I need. Thank you!!

 

[BentleyJ]

Cool, but at $337 vs my $.25 wire nut, thats a hard sell!

No one is trying to sell you anything. You asked, and one possible answer was provided. That's what the forum is for.
There are probably other brands that are less expensive.

 

[silverramp]

No one is trying to sell you anything. You asked, and one possible answer was provided. That's what the forum is for.
There are probably other brands that are less expensive.

Yep, you led me to the right thing for $20, thanks much! FWIW for anyone else looking at this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KVW7F5X/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Maintenance guy]

Really that thing is stainless steel and you are going to actually use this junk. wow! Good luck!

 

[silverramp]

Really that thing is stainless steel and you are going to actually use this junk. wow! Good luck!

What should I look for instead? Whats wrong with SS if its rated for the amperage I need? Serious q

 

[Charleswgibbs]

Yep, you led me to the right thing for $20, thanks much! FWIW for anyone else looking at this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KVW7F5X/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

That busbar is only rated for 20 amps, your inverter can pull over 60 amps.

 

[silverramp]

I see where it says 20amp, but in the description it also says
"RANGE FOR USE---- Max voltage: 48VDC. Max continuous amperage: 150ADC. Max intermittent: 20 A per connection (less than 1 minute)."

 

[Maintenance guy]

If you have access to a tap set make your own bus bar out of copper. I can see SS getting warm and near its peak getting hot..

 

[cs1234]

Yowzer. Each of those batteries should have a small fuse on them and be connected to a shared bus bar. That bus bar should then have a bigger fuse on it heading to the inverter.

 

[silverramp]

Yowzer. Each of those batteries should have a small fuse on them and be connected to a shared bus bar. That bus bar should then have a bigger fuse on it heading to the inverter.

Not a bad thought, already have it between the batteries and inverter, but not individually for the batteries I'll add that in!

 

[cs1234]

While you probably shouldn't use them for this purpose, for quickly connecting multiple wires together, try wago nuts with levers.

 

[Hedges]

6 to 1? This might be a good fit:

LINE SIDE 1 OPENING #6 - 350MCM, LOAD SIDE 6 OPENINGS #14 - 2/0 AWG, 1 POLE POWER DISTRIBUTION BLOCK (AL-P1-K6)

LINE SIDE 1 OPENING #6 - 350MCM, LOAD SIDE 6 OPENINGS #14 - 2/0 AWG, 1 POLE POWER DISTRIBUTION BLOCK (AL-P1-K6)

www.elecdirect.com

 

[mschaus]

Yowzer. Each of those batteries should have a small fuse on them and be connected to a shared bus bar. That bus bar should then have a bigger fuse on it heading to the inverter.

I'd agree with fusing each individual battery pack for max safety.

Looks like I built something very similar as the OP -- I used automotive fuse blocks with fuses rated to 58V to tie it all together. Check out details in this post:

48V powerwall with parallel ebike packs

Hey everyone, I wanted to share what I built this past year, a little different than many I've seen here. Big thanks for everyone's informational posts and YouTube videos (especially Will) I learned so much from. I had a bunch of 13s ebike packs with 18650 cells. I decided that since they were...

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