Conductors in Conduit?

[pda1]

Presently the positive and negative wires exiting from my combiner box are simply laying on the ground. I want to put them into conduit and bury them (pvc)...so the lawnmower doesn't chop 'em up. What is the best means of putting them in conduit- 2 wires (positive and negative) in 1 pipe....OR.....1 wire in 1 conduit keeping a distance from eachother?

I assume with DC it would a good idea to keep the wires apart to prevent some sort of interference or conduction between eachother.

Thank you

 

[再生可能 エネルギー]

I wonder if you should also have a ground wire?

 

[SparkyJJO]

Keep them together in one conduit.

 

[onokai]

One conduit

 

[LithiumSolar]

What kind of wire are you using? If you're using THHN/THWN, it cannot be laying out on the ground. It's not UV-resistant and you'll see the color fad pretty quickly.

 

[Bobert]

Presently the positive and negative wires exiting from my combiner box are simply laying on the ground. I want to put them into conduit and bury them (pvc)...so the lawnmower doesn't chop 'em up. What is the best means of putting them in conduit- 2 wires (positive and negative) in 1 pipe....OR.....1 wire in 1 conduit keeping a distance from eachother?

I assume with DC it would a good idea to keep the wires apart to prevent some sort of interference or conduction between eachother.

Thank you

They should be in the same conduit. If you oversize the conduit a bit it will leave options open for larger conductors in the future should you expand your array. It will make pulling the wires a bit easier too.

 

[再生可能 エネルギー]

Would what's called "underground service entrance cable" be recommended?

@pda1 could you indicate the DC Voltage, Amperage, and distance
to determine the wires diameter size using this tool:

​

Voltage Drop Calculator​

 

[pda1]

The wire being used is 10awg stranded copper here- Solar wire

 

[timselectric]

Both wires in a single conduit.
Preferably oversized, for ease of pulling wires. And, future expansion.

 

[timselectric]

A ground wire is also required by NEC.
But, that is up to you.

 

[740GLE]

Hey he’s going from wires laying on the ground waiting to become lawnmower food, to placing them in conduit, small steps.

 

[Bobert]

A ground wire is also required by NEC.
But, that is up to you.

Just out of curiosity what is this ground wire supposed to be used for. I assume this is a ground mount array and should be grounded at the panels.

 

[timselectric]

Just out of curiosity what is this ground wire supposed to be used for. I assume this is a ground mount array and should be grounded at the panels.

Yes, it's the ground for the panels.
It should be ran back to the main grounding system.

 

[Bobert]

Yes, it's the ground for the panels.
It should be ran back to the main grounding system.

Unless the panels are attached to the building that the electrical system is in It would seem to me that the panels would be better off grounded at the array instead of the electrical system since the dc power is isolated from the house ac wiring. Am I missing something?

 

[onokai]

My ground mounted panels are 80 feet from nearest out building . I just grounded each panel with a #8 bare copper wire thru a connector hooked to each panel . My array is a mix of metal and PT wood. I ran that to a separate ground rod at array. Not back to Sol-arc unit. It is really for any lightning strikes which are super rare here.

 

[timselectric]

A ground rod installed at the array, is considered an auxiliary rod. While allowed by the NEC, it's not required. But if an auxiliary rod is installed, it must also be connected back to the main grounding system.

 

[onokai]

A ground rod installed at the array, is considered an auxiliary rod. While allowed by the NEC, it's not required. But if an auxiliary rod is installed, it must also be connected back to the main grounding system.

I can do that as I have a ac outlet thst grounded about 2 feet from ground rod-I can marry up the grounds pretty easy

 

[timselectric]

Well, I guess that's better than nothing.

 

[onokai]

That ground goes back to house ground via a 100 amp sub panel

 

[timselectric]

I'm assuming that it is #14 or #12.
It's should be a #8.
But still, better than nothing.