Different types of wire for battery-inverter run and inverter-panel run

[ProgPrep]

Hi everyone,

I'm posting this message because wire types seem to not have a lot of DIY comprehensible information on the interweb.

My inverter manual recommends 4/0 AWG wire for the low voltage hookup, and the first thing I saw was welding wire for $5 a foot and then I saw 4/0 THHN cable at $1 a foot.

Similarly, I'm not sure what's the best 3 conductor 8 AWG wire to go for the AC output to the panel... I would like to pass the wire through a rigid conduit, otherwise I don't really know anything about the differences between the wire types.

I'm value conscious but safety is priority #1.

Thanks!!

 

[time2roll]

THHN should be fine in conduit. Need to know the allowed fill to get the conduit sized correctly.

I prefer marine stranded primary wire with 105C insulation for low voltage.
https://www.genuinedealz.com/products/custom-battery-cable-marine-grade-by-the-foot

You will need a crow bar and hydraulic ram to bend 4/0 THHN.

Although many inverters will call out larger than needed wire to the battery to give full surge performance that is not always needed. Could be 0 or 2/0 would be fine.

 

[ProgPrep]

I guess the 4/0 for $1 a foot I'm looking at is aluminum.

 

[niccolosartor]

I guess the 4/0 for $1 a foot I'm looking at is aluminum.

More than likely you are looking at service entrance wire for a 200 amp house. That stuff is big and probbly impossible to put connectors on to attach to a battery. Equal ampacity copper will be smaller and easier to handle.

What are typical aluminum service entrance wire/cable sizes for the electrical service to a house?

www.howtolookatahouse.com

 

[12VoltInstalls]

I guess the 4/0 for $1 a foot I'm looking at is aluminum.

Ya, you don’t want that. What’s the inverter?

I like welding cable for battery cables. If using conduit as mentioned it needs to give enough air space; same with 8ga

 

[Zil]

We need know the watt rating of the inverter, the voltage of the battery bank, and the distance from the bank to the inverter. Then we can recommend DC cable AWG. Remember wire in conduit has a lower ampacity than wire in air.