I just discovered cheap automotive 18ga 9 conductor audio "Speed Wire" just the thing for BYD modules

[Maast]

I've been looking all over for wire that doesnt break the bank to hook up the 8 individual cells in the modules to aggregate/parallel all the cells into 16 cell groups w/ 12 cells per group to attach the Chargery cell monitor and 1S active balancer daisy chain. If I were to do it with individual wires it'd be a rats nest of epic proportions so multi conductor cable was required, 9 conductors per cable (Negative plus each of the 8 cells positives). Got the idea from David Poz.

Only the stuff is silly expensive at $2.50 - 3.00 a foot, then I stumbled on automotive audio "speed wire" on Amazon its only a dollar a foot, rated to 80V and each conductor is multistrand and color coded. Perfect! 18 AWG is rated for 16 amps in chassis wiring, if I derate that to 8A because its in a bundle it still exceeds the 6A of the active balancers.

Maybe this is old news and I'm just slow, but I thought this was a pretty good find.

 

[JeepHammer]

I found it, Searched "9 conductor automotive wire" and it popped right up, Thanks!

 

[jasonhc73]

40' for $27

Robot Check

 

[HaldorEE]

That is copper clad, not solid copper wire. I assume that means copper clad aluminum wire.

I couldn't find any kind of meaningful specs on that wire (temperature or chemical resistance rating). Does anybody have a link to a spec sheet for that cable?

 

[jasonhc73]

That is copper clad, not solid copper wire. I assume that means copper clad aluminum wire.

I couldn't find any kind of meaningful specs on that wire (temperature or chemical resistance rating). Does anybody have a link to a spec sheet for that cable?

There is nothing wrong with Aluminum wire. 99% of every house in the country uses aluminum from the grid to their house.

 

[HaldorEE]

There is nothing wrong with Aluminum wire. 99% of every house in the country uses aluminum from the grid to their house.

I wouldn't make a blanket statement like that.

Properly handled, aluminum wire is acceptable, it does require special handling that copper wire does not. The only thing it does better than copper is weigh less and cost less. I wouldn't use it in preference to copper wire in any application that doesn't have a very high weight penalty.

Aluminum Wiring Can Be Hazardous, Here’s What to do About It

If you have aluminum wiring in your house, you might have a fire waiting to happen. Aluminum wiring can be hazardous.

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The True Story Behind Aluminum Wiring – Part Two - Home Inspection Training

In Part One, we took a look at the difference between copper and aluminum wiring, the initial issues with aluminum wiring, and how inspectors can benefit from home inspector training to fully understand issues like this to better serve their clients. In this part, we will continue by looking at...

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[Maast]

Huh, thread necro. The wire I ended up getting is all copper soow (?, cant remember) cord from wireandcableyourway. Its ironic because I ended up not using it because of the way I stacked my modules.

And its ironic because in the end I decided I didnt like the way Poz did his wiring so I did it differently and ended up using 6 gauge bare copper grounding wire with a fusable link to each cell. So now I've got a rather expensive roll of 9 conductor wire that I'm not using.

Small gauge wire has too much resistance when we're talking millivolt difference between cells in a cell group.

And I'm still not done with the damn battery bank, I've been waiting for two months for more 15AH cells to come from China so I can finish off adding capacity to the weak cells and then button this part of the project up.

And aluminum wire is fine as long as you take the conductivity difference into account and use it properly.

 

[HaldorEE]

Huh, thread necro. The wire I ended up getting is all copper soow (?, cant remember) cord from wireandcableyourway. Its ironic because I ended up not using it because of the way I stacked my modules.

And its ironic because in the end I decided I didnt like the way Poz did his wiring so I did it differently and ended up using 6 gauge bare copper grounding wire with a fusable link to each cell. So now I've got a rather expensive roll of 9 conductor wire that I'm not using.

Small gauge wire has too much resistance when we're talking millivolt difference between cells in a cell group.

And I'm still not done with the damn battery bank, I've been waiting for two months for more 15AH cells to come from China so I can finish off adding capacity to the weak cells and then button this part of the project up.

And aluminum wire is fine as long as you take the conductivity difference into account and use it properly.

I missed that this was from January 2020, thought it was January 2021.

True that. I just hate aluminum wire if I need to push any amps through it. Plus you really have to have your termination right or else oxidation will seriously mess with you.

 

[jasonhc73]

I missed that this was from January 2020, thought it was January 2021.

True that. I just hate aluminum wire if I need to push any amps through it. Plus you really have to have your termination right or else oxidation will seriously mess with you.

Types of Conductors Used in Overhead Power Lines - Peak Demand Inc

A technical article on conductors by the expert at Peak Demand Inc, a global manufacturer of transmission and distribution products.

peakdemand.com

 

[HaldorEE]

Types of Conductors Used in Overhead Power Lines - Peak Demand Inc

A technical article on conductors by the expert at Peak Demand Inc, a global manufacturer of transmission and distribution products.

peakdemand.com

I am aware. High voltage and installed and maintained by highly trained linemen. Like I said, it works, just not particularly DIY friendly. There are very legitimate reasons to use aluminum in that application. In a solar battery pack? Not so much.