Need to know what to wires buy for Will's 400w classic kit??

[herstaticcity]

I'm trying to place orders for everything listed on Will's "The Classic 400W Solar Package" page (see here: https://www.mobile-solarpower.com/the-classic-400-watt-rvs-vans-buses.html) and I don't understand which wires to get.

- Under Wires and Adapters he says "Battery to Battery cables" - "any size battery (be sure to select the right size for your battery bank)." HELP! Under batteries I chose on the right side "Buy 2+ of these: a 100 amp hour lithium battery - 100Ah SOK battery" so exactly which battery to battery cable do I buy from his link on Amazon? Is the 2AWG in 5/16in lugs in 1ft ok (seems to be preselected)?

-Then under Main Component Hookup wire/connectors/heatshrink he says "click a link below and choose your wire gauge" and there's links to 8, 6, 4, 2, 1/0, 2/0, 4/0. Which do I need to buy for this kit? I chose the 2200w pure sine wave inverter and the 100ah sok batteries. Thank you

Sorry I am very much a beginner to this and don't understand much electrical. Once I buy everything my boyfriend's brother will help us install it as he has done a solar system before. We want to be off grid in a class C camper this summer. Thank you in advance!!!

 

[MichaelK]

Simply divide the wattage of your inverter by your system voltage, and multiply that amp value by an extra 10% as a safety margin. Look through this wiring capacity chart to select the proper size.

So, for a 2200W inverter at 12V, the math is 2200W/12V = 183.3A. 10% more is 202A. You should select the 0000 wire.

BTW, it really is not very realistic to try to get that many amps out of a 12V battery. Are you really going to try to get 2200W out of your system? Have anything as big as a toaster oven? What is the biggest single item you are likely to power inside the van? The size of the wiring can be scaled back a bit if you know you won't actually ever run 2200W, which in reality, I suspect the inverter would shift into fault mode and shut off.

BTW, you also need to scale your charge controller wiring to the battery. Assuming perfect convertion (not likely) then 400W/12V = 33.3A. So, you should have 8 gauge or better wire from the controller to the batteries.

American wire gauge - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[herstaticcity]

Simply divide the wattage of your inverter by your system voltage, and multiply that amp value by an extra 10% as a safety margin. Look through this wiring capacity chart to select the proper size.

So, for a 2200W inverter at 12V, the math is 2200W/12V = 183.3A. 10% more is 202A. You should select the 0000 wire.

BTW, it really is not very realistic to try to get that many amps out of a 12V battery. Are you really going to try to get 2200W out of your system? Have anything as big as a toaster oven? What is the biggest single item you are likely to power inside the van? The size of the wiring can be scaled back a bit if you know you won't actually ever run 2200W, which in reality, I suspect the inverter would shift into fault mode and shut off.

BTW, you also need to scale your charge controller wiring to the battery. Assuming perfect convertion (not likely) then 400W/12V = 33.3A. So, you should have 8 gauge or better wire from the controller to the batteries.

American wire gauge - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

View attachment 138665

I'm sorry I don't really understand. He does not list a 0000 wire. He lists 2 gauge, 4 gauge, etc.

The largest item I think I want to power is a microwave oven. I want to power that, an AC unit, fridge, charging our phones and laptops, etc.

I believe the wiring for the charge controller comes with the 400W rich solar kit he lists - https://richsolar.com/products/400-watt-solar-kit-40a-mppt-controller?ref=h-cvbzfahsek - I assume that will be adequate? Thank you!

 

[MichaelK]

I'm sorry I don't really understand. He does not list a 0000 wire. He lists 2 gauge, 4 gauge, etc.

The largest item I think I want to power is a microwave oven. I want to power that, an AC unit, fridge, charging our phones and laptops, etc.

0000 is the same as 4/0, which you mention above. It is the size mentioned in the link you provided above, for the 2000-4000W inverter. You need to pay attention to the inverter sizes listed. Smaller gauges of wire for the smaller size inverters. Thicker wire for bigger inverters.

Getting back to your list, I think you really need a reality check here. You really need to itemize how much power each item you want to run is going to consume if you are going to make this work. A 1000W microwave is likely to consume ~1500W of power, but maybe just for a minute or two. How big a frig do you want to run? Depending on the size, I'd guestimate that would consume maybe 300-800Wh per day, of course depending on the size? The AC too. How big is that, and how much do you think it will run? Even a smaller AC is likely to consume ~450-500W while running, and depending on how hot it is, that could account for a couple of kWh right there.

Are your panels going to be mounted flat on the roof of the van? If yes, de-rate their power rating to just 60% of nameplate. So, parked in a level spot, don't expect those 400W to make more than 400W X 60% = 240W of power. Even in the long days of summer, I really don't expect you will be able to make more than 1.0kWh of power over the course of the whole day.

I would advise you to really downgrade the expectations of what your system is going to make. Lights, and a laptop, sure. Maybe a little refrigerator. But, air conditioning, no. I would not expect you to be able to even turn on the AC without at least 1000W of solar on the roof.

 

[herstaticcity]

0000 is the same as 4/0, which you mention above. It is the size mentioned in the link you provided above, for the 2000-4000W inverter. You need to pay attention to the inverter sizes listed. Smaller gauges of wire for the smaller size inverters. Thicker wire for bigger inverters.

Getting back to your list, I think you really need a reality check here. You really need to itemize how much power each item you want to run is going to consume if you are going to make this work. A 1000W microwave is likely to consume ~1500W of power, but maybe just for a minute or two. How big a frig do you want to run? Depending on the size, I'd guestimate that would consume maybe 300-800Wh per day, of course depending on the size? The AC too. How big is that, and how much do you think it will run? Even a smaller AC is likely to consume ~450-500W while running, and depending on how hot it is, that could account for a couple of kWh right there.

Are your panels going to be mounted flat on the roof of the van? If yes, de-rate their power rating to just 60% of nameplate. So, parked in a level spot, don't expect those 400W to make more than 400W X 60% = 240W of power. Even in the long days of summer, I really don't expect you will be able to make more than 1.0kWh of power over the course of the whole day.

I would advise you to really downgrade the expectations of what your system is going to make. Lights, and a laptop, sure. Maybe a little refrigerator. But, air conditioning, no. I would not expect you to be able to even turn on the AC without at least 1000W of solar on the roof.

Wow that is so disappointing. Why would Will say the Classic 400W Solar Package is ideal for RVs, vans, buses and
This setup works well if you:

• Spend a lot of time inside your vehicle, moving or stationary
• Plan to use a large van or RV
• Plan to run most appliances, such as a computer, microwave, fridge and more

He doesn't say you need 1000W of solar???


I want to be off grid and there's no point in spending $2300 on a system to charge my phone. I don't think I have room for 1000W of solar on the roof of our small Class C camper. We measured and there's two spaces and the 2 200W panels will fit with a little space left over...

 

[MichaelK]

I'll be perfectly honest here. I think a 400W system is for play solar. It's OK for lights, and a TV or a computer. It is not OK for a standard refrigerator or standard AC. But, there's the caveat here. What's the power draw on your little RV refrigerator? What's the power draw on your little RV air-con? Maybe I shouldn't say you "can't" do it, but what you absolutely must do first is determine what your power draw will be BEFORE you start building.

The second thing is solar positioning. Is it possible to create a frame that will allow you to point the panel towards the sun? Is there the possibility to mount extra solar in places besides the roof? A hinged panel on the side of the RV might make a nice sun shade.

With more limited expectations, I'd say you could do this far cheaper than you are expecting. Start with 2 6V golf-cart batteries, wired in series for 12V. That will run you ~ 220$ at CostCo. Two 240W high-voltage residential grid-tie panels off Craigslist. Maybe 200$ with a cash and carry purchase. An Epever MPPT controller, 40A, 125$ on Ebay. Finally, a 1000W inverter, instead of the 2200. Maybe 300$ for sine-wave. Maybe another 50$ or so for wire and fusing. Call that 900$ for something that can keep the lights on while watching TV or charging the phone.

 

[John Frum]

Location matters too.
San Diego gets way more sun than Seattle.

 

[joeExotic]

I think if you can somehow fit a total of 600w array then you can charge everything you want except the AC unit. I would just recommended a lot of AH say around 800AH of LFP batteries gotta think about those cloudy days. So that would cost about $3,000 for two 400AH LFP batteries. I have 600w array and only 360AH and can easily keep my chest freezer on 24/7 and during the day i have a lot of electronics on like big regular fridge, desktop, monitor, bug zapper, charging cell phones, fans, iPad, modem, router, air purifier, vacuum, charging batteries, charging portable generators, other small fans, and other small electronics (I'm charging everything listed all at the same time just keep in mind that things like the vacuum and solar generator will eventually be full and then do not need charging). Hope this helps