diy solar

diy solar

Source for wire

JNCrain

New Member
Joined
May 30, 2021
Messages
9
Hi folks,

I'm new to the forum (and diy solar in general), and maybe you already know of this place, but I use an online source for wire called Wire and Cable Your Way (https://www.wireandcableyourway.com). You can purchase any length of any kind of wire you want for very competitive prices. Good quality products. For example, I just bought two 7-foot lengths of 2AWG welding cable from them for $1.66 / foot, one black, one red. Shipping to rural New Mexico cost $16.60, FedEx Standard Ground. It arrived the day after I placed the order.

Just thought I'd share in case someone finds it useful.
 
I use those guys also. You get quicker delivery than me.
 
Hi folks,

I'm new to the forum (and diy solar in general), and maybe you already know of this place, but I use an online source for wire called Wire and Cable Your Way (https://www.wireandcableyourway.com). You can purchase any length of any kind of wire you want for very competitive prices. Good quality products. For example, I just bought two 7-foot lengths of 2AWG welding cable from them for $1.66 / foot, one black, one red. Shipping to rural New Mexico cost $16.60, FedEx Standard Ground. It arrived the day after I placed the order.

Just thought I'd share in case someone finds it useful.
I was thinking of getting landscape wire to use for a DIY solar suit case connection. Have you ever used that wire? Does it stay flexible?
 
I was thinking of getting landscape wire to use for a DIY solar suit case connection. Have you ever used that wire? Does it stay flexible?
I would not use that.. it is only rated for 150V and uses PVC insulation which gets stiffer the colder it gets. PV wire also stays very flexible since it doesn't use PVC insulation and is rated for 600V and some 1000V-1500V.
 
I would not use that.. it is only rated for 150V and uses PVC insulation which gets stiffer the colder it gets. PV wire also stays very flexible since it doesn't use PVC insulation and is rated for 600V and some 1000V-1500V.
Its a solar suitcase. We are talkin mid 35ish volts... tops. The "PV" wire I have now is stiff as a board in 100° sun
 
For my solar suitcase, I still use PV wire. I use black for negative and red for positive. I put it inside wire loo, like this:
5CE1EAF7-B478-4E6A-9B1A-5BAC3C2E0B66.jpeg
While setup at a camp, there can be a lot of people that come around to look at this system and this makes the wire a little tougher. When I built it, intent was to only use it at 22 volts, but I will be putting 4 panels in series up to 88 volts.

THe low voltage wire I’d looked at I thought we rated for 48 volts. You mentioned quite a bit higher.
 
Hi folks,

I'm new to the forum (and diy solar in general), and maybe you already know of this place, but I use an online source for wire called Wire and Cable Your Way (https://www.wireandcableyourway.com). You can purchase any length of any kind of wire you want for very competitive prices. Good quality products. For example, I just bought two 7-foot lengths of 2AWG welding cable from them for $1.66 / foot, one black, one red. Shipping to rural New Mexico cost $16.60, FedEx Standard Ground. It arrived the day after I placed the order.

Just thought I'd share in case someone finds it useful.
I use this website a lot!
 
Am I correct to assume these and PV wires in general does not need to be in a conduit?
They pretty much are it’s a thick outer coating on the wire so they can be exposed to sunlight on a roof where you can’t really put the wire in conduit 59C8474D-B9CF-4452-A211-715D7E6C4A3E.jpeg
 
For my solar suitcase, I still use PV wire. I use black for negative and red for positive. I put it inside wire loo, like this:
View attachment 61885
While setup at a camp, there can be a lot of people that come around to look at this system and this makes the wire a little tougher. When I built it, intent was to only use it at 22 volts, but I will be putting 4 panels in series up to 88 volts.

THe low voltage wire I’d looked at I thought we rated for 48 volts. You mentioned quite a bit higher.
What wire do you use to stay flexible for your suitcase?
 
What wire do you use to stay flexible for your suitcase?
The wire I mentioned is not flexible. I use for a 40’ and 6’ extension cables to plug into the RV. That is 10 gauge. I also made some cables to put multiple portable panels in series. That is 12 gauge. Both are 7 strand and not that flexible.

I did find a document saying not to use this seven strand type wire for things like plugging into SCCs. Says to use a wire with lots of strands like in post #13.

Inside the 100 watt portable panels themselves is two sets of very flexible 14 AWG wire in Thicker insulator. I think that’s called two conductor wire and that is flexible with as many strands as in post 13. Much more flexible than my 7 stranded wire.

I started to get a parts list to make a portable solar panel myself, but WalMart had 12 volt Lion Energy Panels online for $179 and I could not make a portable panel for that chrap myself. Hinges, handles, legs, and connectors started to add up.
 
The wire I mentioned is not flexible. I use for a 40’ and 6’ extension cables to plug into the RV. That is 10 gauge. I also made some cables to put multiple portable panels in series. That is 12 gauge. Both are 7 strand and not that flexible.

I did find a document saying not to use this seven strand type wire for things like plugging into SCCs. Says to use a wire with lots of strands like in post #13.

Inside the 100 watt portable panels themselves is two sets of very flexible 14 AWG wire in Thicker insulator. I think that’s called two conductor wire and that is flexible with as many strands as in post 13. Much more flexible than my 7 stranded wire.

I started to get a parts list to make a portable solar panel myself, but WalMart had 12 volt Lion Energy Panels online for $179 and I could not make a portable panel for that chrap myself. Hinges, handles, legs, and connectors started to add up.
Shoulda checked with me. PVC is so cheap, it never adds up to much :cool:
 
I did find a document saying not to use this seven strand type wire for things like plugging into SCCs. Says to use a wire with lots of strands like in post #13.
Why did it say not to use 7 strand?
 
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