New Bat Charger

Hi All,

First off... MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I'm yarding out the 20 year old charger inverter (inverter giving out bad juice) and replacing it with a new Pro Mariner 50 Amp charger. The installation instructions call for 6 AWG wire for a run under 15' ( my run is about 8'). The old ginormous charger inverter had 2 AWG wire and ground to the battery with a 250A fuse! The inline fuse for the new charger is 60A.

I think what we have here is new technology. I don't want to make new cables if I can leave the 2 AWG in there. Will that hurt anything? The charger is going to be for a bank of 4 CG batteries (flooded cell).

Anything to do with battery DC cables to switches and busses, the PO's used 2 AWG for everything.

Dave

If the calculared size is 6 gauge then there is nothing wrong and some good things about using the existing 2 gauge wire. You will get less of a voltage drop with the 2 gauge.

Right - nothing wrong with using a heavier wire than you need to, just fuse appropriately.

Ken

Go to the Blue Sea site and use their circuit tables to calculate the size of the breaker/fuse. Remember, you are protecting the cable, not the device. The device will have its own fuse. The usual reason for not using bigger wire than necessary is cost. Your wire cost is sunk so no point in changing it.

Figure out the correct fuse size.

"I don't want to make new cables if I can leave the 2 AWG in there. Will that hurt anything? The charger is going to be for a bank of 4 CG batteries (flooded cell)."

Feeding the inverter was the use for big wires , not battery charging.

Keep the big wires , just clean the ends.

If its too hard to get the big wire into the charger, a foot or two of #6 wire from a terminal block will be great , use the 60A fuse from the terminal block to the charger.

I concur with FF about using the old wiring. Gee wiz the 2 AWG seems kind of undersized for your old inverter/charger when in the inverter mode, though!

boomerang said:

I concur with FF about using the old wiring. Gee wiz the 2 AWG seems kind of undersized for your old inverter/charger when in the inverter mode, though!

Click to expand...

You are SO correct. I hate to admit this, but I am among friends. That wire is all 2/0. ? Big difference from 2 AWG. ?

You don't have to use wiring tables to figure out the fuse size. The minimum size fuse which will work fine is based on the maximum current that the wire has to pass- so a 60 amp fuse gives you 20% margin.

It won't hurt to use a bigger fuse up to the ampacity of the wire which is 330A for 2/0, but it is always best to use the minimum.


Oh, and put the fuse near the battery. That is where hundreds of amps of current will originate from if there is a fault. The 50A charger is limited to that current and your wire will handily carry that much forever.


David