battery cable lenght

[Gabor15908]

I have a Hunter 376 (1997) and in the process of increasing my house battery pack from 2-6V Trojan T105 to 4-6 Trojan T105. I have removed the AC/ Heater unit from under the starboard side settee and try to place the 4 new Trojan there. The main reason I am doing this because after 2-3 days on the hook and my fridge depletes my two Trojans. My B. charger /inverter is a Freedom 2000.
To do this, I have increased the 2/0 cable length from the charger/ inverter from 4' to 9'.
I am a bit concerned that the voltage drop will be significant. Any thoughts?

 

[jviss]

For 2/0 cable you should be fine at that distance. What's your max charging current?

 

[Gabor15908]

DC Charger rate :14 to 100A
DC Current at rated power: 252 A (whatever this is?)
AC Input current at max. charge rate 16A

 

[kloudie1]

The middle number is the DC Ampere draw from the batteries when making full rated AC power with the inverter side.

 

[Gabor15908]

Thanks Claude,

 

[Gabor15908]

By the way it is Freedom 20 NOT 2000

 

[Maine Sail]

My B. charger /inverter is a Freedom 2000.
To do this, I have increased the 2/0 cable length from the charger/ inverter from 4' to 9'.
I am a bit concerned that the voltage drop will be significant. Any thoughts?

Is this 4.5' of positive cable and 4.5' of negative cable or is it 9' of positive and 9' of negative for a total DC circuit of 18'?

A 2000W inverter / charger really needs 4/0 wire for an 18' total circuit length. A 2000W inverter would have a maximum recommended distance from the bank of 10' one way or 20' round trip of 4/0 wire.

 

[Gabor15908]

The total (circuit) length is 18' (9' + 9'). So I think I may be OK.

 

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[Maine Sail]

The total (circuit) length is 18' (9' + 9'). So I think I may be OK.

For an 18' circuit 4/0 wire not 2/0...

 

[Ron20324]

Google "wire amp capacity" for charts.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Wire Sizing Charts from West Marine http://www.westmarine.com/WestAdvisor/Marine-Wire-Size-And-Ampacity www.bluesea.com also has good material on this and fusing, but it's a PDF download and doesn't link. Here's the link to the page, scroll down for the PDF download of the Fuse & Wire Sizing Tables: https://www.bluesea.com/support/reference

 

[Maine Sail]

Due to the way inverters work wire sizing should follow manufacturer guidance as the units can draw upwards of double their nominal rating for as much as 30+ seconds and for a 2000W Freedom they are capable of 4500W for 15 seconds or so. The original Freedom 20's (2000W) came with a pair of short black battery cables pre-fixed to the unit and the maximum they could be extended was to a 20' total circuit length. Lengthening was actually not recommended at all but they recognized this sometimes had to be done.. They used to recommend 2/0 for this but over the years all inverter makers have learned something things and they have since increased recommended wire gauges. This is from a Xantrex training document I have. This is for a 2000W inverter with total circuit length of 20'..

For a 2000W Outback Inverter /Charger they also recommend a maximum circuit length of 20' (10' each way) and a minimum wire gauge of 4/0 wire.

For a 2000W Magnum Inverter /Charger they also recommend 4/0 for a 20' (10' each way) circuit.

 

[Gabor15908]

Thank for the info....I guess it will cost me more $ for the cable then I thought.