Wiring a Breaker Box to my 24v Off Grid System! Part2.
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- čas přidán 24. 07. 2024
- Now that I have the breaker box unboxed and mounted, I'm starting the process of wiring it to my 24v off grid system!
This video shows selecting the correct punch-out, installing the cable connector, testing the polarity of the inverter and wiring the panel.
Here is the item list from Home Depot and something similar on Amazon:
-BR 125 Amp 8 Space 16 Circuit Indoor Main Lug Loadcenter with Surface Door
Home Depot: tinyurl.com/yjfbxdv4
Amazon: amzn.to/3v2ZOG1
-BR and CH 10 Terminal Plug-On Neutral Ground Bar
Home Depot: tinyurl.com/2hu22ays
Amazon: amzn.to/38aGuNT
-100 ft. 12/2 Solid Romex SIMpull CU NM-B W/G Wire
Home Depot: tinyurl.com/4djexycn
Amazon: amzn.to/3vy16rE
-BR 20 Amp Single Pole Circuit Breaker
Home Depot: tinyurl.com/yc6k6zbr
Amazon: amzn.to/3v2N7er
-(By-the-Foot) 6White Stranded CU SIMpull THHN Wire (Other colors available)
Home Depot: tinyurl.com/yd8xc8y3
Amazon: amzn.to/3ExyToM
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Link to a one-stop shop for all your solar needs! shopsolarkits.com/1128
Want to learn more about me and my setup?
Link to my website: off-grid-basement.com
Diagram of my 24v Off Grid Solar Setup: off-grid-basement.com/diagram...
Diagram of a Smaller 12v Off Grid Solar Setup: off-grid-basement.com/diagram...
Solar Panels, Victron Solar charge controllers and smart shunt. Don't forget my homemade PVC solar panels stands!
off-grid-basement.com/Solar.php
Solar Generators I've reviewed!
off-grid-basement.com/SolarGe...
Off Grid Batteries and Victron Battery Balancer:
off-grid-basement.com/Batteri...
Off Grid & Grid Tie Inverters and 24v to 12v Step down reducer:
off-grid-basement.com/Parts.php
Need tools to get your Off Grid setup completed? Check out the list I use!
off-grid-basement.com/Tools.php
All Amazon links in the description are affiliate links to support the channel. I'm getting paid a small commission if you order products through these links. The doesn't make the products more expensive for you.
Thanks!
#SolarPower #BreakerBox #offgridbasement
Great video. I was having a hard time finding a detailed video on setting up an ac panel with an inverter and you nailed it. Thank you
I'm glad you were able to get some information from the video. Thanks for the comment!
What I was looking for! Thanks!
Glad I could help! Thanks for the comment.
Thank you for the video. It was simple and to the point. I am getting ready to do the same and this video has helped a lot.
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for the comment.
You are my new hero! Lol…Found your channel a couple months ago and instantly subscribed.. I am planning to do a similar project and you are covering pretty much everything I was planning to do… I have watched several of your videos multiple times as I am trying to learn as much as I can before I take the plunge… Thanks for all the info!
I'm glad I'm able to give you some guidance! Have fun and be safe. Thanks for the comment!
Thank you for your video. It has helped us a lot!🙂
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for the comment.
Thanks for your video...keep up the good work
Thanks, will do!
Thank you, this help me out so much
Glad it helped and thanks for the comment!
You did good no matter what anyone says.
Great for beginner or not sure in what to do.
You made it clear your not a electrician.
Thanks 👍 it is still running great. I never touch it now. I will be adding another circuit soon. Thanks for the comment.
Good job dude
Thanks!
Good job..
Thank you!
Thx for sharing. Interesting to see all the adaptations. And the required trip To
Home Depot even after planning. My wife always rides me why I’m going back to Home Depot ha ha. There is always a lug or different wire etc needed I don’t have.
Home Depot is exactly 2.2 miles from my house... I've done the trip so many times I can't count! I've been stock piling, but I'm sure I will need to go back soon. Thanks for the comment!
great start to electrical, as others pointed out romex is a more appropriate wire of this use case however cost is crazy currently personally I would Use Metal clad wire as its less expensive and more durable, but does need extra care to ensure that wires aren't nicked or damaged. Additionally the wire has the temperature rating printed onto it, the stuff you used its most likely 60c rated meaning it has an ampacity of 55a where as your inverter is 3kw or a max of 25a at 120vac. You are correct that over sizing conductors is ok to do however its not recommended especially for short runs where voltage drop is so minimal, at max with 10awg you could see 0.25v drop on a 5ft run with 25a passing through it.
That is good to know. Thanks for the comment.
Clad wire bad lol
Great for beginner,I would have used the 12/2 romex for 120v 20 amps with the sheath on then strip the sheath once into the box.Whatever gauge wire you use leave the sheath on ,that way your golden.
I'm planning on doing a small upgrade soon. Getting rid of the 6 awg and replacing it with Romex. I want to get 25A 120v just for piece of mind. Thanks for the comment!
Wow, I love how you explained everything, your the first video that i have come across that really explains step by step. Keep up the good work
Thank you very much! I'm glad you are enjoying the videos. Thanks for the comment!
so i understand how to get everything wired and stuff but how do you know the max amount of breakers you can have on the main circuit from inverter?
It depends on the size of the breaker box. I also know I can't pull more than 25A AC total because I have a 3000w inverter. So you can have as many circuits as you want, just don't go over the total available wattage from your inverter. Hope that helps. Thanks for the comment.
Recently found your channel, enjoying the vids. I'm currently in the process of starting my own setup similar to yours for running a few appliances in the event of a power outage. Was wondering if you every plan to do a vid on how you setup the raspberry PI with your system?
Thanks for the comment Regg! I really don't know if I will do a vid on the setup of the Rasp Pi. Andy at the "Off Grid Garage" does a fantastic job at explaining everything when it comes to the setup. That is where I learned about it and I want to give him all the credit. Thanks again!
@@OffGridBasement Thanks I'll take a look for his channel.
Hey mate what are the details type/brand of circuit breaker do you have coming out of your charger controller?
It's a CNFC 40A circuit breaker. I bought it on Amazon.
I enjoy watching your videos. Just a question as to where your ground is actually grounded to?
Dan, thanks for the comment. I've actually neglected my grounding. Right now it just grounds to the case of the inverter. I plan on setting up a ground system for all my components that will connect to the incoming water pipe in my basement.
Great video! Helped me a lot. Will this support 240 v?
I'm glad it helped. This setup does not support 240v. Only 120v. You would need 2 inverters communicating together in order to achieve that. There are also all in one units that can support 240v. Thanks for the comment.
Ah , ok it finally dawned on me ,
At first I was confused bu the jumper on the lugs . Good job .
I just want one bar 120 .
Then I'm hooking up my 240 generator to run both sides .
When solar is off .
I'm going to do one of the slide plat
Switches . That blocks a breaker while one is on ,the other is off .To go from solar to generator.
On my solar side ill only run lights and frig and fan . The generator will run everything 110/240 . A/c ,well pump,
Water heater . Or what ever I need .
If I want . Or just run 110.
Thanks. The jumper is not to code, but it works. Having a generator for the 240v is a good idea. Thanks for the comment 😊
I am just starting out and abt to install 2 340watts panel. What am confused abt is the grounding phase of the system. Can u give me some ideas? Do I need to ground it now or I can get by without it for the moment?
Right now I don't have anything grounded. I know it's important, but you can get by without it. Thanks for the question.
Ok great
Is there anything that you would do differently? Or can I pretty much do exactly as you did for my setup?
I would use different wiring to the breaker box. It's better to use Romex 10 / 2 wiring. I believe that can handle up to 30 amps. My wiring isn't up to code and needs to be in a raceway or conduit. The wiring connecting the two sides in the box isn't to code either, but it doesn't bother me. Thanks for the comment.
@@OffGridBasement Thanks. I was actually able to use 8awg wire for the double pole breaker. Just had to screw in the first one to flatten it, then added in the second.
Question, is 8 gauge wire too much for this type of setup? I also have a 3kw off grid inverter that I’m trying to hook up to a small breaker box for a cabin. I ask this since I already have the 8 gauge wire and would prefer not to spend more money on wire haha
It being too thick is no problem as long as you can securely connect it to the inverter. That's my thinking anyway. Hope that helps. Thanks for the comment.
You'll probably want 8awg lugs with whatever the bolt hole size is. 8awg is rated for 4400-4800w or 40a, which is plenty. An inverter will run at peak power for a short period of time, something like 15m max. Make sure to use a 40a or so breaker for that wire.
However it seems to me that running an inverter pass its rater current might decrease its lifespan. In this case you might be better off with a 30a breaker, which would trip well before the max power is reached. Unless you need to be able to run more things at the same time.
Nice but you should get a American inverter
I wanted to get something on the inexpensive side for my first 24v inverter. I would love to get a Victron MultiPlus!
@@OffGridBasement my system is set in to 2 system 12v and 24v
With the wires being in correct colored another way to find that out is check your polarity, but you should always check your polarity before plugging your inverter in no matter what
Thanks for the information and the comment!
Where is your ground bar getting ground from?
It's an off grid system so it's a floating ground. Thanks for the comment.
@@OffGridBasement thanks for the reply! Can you elaborate a little? I'm connecting up an off grid system to a load center and not quite sure if I should use a ground rod.
Very nice. It's good to get rid of that extention cord.
You're right about that! It worked, but it always bothered me.
My uncle is an electrician he'll know the neutral question
Thanks!
Every consumer needs its own RCCB if the earth and neutral isn't connected together with a long copper rod in to the earth ground.
Thanks for the information and the comment.
@@OffGridBasement Thats just the regulation in europe, for me it makes no sense, cause the floating voltage from a inverter is already relatively save, you cant get a electric shock when just touch one output of the inverter , if theres NO earthing of one of these to create a neutral and on the other hand a hot wire. The case of touching both wires at the same time is not covered by a RCCB in normal grid too, when you are standing or sitting insulataed against the ground, then the RCCB won't switch off too.
You're supposed to talk down the lugs with a torque wrench
The 6awg wire is way too big. That’s why it wouldn’t fit the inverter. You showed you got a small spool of 12/2 Romex in part 1. Why didn’t you use that? That would have been the more appropriate wire to use. 12awg is good for 20a. 10awg for 30a. 8awg for 50a.
You know... I thought it was way overkill, but I just went with this "American Wire Gauge Conductor Size Table" I found online. I went with the 6awg wire b/c of I found this info.. It does also say it's "very conservative". :-) It also states that a 10AWG wire in Free Air can max out @ 30amps.
6AWG
Diameter: .162in / 4.1148mm
Resistance: 1.295 Ohms/km
Max Current: 37amps
Max Frequency: 1100 Hz
I also wanted my wiring to be a bit over sized b/c I didn't want any heat from the wire. I just went a little bonkers with the oversizing! Thanks for the comment!
You need a conduit for your wires
I'm actually switching out with a 10-2 Romex. Thanks for the comment.
Since when was black hot? Red is hot, black is ground.
I'm not sure if things have changed, but the way I have this inverter wired is correct. Thanks for the comment.
first of all i thought ground should not be a current carrying conductor except to carry current to ground rod in case of any ground fault. Occurred Its a part where current flow to ground rod in case of fault in the system. And number 2. Where did you get your ground from? Which panel is where your neutral bound is done? You are just using the ground to carry current. This is dangerous
The ground isn't supplying current. This inverter carries current through the hot and neutral at 60v each. This is an off grid system so the ground is considered floating.
I appreciate DIY, but this isn't something that you shouldn't be doing, you don't know enough and you're using the wrong stuff. Thats the wrong wire, it's meant for being inside conduit. that connector DOES need to be tool tightened. And that inverter shouldn't be used with a load center like that. It will energize the metal of the panel. As you already discovered there is half the voltage on the "neutral", there definitely shouldn't be.
Thanks for the comment. I will probably do something with the wire. I did end up slightly tool tightening the cable connectors, but it didn't do much. You can use this inverter on a panel as long as you don't bond the ground and the neutral in the panel. The panel is not bonded.
@@OffGridBasement with all due respect, your case is a current carrying conductor the way it is, and is potentially dangerous as it stands.
@@sNEAKYnIGHTmUPPET Would running ground from the panel to a ground rod solve it or are there other considerations?
@@thedabbler2753 no. I believe you need to remove the ground/neutral bond if possible
I Find it funny how you ran your main wire for the sub panel 😂😂
This is dangerous. Please consult an electrician.
👍 Agreed
What the hell did i just watch??
You are correct.You are not an electrician , and you don't know what you're doing and you shouldn't be telling people what to do
I think you should remove this video before others “not electricians” will see it.
I do mention in the video I'm not an electrician and as you watch you can definitely tell I'm not the person you should refer to for electrical work. Is there something specific in the video that should be addressed further?
@@OffGridBasement i agree, but for peoples that do not know basic electricity theory is tempting to try.