21QB - 2016 - Chevy AWG size for Charger

[jkot]

Does anyone know what the AWG is for the wires from the converter/charger to the battery. I spoke to coachman and they said 2. But the wire I'm looking at says 8. Maybe I'm not looking at the right spot.

As the post says, I have a 21QB 2016 Chevy Cab. Freelander.

Thanks!
Jay

[wahoonc]

I am going to be going in behind my converter later today and will see what is on it. Depending on how long the run is and how many amps you are pushing determines the wire gauge. Based on a seat of the pants guestimate I would think a #6 or #8 would be about right. You need to know the output of your converter and the total distance between the batteries and the converter.

Aaron

[SeaDog]

I would suspect the coachman was referring to the actual battery cables and not the converter cables. The wire from the converter has to be able to handle the output of the converter somewhere abound 45 or so amps so you are talking #6 or #8 stranded wire.

[f5moab]

Not sure how long your run is and amps, but on my popup it's about 6-8 feet from batteries to converter with a 30 amps max draw. And the wire gauge is 10 AWG.
Here's a handy chart..

[jkot]

The geek in me wants one of these for a wall. LOL.
Rats just 10AWG. I hope that's not the case for B.

I want to put in a LiPo battery pack to replace the SLA. LiPo can take super high amps and that's important because I know the generator can put out lots of power that right now my SLA is just throwing away because it cannot handle the amps.

Originally Posted by f5moab

Not sure how long your run is and amps, but on my popup it's about 6-8 feet from batteries to converter with a 30 amps max draw. And the wire gauge is 10 AWG.
Here's a handy chart..

[wahoonc]

Also don't forget with DC power you need to figure the footage both ways from the battery. If it is 5' from the battery to the converter you would use the 10' value on the table.

Aaron

[jkot]

Are you sure you double AWG for both sides? I've never done that before. Always just done one length. But it does make sense, you are worried about resistance due to length.

There is a loop. Both paths have resistance. But still????

Jay

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by jkot

Are you sure you double AWG for both sides? I've never done that before. Always just done one length. But it does make sense, you are worried about resistance due to length.

There is a loop. Both paths have resistance. But still????

Jay

That's what I was taught in school...

Alternating Current you only worry about the overall length of the run, for Direct Current you have to double the footage to use the chart. As the voltage goes up you can cut down on the wire size a bit. I was using a calculator that was figuring the voltage at 12 volts for a solar system, in reality it is closer to 13.5, so I was able to drop the AWG by a full number for the distance I was running the cable.

Love the chart BTW, just printed off a copy to put in my camper book.

Aaron