battery wiring or copper straps

[solar blue]

      First off I want to thank everyone for helping me my system is working far better then i dreamed after heart surgey march17 I plan to put up 10 more panels Lord willing. My question is will copper jumpers give less resittance then wire jumpers I can get 1\4in by 1in copper straps 3 will be 1in longer than the other 9  just a though on improving it a little.
                                                                                     Wayne 

[ClassicCrazy]

I don't understand where you want to use the copper strapping ? 

Are those straps insulated ? It all comes down to the resistance - so you could look up the resistance for the size copper straps you have and compare it to the equivalent size wire . There is no real gain to having less resistance after a point. Really all depends on your system - the distances , amps , voltage , etc.

You need to consider how you terminate the straps too - how easy it is to make good connections that won't oxidize or corrode. And flexibility and the quality of the insulation compared to wire.

Good to hear you are healing quickly .

Larry

[CDN-VT]

I don't have any pictures "handy" But !

I took 1/2 copper pipe that was used & spun it in a lathe to clean it up , then used solder to tin it , rolled it flat & then drilled holes for the interconnect between FLA 6vdc batterys  . Used that for the first sets I used.

VT

[niel]

i'm going to assume this is for your battery bank. now it would be difficult to determine just what the equivalent resistance would be for the straps given to you and i would shy away from unequal lengths unless only in series. it is important to keep a paralleled battery bank looking as one large battery so the wires should be oversized for battery interconnections. even small resistance deviations have a bigger impact on the charging and discharging of all of the individual batteries within the bank. some batteries working harder than others will fail faster. in general, one would go with at least the size of wire that goes from the bank to the inverter and as i said, an even larger gauge identical in length within the paralleled bank is desirable.

[solar blue]

        thanks all for the info well guess wires is the best course. seems according to sg test all batteries are charging and discharging evenly so as the saying goes if its not broke dont work on it.


                                                                 thanks yall
                                                                wayne

[RossW]

well guess wires is the best course.

I used copper bar 6.5mm thick x 25mm wide which is equivalent to about 6/0 wire.
It worked great, never gave me a moments trouble (unlike my earlier attempts with aluminium!), and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

[Westbranch]

My factory made bars are tinned copper about 1/4 inch.... same as Ross'

[niel]

there's nothing wrong with using bars or straps if one knows what it is one has as you don't want to compromise the system you have on an unknown.

[CDN-VT]

It's Called a Voltage drop & if you do one & check , All should be Grand ..
Its  a test I do when Im doing water maintenance

VT

[russ_drinkwater]

Early standalone power systems here in australia used lead strapping to interconnect batteries.
From memory there were always corrosion issues.
The straps were approx 1 1/2 wide and 1/2 thick and made from pure lead as they were very easy to bend and twist to shape.
Most were cast up with homemade molds and had a circular section on each end with a bolt hole for connection.
They seemed to do the job, but I am unsure of losses etc.
Most systems were classed as 32 volts in those days.

[mike90045]

lead is much higher resistance than copper, but more resistant to acid than copper.  So thick lead interconnect straps could work better than corroded out copper wire.

[CDN-VT]

I found a few Pix of what I built & used for the early years .
VT

[russ_drinkwater]

Any problems?

[tecnodave]

I've been using buss bars salvaged form large commercial 3 phase power panels. Some are unplated copper but the better ones are nickel plated copper. Mine are 1.00" wide .250 " thick 250 kcmil also known as 250MCM in the electrical trades. These were salvaged from a 1930's Westinghouse 1200 amp 480 volt 3 phase power panel.
For reference "0000" or quad ott is 237,000 circular mils.  250MCM is 250,000 circular mils. Quad ott is the largest sizi in AWG (American wire gauge) from there we go to the MCM standard which is 250MCM, 350, 500, 650, 750, 900, 1000 and up. The largest I have seen is 1750MCM.

I do not know if AWG is a world standard as I only do electricity in the U.S.

I coat my busses with Ideal (brand) No-Alox , a product used here to prevent corrosion on electrical connections........Required under the National Electrical Code when joining copper wire to aluminum wire.......but stands up very well on batteries, in marine use, salt water corrosion, etc.

I am only a few miles from that big pond...the Pacific Ocean and replace a lot of corroded out panels

The worst are unplated aluminum buss "Murray" brand.......the best are Square D QO line with specified nickel plated copper buss and Seimens which are standard with copper busses

David

[CDN-VT]

I do not know if AWG is a world standard as I only do electricity in the U.S.

David

No AWG or whats  UL /CSA standards are NOT world wide.

I've worked in China / Russia  and other places , It's scary

VT