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Orange battery cables

Started by qrper, October 15, 2019, 04:54:02 PM

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qrper

Anyone know of a source for those orange battery cables or covers used in electric cars?

Mike
System one: 7kWp w/ Trina 250 W panels @90 Vdc. Classic 150 to 16-6 V U.S batteries. Trace 5548 sine wave inverter.
System two: 6kWp grid tie with solaredge inverter.
System three: Midnite Brat, two 120 W Astropower modules, 100 Ah battery. Runs the LED streetlight in the back yard.

ClassicCrazy

Why would you want orange ? Guess I haven't looked in too many electric cars so never noticed them.
Isn't traditional red and black okay ?

Larry
system 1
Classic 150 , 5s3p  Kyocera 135watt , 12s Soneil 2v 540amp lead crystal for 24v pack , Outback 3524 inverter
system 2
 5s 135w Kyocero , 3s3p 270w Kyocera  to Classic 150 ,   8s Kyocera 225w to Hawkes Bay Jakiper 48v 15kwh LiFePO4 , Outback VFX 3648 inverter
system 3
KID / Brat portable

qrper

Doctor cut back on my meds.

It seems that all high voltage wiring is now orange. I don’t know what defines high voltage.

People building these power walls use orange

Mike
System one: 7kWp w/ Trina 250 W panels @90 Vdc. Classic 150 to 16-6 V U.S batteries. Trace 5548 sine wave inverter.
System two: 6kWp grid tie with solaredge inverter.
System three: Midnite Brat, two 120 W Astropower modules, 100 Ah battery. Runs the LED streetlight in the back yard.

ClassicCrazy

I looked it up - and according to this link , orange wire is used for phase two of three phase AC 277 or 480 v
https://www.creativesafetysupply.com/articles/wire-color-codes/

Larry
system 1
Classic 150 , 5s3p  Kyocera 135watt , 12s Soneil 2v 540amp lead crystal for 24v pack , Outback 3524 inverter
system 2
 5s 135w Kyocero , 3s3p 270w Kyocera  to Classic 150 ,   8s Kyocera 225w to Hawkes Bay Jakiper 48v 15kwh LiFePO4 , Outback VFX 3648 inverter
system 3
KID / Brat portable

qrper

Interesting!

That would explain why the high voltage cables in an electric are are orange as the drive motors are AC. I don't know right off hand if they are three phased ac drive motors or not.

But that being said, the cables from the battery are orange as well. As a matter of fact, all the high voltage cables from the battery to the drive motor are orange. 

Might be something to do with first responders. There is a switch under the hood by the firewall on my EV that the first responders can activate and it kills all power from the battery.

Mike
System one: 7kWp w/ Trina 250 W panels @90 Vdc. Classic 150 to 16-6 V U.S batteries. Trace 5548 sine wave inverter.
System two: 6kWp grid tie with solaredge inverter.
System three: Midnite Brat, two 120 W Astropower modules, 100 Ah battery. Runs the LED streetlight in the back yard.

FNG

I don't believe mobile applications follow the same code as buildings. For batteries in the states, code says that:

Positive will be marked red
Negative will be marked black if reference grounded or white if solidly grounded


The orange in an electric car makes sense as first responders that may be cutting the car apart with jaws of life may be more likely to see an orange cable than a red or black, plus its running at greater than 300 volts

Steve_S

FNG is correct, Yellow & Orange were debated for Emergency Service Personnel to be quickly able to identify Hot Lines and they had to be unique, visible in all conditions and accessible for emergency services.  The jacketing is also more hardened to resist chemicals, abrasions and more simply because of where & what they are used for.

ClassicCrazy

found this
"High Voltage Cables Visible orange cables are another  indication that  a vehicle  has a high voltage  system.   That  is because there  is a voluntary  Society of Automotive  Engineers,  or SAE, Recommended  Practice that  specifies that  all  high voltage  cables have  an  orange outer covering.   While voluntary,  this  practice has been adopted by virtually  all manufacturers.   Orange  high voltage  cables will  connect  the R E S S to other  high voltage  components, and these  cables are visible on some vehicles."

https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/sites/fmcsa.dot.gov/files/docs/mission/training/82561/electric-vehicle-manuscript-final2.pdf
system 1
Classic 150 , 5s3p  Kyocera 135watt , 12s Soneil 2v 540amp lead crystal for 24v pack , Outback 3524 inverter
system 2
 5s 135w Kyocero , 3s3p 270w Kyocera  to Classic 150 ,   8s Kyocera 225w to Hawkes Bay Jakiper 48v 15kwh LiFePO4 , Outback VFX 3648 inverter
system 3
KID / Brat portable

ClassicCrazy

Quote from: qrper on October 15, 2019, 04:54:02 PM
Anyone know of a source for those orange battery cables or covers used in electric cars?

Mike

Found a source of orange cable Mike - if you have deep pockets ! 
https://www.evwest.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=2_21
Larry
system 1
Classic 150 , 5s3p  Kyocera 135watt , 12s Soneil 2v 540amp lead crystal for 24v pack , Outback 3524 inverter
system 2
 5s 135w Kyocero , 3s3p 270w Kyocera  to Classic 150 ,   8s Kyocera 225w to Hawkes Bay Jakiper 48v 15kwh LiFePO4 , Outback VFX 3648 inverter
system 3
KID / Brat portable

boB


Could you just dip another cable in orange paint ?
K7IQ 🌛  He/She/Me

bee88man

#10
In safety terms for personel around live circuits and coming into contact with live circuits, anything higher than 50 volts has different conciderations and is classed as high voltage. This is from NFPA70E and OSHA as it relates to Arc Flash standards if one wishes to review source documentation.

The orange identification rule comes from another source, as per previous cited source stated above, however...

qrper

Quote from: boB on October 16, 2019, 05:37:28 PM

Could you just dip another cable in orange paint ?

Well poop!

Expensive, yes, yet  I paid $8 per foot for 4/0 weld cable the other day. And it's not UL rated for use with PV systems. (it's weld cable!) The local electrical inspector wants that UL listed part. (and that's why  I don't get permits for low voltage systems.)

The site doesn't say if the cable is listed or not. I suspect it isn't.

However, it's damn good information!

Mike WB8VGE
System one: 7kWp w/ Trina 250 W panels @90 Vdc. Classic 150 to 16-6 V U.S batteries. Trace 5548 sine wave inverter.
System two: 6kWp grid tie with solaredge inverter.
System three: Midnite Brat, two 120 W Astropower modules, 100 Ah battery. Runs the LED streetlight in the back yard.

bee88man

#12
Inspection for under the hood of an EV???? UL rated wire in a EV? Orange wire?
Are we getting our rules mixed up here?

Red and black DC wires UL approved should satisfy any PV system inspector.

mike90045

Quote from: bee88man on October 20, 2019, 11:35:01 AM
.......
Red and black DC wires UL approved should satisfy any PV system inspector. 

The wires have to be listed for the use.   Listed Welding cables can't be used for power transmission.
MTW rated cables are listed and can be use for internal wiring ( Machine Tool Wiring )

web: The difference between THHN and MTW is the nylon over the PVC insulation on the THHN wire. THHN stands for "Thermoplastic High Heat-Resistant Nylon coated". ... MTW stands for "Machine Tool Wire". MTW wire is used indoors only because it cannot resist water at all.

and from


WELDING CABLE
https://www.anixter.com/content/dam/Anixter/Wire%20Wisdom/14F3001X00-Welding-Cable-Wire-Wisdom-US-EN.pdf

APPLICATION RECOMMENDATIONS
Welding cable’s flexibility and durability makes it attractive to use in
non-welding applications. However, most welding cable is not Listed by
a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) like UL, meaning it
does not meet NEC requirements for fixed wiring. Even UL Listed welding
cable that meets UL 1276 Welding Cables
is not approved for use as fixed
wiring or general use portable cord unless it carries an additional Listing.

Authorities having jurisdiction (AHJ) can approve the use of welding cable
in applications where the installation is judged to be safe, but using welding
cable as fixed wiring without discussion with the AHJ can lead to problems.
An alternate solution is to use diesel locomotive cable (DLO), Type W mining
cable or another finely stranded Listed cable. Table 2 below lists typical
insulation thicknesses and strand counts of these cable types.
http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar

Classic 200| 2Kw PV, 160Voc | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph )| Listeroid 6/1, st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | midnight ePanel & 4 SPDs | 48V, 800A NiFe battery bank | MS-TS-MPPT60 w/3Kw PV

ClassicCrazy

#14
Quote from: qrper on October 20, 2019, 11:28:05 AM
Quote from: boB on October 16, 2019, 05:37:28 PM

Could you just dip another cable in orange paint ?

Well poop!

Expensive, yes, yet  I paid $8 per foot for 4/0 weld cable the other day. And it's not UL rated for use with PV systems. (it's weld cable!) The local electrical inspector wants that UL listed part. (and that's why  I don't get permits for low voltage systems.)

The site doesn't say if the cable is listed or not. I suspect it isn't.

However, it's damn good information!

Mike WB8VGE

Mike,
I got cables from this place - they have all the marine and UL ratings and you can get them to put the terminals on which ever size you want
https://gregsmarinewiresupply.com/Marine-Battery-Cable
https://gregsmarinewiresupply.com/Custom-Cables/Custom-Cables-foot

Larry
system 1
Classic 150 , 5s3p  Kyocera 135watt , 12s Soneil 2v 540amp lead crystal for 24v pack , Outback 3524 inverter
system 2
 5s 135w Kyocero , 3s3p 270w Kyocera  to Classic 150 ,   8s Kyocera 225w to Hawkes Bay Jakiper 48v 15kwh LiFePO4 , Outback VFX 3648 inverter
system 3
KID / Brat portable