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Sizing Inverter Cables

The question is how to properly size battery cables for a 2400 watt inverter?  The run will be 5 feet. The battery bank will be 4- 6 volt deep cycle 225 Ah golf cart batteries in a series parallel configuration.

Doug Kaufmann

The easy answer is the inverter manufacturer should provide this information in the installation instruction manual.  Every inverter manufacturer I’ve ever encountered goes to great lengths to make certain this is clearly spelled out in the instructions in order to avoid failures, fires and warranty claims.  Thus, I strongly suggest you consult the installation manual for your inverter, most are available on line.  In general, however, a 2400 watt inverter will draw somewhere around 250 amps (I’m guessing based on the AC output because I don’t have the spec’s for your unit) at 12 volts, however the recommended fuse size is probably 300 amps, so the wire needs to be able to carry that much current.  Remember, the primary mission of the fuse is to protect the wire.  For a round trip wire run of 10 feet the cable should be 3/0, 4/0 would be better (which has an outside diameter of about ¾ of an inch).  The larger the cable, the lower the voltage drop and the more efficiently the inverter will operate.

Steve D'Antonio

PMM Technical Editor