Inverter/charger Install also

[osprey877]

I have a Kisae 2000 watt/55 amp inverter/charger to install. It is supposedly designed for marine use. However, the a/c input and output connections on the I/C are plastic tubes with a small set screw. They are designed to take solid copper house wire that is pushed into the tube and the set screw is tightened to hold it in place. I want to use the 10 guage marine tinned stranded wire that is already installed, but it won't fit in the connector, or at least not all the strands. It's about a 3' run from the a/c input fuse/switch to the inverter/charger, and another 3' from the inverter/charger to the a/c panel. Should I stick with the marine tinned stranded wire, or switch to solid house wire for the whole run, or run a short piece of solid from the inverter to a terminal connection block? If I go to solid house wire, what is the proper way to connect the solid wire to the screw terminal on the Blue Sea A/C 30 amp fuse/switch or terminal block?

[smac999]

the stranded wire is going to be the same size as solid. if you can't fit a 10awg stranded you're probably not going to fit a 10awg solid.


most of the inverters use the set screws. but the magnums will take an 8awg

[smac999]

http://cdn3.volusion.com/wvdcy.sjrgm...jpg?1432125963


if this is the one you have it's probably only15a per output. and made for 14awg. take 14awg to each output and pigtail to a 10 inside the cover. hopefully the input is made for 10

what is the pass through rating on this? 30a? or maybe it's only 15a pass through and all designed for 14awg.

[exMaggieDrum]

Under no circumstances should you use solid wire on a boat.

Sounds like you should contact the vendor and ask questions as to why it specs 10 gauge (which would be expected) and have a term strip that won't accept 10 gauge wire. But in a pinch, if you only have to remove a few strands, then you could take only enough off to fit in. Few as in 5 of the fine strands on good quality marine grade wire. But best to use all the wire. But don't go down to a 12 gauge wire unless it will spec out for the amps. Use 10 gauge for 30A though.

Edit Note: I just looked up the inverter/charger and the specs I saw said it was 17.5A AC. A 12 gauge wire would be fine for that. I would replace the short lengths of wire with that. This is for the AC side only, not the DC.

[osprey877]

Thanks for all the help. I talked to Kisae support today and I think the solution is to use a bullet or "metra" style connector that pushes into the wire receptacle. Otherwise, I will follow the above suggestions.

With respect to the amperage, I think the A/C throughput is 17.5 amps if the line out using the built-in GFCI is used. However, there is also a line out that does not use the GFCI and it is supposed to be 30 amps.

BTW, I received excellent service from the local Kisae support. Fortunately their Canadian service outlet is on my way to work, so I stopped in this am with the Inverter. No appointment or advance notice, but the rep put it on their test bench and determined there was probably a software error, but he needed the monitor to fix it, which I'd left wired into my instrument panel. Rather than fix the old one, he gave me a reconditioned new model unit which he said had a number of upgrades and additional features. We spent an hour testing all of the charging and inverter modes under various loads and modes and he printed out the manual and installation guide and made sure I knew how to operate it and that it was properly wired into the boat and that I knew how to add any additional A/C sources to make sure there is no possibility of A/C feedback. My inverter was out of warranty, but this didn't seem to be an issue.

[Sardean]

Hi 10 awg up to 30 ft can easily take 50 amps so no problem cutting the strands to fit it in terminal as 14 awg would carry 30 amps. ( large cable is good to reduce voltage drop over its length , terminal size is important for actual current carried not voltage drop so reducing size a bit at terminal wont cause any problems)
Proper way to terminate fine stranded cable is with a pin lug so the strands dont lose contact with each other when screw teminal is tightened , but if termial is full as in your case then all strands will be compressed together so pin lug can be left off.
On bypass your inverter is rated at 20 amps
Hope this helps,Sounds like youve already worked out a solution
Cheers Dean ( electrician )

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