Negative wire thickness for Victron orion xs

DIY
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1

I have a 10AWG negative cable I am planning to run from the Victron Orion earth port to an earth connection.

Is this sufficient thickness or do I need thicker cable?
Thanks.

2

The negative pole of the Orion XS does only need to carry the difference between the input and output current, but make sure that the voltage drop across it still does not get too big, since its crucial for both input and output voltage measurements

3

I was in the believe that -12V cable should have same size of +12V cable so i used 16qmm or 6 AWG for all 3 cables even if each cable length to batteries is not longer than 3ft. At 50A output cables get warm but not too hot to touch.

@ Lunatic How long have to be your cables?
Have a look at this tread, there is a link to the Victron cable length calculator.

Chris

4

I did the same, but just because i bought more 16mm2 than i needed for the positive connections and had some left over, but technically its not necessary to also use 16mm2 on the Orion XS’ negative since its a non-isolated converter

1 Like
5

Thanks Chrigu for the explanation!
Chris

6

Thanks for all the speedy replies. However, being a beginner, do you think 10AWG cable will be fine for the earth for the Victron Orion? Much appreciated. Ian

7

As Chrigu replied, yes it will be fine.
However, i would use for +12V cables 6AWG, even for short cables.
Chris

8

Thank you. I will go with the 10AWG.