What safety devices do I need with my solar system?

[highdesertranger]

or wind surfers. highdesertranger

 

[tx2sturgis]

"Northern Arizona Wind & Sun" is an odd name for a store imo.

Says the guy who bought a 'fazcorp' solar controller.

 

[poot_traveller]

Says the guy who bought a 'fazcorp' solar controller.

Even the owners of Northern Arizonia Wind & Sun must know it's an odd name because they named their website the more appropriate "solar-electric.com". Which sounds better than "northern-arizona-wind-and-sun.com".

 

[poot_traveller]

I have a LiFePO4 battery with a BMS, I have a MPPTT controller, and a DC isolator for the solar feed. Do I really need fuses from controller to battery, and battery to invertor?

In my mind I've already got enough safety features in the system. But since I don't know jack about solar system safety, has anyone got an opinion on this?

 

[highdesertranger]

you need one fuse as close to the battery a possible. this should have been stated in the inverter instructions. the feed from the solar controller can go through that fuse too won't hurt a thing. highdesertranger

 

[poot_traveller]

you need one fuse as close to the battery a possible.  this should have been stated in the inverter instructions.  the feed from the solar controller can go through that fuse too won't hurt a thing.  highdesertranger

In the inverter instruction manual, the word "fuses" is only mentioned once, under product features.

In the instruction manual.....

Product features:

Overload protection/ over voltage protection/ short circuit protection/ over temperature protection/ reverse polarity protection (by fuses)

Although the instruction manual doesn't make it's self clear, I'm guessing the fuses are built into the inverter.  It's a Pure Sine Wave Power Inverter 300 Watts.

 

[highdesertranger]

the fuse at the battery is not to protect the inverter but the cable going to it. it should be fairly heavy cable and if any thing were ever to happened and it's not fused bad very bad things would happen. wow that sentence gets a F in grammar and structure. that is what 99% of all fuses do, protect the wiring. highdesertranger

 

[poot_traveller]

Oh I see, I need to protect the cables.

I have a DC Isolator for the solar feed, this is the DC Isolator: https://fazcorp.co.nz/collections/all-products/products/dc-isolator-mc4-solar-panel-connectors

I assume the DC Isolator will protect the cables for the solar feed. Than I just need to fuse the cables (as close to the battery as possible) that run from the controller to the battery and the battery to the inverter.

I hope I've understood everything correctly.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

 . . . I had to use a breaker on my solar feed because of the high DC voltage.  fuses aren't rated for that high DC voltage . . .  most DC components top out at 48 volts.  highdesertranger

How big a system you got?

I use ANL fuses (recommended by MaineSail) in my system and can get up to 750A rated from Blue Sea:
https://www.bluesea.com/products/5163/ANL_Fuse_-_750_Amp

 

[Skyman6529]

I was once inside a nissan truck at a taco bell. The 5/8" thick cable the owner used for an amp became pinched in the seat latch. It did not have a fuse. Tge diy'er length of wire glowed red from underneath the carpet.

The cable welded itself to the floor, and merged with a wiring harness it was wrapped around. Needless to say I did not stay in a truck for very long. But Hey dinner was Free.

 

[highdesertranger]

it's not the amps but the volts my solar system puts out 870 watts at 80 volts DC. now once it goes through the controller fuses are fine. most Blue Sea stuff is rated at 48vDC max. highdesertranger

 

[poot_traveller]

Damn it, a DC Isolator isn't a breaker. Back to the drawing board.

 

[poot_traveller]

Time to spam up the other forums with my dumb questions, and give you guys a break

 

[highdesertranger]

most people don't put anything on the feed from the panel(S). this is because the power of the panel is not enough to burn up the wires. but it is a good idea to have some type of switch, breaker, or fuse, this is so you can shut the power down while working on the system. highdesertranger

 

[poot_traveller]

most people don't put anything on the feed from the panel(S). this is because the power of the panel is not enough to burn up the wires. but it is a good idea to have some type of switch, breaker, or fuse, this is so you can shut the power down while working on the system. highdesertranger

Oh sweet, that's good to know. I have a fuse that came with the system so I'll put that on the solar feed just in case I need to shut it down for whatever reason.

OK, that's settled. A fuse on the positive wire on the solar feed close to the battery.

I've been starting to obsess over it a little bit, thinking about it all the time, wondering if I've understood everything correctly.