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GENERAL
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The Inverter Installation Kit consists of two cables and fuse arrangement for connecting the battery to the
inverter in a safe manner.
Fuse Protection in the Battery Circuit
A battery is an unlimited source of current. Under short circuit conditions, a battery can supply thousands of
Amperes of current. If there is a short circuit along the length of the cables that connect the battery to the
inverter, thousands of Amperes of current can fl ow from the battery to the point of shorting and that section
of the cable will overheat, the insulation will melt and the cable will ultimately break. This interruption of very
high current will generate a hazardous, high temperature, high energy arc with accompanying high pressure
wave that may cause fi re, damage nearby objects and cause injury. To prevent occurrence of hazardous
conditions under short circuit conditions, an appropriate fuse should be used in the battery circuit that has the
required current interrupting capacity (Termed AIC – Ampere Interrupting Capacity). For this purpose, fuse with
AIC rating of 10000 A at 14 V / 5000 A at 32 V, or higher should be used.
The following types of fuses are included in the Kit:
• 400 A, 125 VDC, Model JLLN 400 manufactured by Littelfuse
- AIC of 20,000 A
- UL Class “T” rated, UL listed as per UL Standard 248-15
• Marine Rated Battery Fuse (MRBF Series) made by Cooper Bussmann
- Voltage rating of max 58 VDC
- Current ratings of 100 A (MRBF-100), 200 A (MRBF-200) and
300 A (MRBF-300)
- AIC of 10000 A at 14VDC, 5000 A at 32 VDC and 2000 A at 58 VDC
- Ignition protected as per SAE J1171
- Weather Proof (IP66)
Caution!
The fuse should be placed as close to the battery Positive terminal as possible, preferably
within 7” of the battery terminal.
Sizing of Cables to Reduce Voltage Drop, Heating and Power Loss
The fl ow of electric current in a conductor is opposed by the resistance of the conductor. The resistance of
the conductor increases linearly as the length of the conductor is increased and decreases as the cross-section
(thickness) of the conductor is increased. Flow of current through the resistance of the conductor produces
voltage drop and power loss due to heating. The voltage drop due to resistance of the conductor increases
linearly as the current increases.
The power loss because of heating due to resistance of the conductor increases by the square of the increase in
the current - e.g. if the current increases 2 times, the heating / power loss increases 4 times. Thus, it is desirable
that thicker and shorter conductors be used to reduce the undesirable effects of voltage drop, heating and
power loss.
The size (thickness / cross-section) of the conductors is designated by AWG (American Wire Gauge). Please note
that a smaller AWG # denotes a thicker size of the conductor up to AWG #1. Wires thicker than AWG #1 are
designated AWG 1/0, AWG 2/0, AWG 3/0 and so on. In this case, increasing AWG # X/0 denotes thicker wire.
