I'm curious about the safety of managing slack in solar extension cables. I've heard that for regular power extension cables, coiling excess cord can be a fire hazard because it can generate heat and potentially melt the jacket. I'm wondering if this applies to solar extension cables as well. I'm considering buying some cables, but I'm not sure whether to get 50-foot lengths or shorter ones since I'll be placing the panels at varying distances — sometimes 50 feet away, other times only 20 feet. Is it safe to coil the excess slack if needed, or should I get different cable lengths for different setups? What are the best practices for using solar extension cables?
2 Answers
I don't think coiling slack is a big issue as long as you have the right size cable. If you're using heavy enough wire, it shouldn't melt the jacket just because you coiled it up. You should definitely go for a wire gauge that can handle the current without heating up too much. If it’s coiling is getting too hot, then you might want to consider a larger gauge instead.
If you're only pulling around 10 amps, loosely coiling a 10AWG wire should work just fine. Just keep an eye on it, and make sure the coiling isn’t too tight. Any excess should also be kept as loose as possible, and you should be good to go.
Got it, thanks for the tip!
Exactly! If your cable is overheating just coiled up, it's probably time to ditch those cheap cords for something safer.