Large wire in panels

Rson

Member
Join Date
Jun 2017
Location
Michigan
Posts
517
We have a panel with a 125HP VFD.

We need to run #3/0 wire from the disconnect to the VFD & line reactor. The normal stuff is hard to bend and we'd like to find a flexible wire solution.

I looked into welding cable, but apparently it isn't usable in a panel where you have to make mechanical connections. Does anyone have experience or insight into this? We don't typically do wire below #1, I just remember from the last job we used #3/0 it was nearly impossible to bend the wires and I'm looking for a better solution this time around.
 
We have used flexible buss bar in the past.

However, you will still need to follow codes for spacings to the walls for field wired connections. They get pretty large for the larger wire sizes (rightly so)
 
You should use tri rated cable within panels these are designed for use in panels
BS6231 / UL758 / CSA22.2
These are more flexible than standard cables, make sure you follow the relevant specs on spacing/grouping etc.
 
Be careful using DLO or other fine strand wire. The lugs on your circuit breakers, disconnects, etc. must be rated for fine stranded wire. They may fail under high current applications.
 
To crimp the lugs it is essential to have a good cable cutting tool, otherwise the bundle of fine wires will spread out and it will be impossible to enter the hole.
 

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