Tools mentioned in the video (affiliate links): Best Value Torque Screwdriver: amzn.to/3DEMqwb Torque Wrench: amzn.to/3sEpuH8 (there is an insulated torque wrench out there, but it costs 20X as much (not joking). The options above are great for the price) Basic Electrical Tools that I recommend: www.mobile-solarpower.com/tools.html 0:00 Intro 0:14 #10 1:21 #9 2:53 #8 3:56 #7 5:36 #6 6:54 #5 8:51 #4 9:49 #3 12:15 #2 14:29 #1 *Does off-grid solar confuse you?* Check out my DIY friendly website for solar system packages and product recommendations, and so much more! www.mobile-solarpower.com *Join our DIY solar community* #1 largest solar forum on the internet for beginners and professionals alike: www.diysolarforum.com *Check out my Book* Best-selling and beginner-friendly guide to 12V off-grid solar! amzn.to/2Aj4dX4 If DIY is not for you, but you love solar and need an offgrid system, check out Tesla Energy! They will price out a system and get your house offgrid: ts.la/william57509 *My DIY Solar Equipment Recommendations (Constantly updated! Check here first):* 12V/48V Lithium Solar Batteries: www.mobile-solarpower.com/solar-batteries.html Complete Solar System Component Directory: www.mobile-solarpower.com/solarcomponents.html Complete 48V System Blueprint: www.mobile-solarpower.com/48v-complete-system-blueprint.html Plug-N-Play System Recommendations: www.mobile-solarpower.com/full-size-systems.html Complete "Add to Cart" 48V System Kits: www.mobile-solarpower.com/complete-48v-solar-kits.html DIY Friendly Air Conditioner/ Heat Pumps: www.mobile-solarpower.com/solar-friendly-air-conditioners.html *My Favorite Online Stores for DIY Solar Products:* *Signature Solar* Offgrid One-Stop-Shop. Best Value 48V LiFePO4, Victron and Offgrid Specific Heat Pumps: www.signaturesolar.com/?ref=h-cvbzfahsek *Current Connected* SOK, Victron, Mr.Cool Heatpumps and High Quality Components. Fantastic customer support: currentconnected.com/?ref=wp *Litime* My favorite 12V budget battery!: www.litime.com/?ref=XBIA62RFcalHns *Epoch Batteries* My favorite high-quality 12V battery: www.epochbatteries.com/products/12v-460ah-lifepo4-battery-ip67-heated-bluetooth-victron-comms?rfsn=7352625.50494d *Renogy* A classic 12V solar store that has been around for ages! DC to DC Chargers and more! renogy.sjv.io/n1VjXx *Rich Solar* Renogy's biggest competitor! Similar products, but at a better price: richsolar.com/?ref=h-cvbzfahsek *Battery Hookup* Cheap cell deals bit.ly/2mIxSqt 5% off code: diysolar *Contact Information:* I am NOT available for personal solar system consult! If you wish to contact me, this is my direct email: williamprowsediysolar@gmail.com Join the forum at diysolarforum.com/ if you wish to hang out with myself and others and talk about solar *FTC Disclosure Statement and Disclaimers:* Every video includes some form of paid promotion or sponsorship. Some links on this youtube channel may be affiliate links. We may get paid if you buy something or take an action after clicking one of these. My videos are for educational purposes only. Information is subject to change/update at any time. Electricity is DANGEROUS and can kill. Be smart and use common sense :) DIY Solar Power with Will Prowse is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, An affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com

I'm a retired electrician and can say that this was an excellent video. You don't just say what to DO or NOT DO, but, most importantly, you explain WHY. You are also teaching "good practices". I am subscribing just because this video was so good that it will help me explain things to others properly, including being more concise. Thank you for exceptional work. 🙂👍

As a controls engineer - Almost EVERY time I go in the field for construction inspections, the #1 problem is improperly seated and torqued cables. Will hit the nail on the head there. We formally call the pulling a "tug test". Do one after terminating anything - making sure everything is de-energized.

My first DIY system is working great. I over built everything especially the wire size. I built my system at about 50% of the capacity of my inverters. As a beginner I am one of the old school guys that soldered my battery cables. Used to do that as a heavy equipment mechanic 30 years ago. I never had one failure, but will probably invest in a crimping tool. It took me 18 months to save money and then install my ground mounted system. It was a big investment, but has been working flawlessly for 4 months now. It saves us about 40 % on our electric bill. I am only using about 50% of my battery each day, and in an emergency could probably get about 30 hours out of my small system. Definitely adding more battery backup as soon as funds are available. Since we're retired and with limited income, it's difficult to have enough funds for large projects. Adding 10kw battery backup would be extremely beneficial to our system. At least we have a small emergency backup that we use everyday. I know that if I had the funds I would go completely off grid. This solar power energy is addictive! YOU JUST WANT MORE POWER. Everyone I watch on KZfaq has increased their systems at least twice. Will, I appreciate your videos and applicable information on solar system and products. I used several valuable resources and information that you provided in the past 3 years. Even at 71 I'm still learning and exploring new opportunities to be more self reliant and independent Thanks

From what I've seen in my 15 years in solar, #1 should be "Under Sized Cables"

You forgot the two most important ones A) get reacquainted with the basics of (solar) electricity before a project B) find or make a cheat sheet with checklist to keep handy when doing a project. C) start with smaller project that don’t hurt as much financially in case of mistakes. People, including myself need these refresher videos frequently

I wonder how many times I'm going to be pausing the video and running out to see if I made any of these mistakes lol Thanks for sharing and as always keep building 👍

I've been doing marine wiring for over 25 years and off grid solar for about 15 years, and when I started solar wiring, I used all of my marine wiring experience to do proper jobs. I've seen so many DIY off grid solar installs that are cobbled together and basically fail on every point your made in your video! Honestly, your video is 100% accurate on all points. I can't find a single thing to dispute. You just got another subscriber - me! because we are always learning. Some of my biggest pet peeves - soldering of any kind, on boat or solar wiring. And buying cheap off-brand crap, like breakers, bus bars, fuse panels, wiring. When someone asks me to "redo" their solar setup, or install new, I often will send them an exact list of all the major parts needed, like breakers, bus, fuses panels, cables, cable ends, crimp heat shrink marine connectors, charge controller, etc, and let them review it online and even but it themselves. If they balk at the price and/or look to use cheap alternatives, I may refuse to do the job and I tell them they can find someone else.

*_Top 10 Mistakes Summary:_* 14:29 1 - Loose terminals 12:15 2 - Using the incorrect tools (emphasis on wire-strippers, crimpers, insulated tools) 9:49 03 - Improper Wire-Sizing 8:51 04 - Messy, unorganized Wiring 6:54 05 - Solder large lugs (use only mechanical connections) 5:36 06 - Using CCA (Copper Clad Aluminum) cables; Use only pure Copper 3:56 07 - Using low qaulity circuit breakers 2:53 08 - Building a System that cannot be Scaled 1:21 09 - Not enough batteries or solar panels 0:14 10 - Connecting a solar string to a device without checking the voltage

No. 5: As an electrician I totally agree with you! In school they warned us about another point: solder gets soft over time and starts crawling and the contacts get loose and corrosion appears within. So, never solder when you can crimp!

please continue these instructional videos....you have helped so many folks and I have no doubt you have save saved many lives .your knowledge &your ability as a instructor a blessing to all of us " newbies " thank you!

I retired from large power plant power generation. There has been more than one transformer fire due to terminals loosening over time due to the thermal cycling. All of Will’s points in this video are worth watching periodically.

I always use a conductive grease in my crimps, it doesn't take much don't over do it, but it adds a corrosion protection to the joint. I even use it on small stuff, it really helps on outdoor or buried connections.

As an advanced electronics technician, I don't normally comment on other techs videos. But in this case, I really appreciate how well thought out your production was. Your audience was for the startup crowd, but sage advice for the advance installer also. You use that crimp tool every day? Makes me think you do installations for more than friends. -earned my subscription. Looking forward to viewing more of your videos.

Also: dubble check polarity.. At work a contractor got the polarity mixed when parallel connecting two 400V battery bank, short-circuit the now 800V battery.. The connectionbox exploded throwing the contractor across the rom, and started a fire. The incident took down the server room, effecting the work of 15-20 thousand people.... Due to the safety equipment, the contractor escaped relatively unharmed...

I totally agree with you on the comments about soldering. For many years , I lived on a boat and did all my maintenance myself. To do things right and stay safe I took a course on marine electrical systems, taught by a professor from the University of Washington, who also taught the Coast Guard, the guys who are inspecting the boats. he said that in a marine environment that soldered connections are extremely subject to mechanical failure from all the motion. The only place for the soldered connection was one that was totally and safely secured against any type of movement. Now that I’m retired and live in a “land boat” (RV) I follow the same practices, thinking that the vibrations from the vehicle can probably do similar damage is the vibrations on the boat. I realize that many of your viewers are thinking of a fixed base, home installation where the only movement may be earthquakes, and I am honestly not knowledgeable about that, so I’m mostly talking to those installing into vehicles of some sort. Regardless, your explanation says why not to use solder are very convincing.

I am educating myself in solar and off grid living and I'm sure you've heard but just in case I will reiterate the fact that your presentations to me are the pinnacle of educational videos that I have viewed! Very in depth, easy to follow and comprehend as well as confidence building. Thanks for the education!

100% correct on each item. Used to solder till I saw a crimped terminal cut in two. Bought a hydraulic crimper. Have never been sorry.

I'm familiar with the torque wrenches that use sockets, but did not know they had torque screw drivers. Your videos are always interesting. Thanks.

I hate standard flat head torque screws like what’s on the solar charge controllers, I wish they were Allen heads or something else. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your videos. Keep them coming please.

Absolutely correct soldering is for small stuff and not for large AC cables, crimping is the way to go.

1989 - 1998, USN, ET1 SS, and 5 years building emergency vehicles, communication centers, radio tower work. Will is 💯 %correct !!!

Once you start generating your own power the first thing you will notice is how much each device uses. I replaced several older devices just for the reduced wattage. A watt meter is your best cheap investment and you will be surprised what your use is. If you can conserve it you don’t need to generate it , I’ve been watching the evolution of solar equipment for years and it is amazing how the price and availability make it easier and affordable for you to set up a system. I always research your videos before even considering purchasing any solar equipment . Thank you for the video.

Great video! I'll second the use of Blue Sea marine-grade components. I've been a marine electrician for 25+ years and use their products exclusively - never seen one fail. They're expensive, but when you buy quality, you only cry once.

Great video! I would only add to the torque point this: Tighten to rated torque, then loosen a bit, then retorque to spec. You'll be surprised how often the connection "snuggles down" a bit more at the same torque once you do this. The screw or nut will often (more often than not) rotate a bit more to reach the same torque than it did during the initial tightening-to-torque. Such double-tightening makes the connection a lot more reliable over time!

I crimped several cables 10 years ago in both 4 gauge and 1/0 gauge. I used a hammer crimp and always was concerned about the quality of the crimp as well as the longevity of them. Earlier this year I decided to cut one of those old cables apart to inspect the cable and crimp. I made a video on it and found after cutting the cable and terminal apart that it was an amazing crimp! The heat shrink also held up great with only minor surface corrosion of the copper wire(yes, this was OFC copper cable). Before I destroyed the wire, I checked the resistance of the wire with my Fluke multimeter and resistance was VERY low! One other thing I like to do after I build a system is check the resistance (ohms) in the cabling and connections with my Fluke. This helps to find problems before they rear their ugly head.

Another important thing to do with a system is to DOCUMENT IT! It may all seem logical and meeting your needs when you install it, but six months or two years down the road you have to repair something, or want to upgrade, and you won't remember why you did things, or how they are routed, or what they worked around. And unless you think that you will own the set up for the rest of your life, some day you will sell it, and being able to give the next owner the documentation might make the difference between a sale or no sale.

Great Video, you nailed all major issues but one missed. When using stranded copper to an SCC or other device, using Ferrules (Crimp Barrel) is Very Important to prevent the wire starnd from squishing & spreading which results in a poor connection, regardless if the proper torque is applied.

Kapegede and comments (replays). It is 2am ,Sunday morning and refuse to fall sleep ,till I read all this interesting thoughts regarding crimping, soldering, and the like . I’m a Colombian hillbilly that enjoy this sort of agreements disagreements for the good of us all. Learning is living.

This is one of the most important videos you've done

Make sure the system is de-energized before yanking to check for loose terminals!

I sell million volt cables for utility. The customer never solder. Only crimp. Sometimes with 46 ton crimpers. Totally agree with you

A common one I've seen helping friends is not carefully labeling both ends of wire runs. Color coded wires are always best, but a lot of purchases just go with the straight black or grey. The red, white and black should be applied to both ends. Best with shrink tubing.

Top tips great video. If you can't afford insulated tools use heat shrink and electrical tape to cover any shiny surface on the tool. It's not perfect but better than nothing.

Will, another problem with large bundles of wire that has driven many of us crazy is ghost currents, coupling AC to neighbor wires that supply LED lights. The LEDs will continue ot glow at a lower output even though the switches are off. :(

Great data here. I'm an amature, researched every point you made here. Glad to say I scored 100%. Cables and lugs - definatly get your hydraulic cramp, lugs, heat seal tubing, and make up your own cables because you'll save £ $ big time and have fun. Quality tools is definatly a big deal. Cheap gear are crappy and you'll have crappy end results. Will saved me a fortune - dont try saving pennies here and there, it WILL cost you £'s $'s in a few weeks time!! Torque wrench etc. Got them too. As I discovered, Chinese stuff is not always accurate on torque settings so be careful and whatever arrives - test it, if possible, before use! Heat camera - I use a laser temp probe, I think that works fine. Just slower way and needs a little more care. Outstanding round up of the common pitfalls Will. I have got one question ! Q) how do you stay looking the same after 2 years now? No Ageing? 🤣😉

As someone who's built and operated a series of tiny off-grid solar systems for my cabin's stereo and phone charger over 20 years, my biggest difficulty has been getting good crimps and screw connections. I've recently upgraded crimp tools and will never solder a connector again.

Glad to see more new videos from you. I work on telecom power systems with large battery strings (48V with 5,000A+ discharge capability) and I agree with all your points, especially proper torquing of terminals, thermal inspections, using insulated tools, and having the proper tool and knowing how to use it! I'm hoping to see new buyer's guide/showdown videos from you for MPPT's, panels, and batteries. I've watched all your old ones, but there's so many new devices out there now. I'm building an off-grid system for my RV and your channel has been a great guide!

72 years young grandma here enjoying your videos. Especially love the rant one. I'm from Pittsburgh pa and have a jackery explorer 300 and a 100 watt solar panel (my toy). We don't get half as much sunshine now that it is fall but that explorer fully charges in 3 hours under full sunshine. I am pleasantly amazed at the sunshine power. I use my power supply to plug in a lamp where we have no grid wiring and a few other things. Waiting until I understand a lot more of this stuff before moving on to something more challenging.

The heat cam idea is excellent.

Your point about crimping instead of soldering is well taken. I was one of those people who wanted to solder everything whether it was appropriate or not. I had a car that I repaired the battery cable with a lug which I soldered on. It kept failing (mechanically). Eventually I realized, hey dummy, it's because you used a soldered connection for a giant lug (especially in a vibration environment).

I know a mistake that you FORGOT! All beginners should check out your videos and forum. 👍

Yep, all good advice. Good tools, do it right, minimizes problems. Power electricity is different than signal electricity. And all of you physics explanations are correct. Thanks.

This channel is gold.

Will... YOU ROCK! Thanks for just keeping it real and teaching us all, sometimes we need a little extra info and you provide it.

To anyone questioning a crimp connection, I’m a substation electrician and the transmission line feeding your town right now has countless crimps on it.

Awesome your revisiting some beginner things. I bought the book from Amazon last year and highly recommend it to everyone young and old.

Total system shutdown every six months for essential maint, right or! (maybe you covered this in another presentation). Anyway, your book arrives tomorrow! 🙂

Excellent ! There is always something to be learned from your videos.

Perfect timing Will! Thank you as always

Always solid advice 💯 Much love from Tulia Texas out on the farm 🚜

Thank you for correcting the misconception about soldering. I get so tired of hearing some people swear solder is always better. Another thing to be careful on is when stacking lugs on a buss bar, the lugs should always go on in order of highest to lowest amperage.

Awesome! More videos like this please aimed at beginners. I already rewatched and liked your beginner videos 20 times

Great to get back to basics Will, I found this very helpful. Greetings from UK.

I am so glad I have been going to your KZfaq university for the last 3 years. Education and great criticism. Aloha from Sunny Hawaii.

Brilliant presentation. Many thanks. Good luck popularising torque screwdrivers!

Remodeling my first Rv and your videos were very helpful! Thank you!

Great job on the video Will! Thanks for making it.

I needed those recommendations onward

Thanks for all your detailed info and video,s , can you show me how do you isolate a geyser and stove , on DB bord , with the inverter wirling connections ro the DB Bord Regards Zarius

Will, this is one of your very best, if not the best. Thank You!!

Great video, the attention to detail and level of explanation are greatly appreciated. Keep up the good work!

One thing I would add as a beginner miskate, is wearing rings, watches or jewery when working on DC systems. It only takes a small mistake to put your hand across a Positive and Negative and you will get a serious burn and a hospital visit. Take of all metal when working. Cheers

I know many of us use XT60 connectors for solar panel hookup (Will uses those on some of his panel arrays) and they need to be soldered. There are also better options for solar panel connectors than XT60. Soldering takes too much time anyway since those XT60 plugs are so freaking small, a good crimping tool makes the job extremely easy for the crimp-type connectors. I'd also have added another common mistake beginners make: Always follow diagrams to the letter! Excellent video once again with lots of useful info to ponder! Thanks Will!

Thanks Will, you do a great service to the people!😜🖖

Your guys' forum community is awesome, thank you.

I have been looking at your videos for a long time and I appreciate them all and like that you have gone through all the testing you have done

Your the man WILL keep the great informative videos coming dude 👍🏼❕

I've definitely had connections loosen on my solar disconnect. I do check them when I remember, but probably go longer than i should. This is great info will!

Great presentation. EET here, learned a lot. Thanks.

Very good, clear voice & explanation!

Will, thank you so much for all your thoughtful consideration regarding beginner mistakes. (Doing everything right the first time eliminates worry and feeling like you have to constantly focus on and reconsider "shortcuts" that will inevitably cause problems.)

Thanks for an excellent list of beginner mistakes. Presentation is very good. You like to talk with your hands - no problem. Some people overdo it and it becomes distracting but you do it well. However, please please please hold your hands still when you are holding a tool or device that you are talking about. I want to see what you are talking about, not try to follow the bouncing tool. I enjoyed the video. Please make more. Your content provides a much needed independent technical resource that augments that given by biased manufacturers. Cheers.

Thank you for being so competent and clear - Great Work as usual!

thanks for the reminder! I will be inspecting my wiring tomorrow

Right on man! I’ve done all those things at one time or another and now always double check everything I’m doing great video thanks

One thing to point out about multimeters. There are meters for electricians and meters for electronics work. Many times both will work equally but there are situations where one type can fail. The Fluke 325 for electricians can only measure resistance to 40k ohms. Not good for electronic work (I have lots of resistors over 50K ohms that the Fluke 325 can't measure). However meters for electronics work sometimes are only rated for CAT 1 environments. Not good for high voltage and power electrician work. A CAT 1 meter could literally catch on fire or explode if there is an issue in a CAT 3 high voltage, high current environment. For this kind of work you should have and understand the different CAT environment levels and when to use both types of meters. Another thing to point out to beginners is the differences between fixed range and auto ranging meters. There are times when one or the other is nicer to use. Depends on what you are doing and your personal preference. Yes, it is possible to fix the range on an auto-ranging meter but it is not as intuitive as using a straight fixed range meter. About soldering, I know Hams (I'm one) that insist on soldering everything but they are wrong. For small signal applications soldering is a good thing since small mechanical connections can get dirty and create signal noise. For high power connections mechanical connects are strongly recommended, especially in ground straps and lightning rods. The only thing close to soldering that is good to use is an exothermic weld which literally bonds the two metal pieces into one. Solder in a high power connection can end up melting at exactly the wrong time causing the connection to come apart and can even literally explode.

Thank you for your excellent videos, Will. I learn something every time I watch your presentations. Please keep up the great work!

This guy's good and thorough. I'm guilty of being the lazy electrician. Thank you.

Thank you Will. You're timing (for me anyway) couldn't have been better. I'm sure you just saved me a few blunders. My two (of course way more than that) biggest weaknesses are sizing charge controllers and breakers/fuses. I appreciate you spending some cycles on those topics. It was helpful. P.S. The wire strippers were new to me too.

So I took your advice and pulled all the wires out of my friends system! He's really not happy... I don't think I did it right. 😂 Getting ready to build my first system and your videos have been invaluable. I think you saved me three mistakes with this list, Thank You! 😃

As usual brilliant video. Well done. Keep up the great work.

I totally did #1. Didn't believe the Panasonic panels were actually 70V, everyone told me they had to be 35V. Trust the label... #7 is why I hate lithium and nickel iron is way better.

Interesting. I revamped my friend's solar panel and upgrade from a 40ah lead acid to a 100ah LiFePo4 with a great Renogy MPPT and added a small inverter to run small lights and fans. The loosening on cables(And other hardware) is definitely something I've experienced. Especially hardware on wood.

I am putting together my first system and this is fantastic! Great info and superb presentation!

Always nice to have a Refresher, Thanks Will.

It got a lot of this from Will's other videos while I was researching my first system. My 4 x EG4-ll 48v batteries are connected to the rack bus bars with 1/0 cables. From the positive bus bar to the T Class fuse is 4/0. From the negative bus bar to the Victron shunt is 4/0. From the shunt and the T Class fuse, to the 250V DC rated Fuji breaker, 4/0. From the Fuji breaker to the positive and negative battery terminals on the MPP Solar LV 6048 also 4/0. Thanks for the great info Will.

On a boat exposed cooper lugs will always give trouble down the track. So use galvanized lugss instead and solder the tip of the exposed cable end. Then use heat shrink over the eniter joint. This gives the best connection while providing a barrier for moister to get into the cable strands. The tin in solder acts a a sacrifical anode and prolongs the life of the joint.

I live in the Bahamas. We use air conditioning here which is a power hog. Even keeping the thermostat at 78 I go through about 80kWh per day. A battery big enough for "several days" would be the size and cost of the local power station.

Great information, Will. It’s videos like this that keep me referring people to your channel. Thanks for the useful content!

What are your opinions on adding dielectric grease to connections? I'm on a sailboat, and I add it to all connections that might see moisture. It is probably overboard, but it helps me sleep at night.

The concept of a scaleable solar system is important. A video that would expand on this would probably be helpful, especially if you are patching together different sets of panels that aren't perfectly matched. Trying to match up balanced batches of panels is probably the way to go. I did see the video where you chain together a bunch of varied server rack batteries. (I probably should watch that again.).

I thought I knew what I was doing but I'm glad I saw this .

Very good points. As a beginner I learned a few things here

Wow! Besides the torque screwdriver 🙄 I passed the William test!

Thanks for explaining about loose terminals. I've been building my own systems for years, and thought that the loose terminals were caused by vibrations and movement. My system moves five times a year. My Victron CC recently had an overheat warning, and it was partially due to loose terminal connection. Keep up the great work. Some of your newer builds are far beyond anything I will build in the near future. Don't forget about the smaller systems! 1kW pv, 2 kW inverter, 14 kWh LiFePo4, off-grid yurt.

Good tips Will! People need to build small systems first and get some experience if they want to DIY. Going to make a lot of costly mistakes if you try to learn everything on a single large project.

Thanks, Will. Great points and excellent reminders.

Have to disagree on soldering bigger wire. When copper "corrodes" it gets a "film" on it similar to wearing a glove. this isolates strands from other strands. Immersed in solder, this cannot happen. That said; I mostly do Both, solder a stranded wire to eliminate the "glove effect", then crimp, or solder together for smaller wires and heat shrink. My backround is generator repair for Coast guard units. Great Video Will.

Oh boy as a part-time marine and automotive mechanic I have seen all those mistakes many times done by some hotshot. Why? They are in a hurry to get the job done or they don't pay attention to the details. Doing the job right the first time, is all about the details! My boss grumbles about jobs taking longer than he thinks they should... many times it's because I'm fixing someone else's mess. The little things matter just as much as the big things, sometimes even more!