Hypalon Cable [RE-wrenches]

[Allan Sindelar]

Warning: Rant: ON
    There are a bunch of bigger issues here, for which welding cable is just
one example, but a good one. With the exception of scrap cable that we
recycle from old system upgrades and sell cheap to do-it-yourselfers on
tight budgets, we make all of our cables on-site, and we only use X-Flex or
locomotive cable with listings from here to Friday. Our whole "position" as
a company is that we do the cleanest, most professional, and most
code-compliant work around. We have a good reputation, and enough work to
keep the crew busy. But that has also given us the reputation of being the
most expensive, by a substantial amount.
    4/0 cable is heavy, and that means expensive to ship. All of our 2/0 and
4/0 cable is shipped in from out of state. With normal markup, that means we
have to sell 2/0 at $4/foot and 4/0 at $5.75 a foot. Welding cable is
available locally, and we could probably sell it for 1/2 as much. But, hey,
it's not listed. And, hey, we're not going to stock both types and ask every
client if they plan to pull a permit and get inspected, or have them sign a
contract agreeing to pay for replacement if an inspector red-tags an
installation where we tried to save the client some green by using perfectly
functional but unlisted cable...
    The bigger issue isn't with our work; we can play the NEC/UL game just
fine. The inspectors know our work and we get passed without correction
notices. It's that some aspects of code compliance add to the cost of the
system enough that they create a de facto underclass of people who simply
don't "do" code-compliance, and they don't call us for PV systems. This
isn't the California suburbs: there's lots of third world around here where
the inspectors never set foot unless invited.
    What about the offgridders who never even come in the door because the
word on the street (or dirt trail) is that we're too expensive? How do we
even reach them to say "put a class T fuse between your battery and
inverter"? It's some of the arcane politics of UL and the code, and our
determination to do NEC-compliant work that is part of "too expensive".
There's local competition that's way cheaper, because they play loose with
the code and don't pull permits. This is a technical field; most people
don't understand the differences.
    The expense of code-compliance, as exemplified by the price of listed
battery cables, is effectively encouraging the installation of unsafe
systems by unqualified people. "Fully-listed battery systems", Bill, will
only exacerbate this problem.
Rant: OFF

Allan at Positive Energy

> Bob-O,
>
> Ultimately we need fully listed battery systems (very soon) if we are
going
> to get to the point of broad acceptance and the type of even treatment we
> want from our building officials. Outback Power and Xantrex seem to be
> breaking some ground in this area and it is about time. The inspector
would
> like to be able to look at a battery system, see the ETL label on the side
> showing that it is a listed system, and then all they need to inspect is
> that the system is installed according to the directions. All the
conductors
> (or busbars or uninsulated cable, or welding cable) , and overcurrent
> protection are part of the system. That is my goal and until we get there
we
> are going to be farting around with these less significant issues for
years
> to come. I'm done.
>
> Bill.

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