See where I drew the BMV, the BMV supplies the system SOC.
BMS and BMV SOC must stay “in line”, then I know the bank is behaving as expected.
Moment BMS goes high and BMV struggles on low, I know a cell/s is/are shooting out, needs TLC, or replacement of the cell.
Hence the 18 cell bank. Have no 19 spare in a cupboard.
So I can lose up to 4 cells in total before I hit 15 cells, the bare minimum.
The connections from the busbars are crimped - same for both. No problem.
Correct me where I’m missing something … using a male and female Deutsch connector, I still need to connect the balancing wires to the female connector.
Then the balancing wires from the BMS to the male connector, right?
So that is, my case, 18 x 2 connections to make to the 2 x Deutsch connectors?
Connections done perfectly that there is absolute a miniscule increase of the resistance over the wires?
Versus push in pins using a bootlace crimper?
And no exposed lose wires if I go down to 17/16/15 cells?
What am I missing?
EDIT:
Some more Googling, saw vids how Deutsch connectors work, how you crimp them, how you remove the wires, the tools you need.
Pretty cool for a fixed installation where the amount of wires stays the same always.
Trying to wrap my brain around how the Male connector will work when the amount of balancing wires to be connected changes … think Andy’s idea will work better as Plonk also alluded.
I’m just looking for an excuse to use Deutsch connectors… honestly 
Question:
Why would one not use gutter downpipes to take strings from the roof, down to the bottom?
Or even 50mm PVC pipe?
Where there are bends, strategically don’t glue them, to be able to pull the pipe apart if one needs to pull the wires.
What am I missing?
EDIT: Let me clarify.
Not using existing gutter downpipes, no.
But installing dedicated downpipe purely for the protection of the cables against the sun.
I use all sizes of class 3 black irrigation as conduits for wiring…they last for ever and are super cheap 
Interesting …
So there is no reason not to use gutter downpipe.
Reason I came up with the idea:
EDIT:
If the solar wires are double insulated, and they are, I can use a gutter downpipe dedicated to protecting the cables against the sun.
If the cables where not double insulated, I would have had to use conduit, one for Neg and one for Pos.
Fire rating, probably. Of course PVC melts like nobody’s business, but usually in electrical equipment we want stuff that doesn’t participate in a fire and will self-extinguish when you remove the source of heat. PVC conduit is rated for that. Gutter pipe possibly not.
It very well may have the same characteristics, but it is not rated to carry a potentially hot/overloaded electrical wire. That would be my guess…
Electrical suppliers do sell up to 50mm electrical conduit.
As I said, double insulated, one can use gutter downpipe, singed off by an engineer.
But let me think on it as 5 strings in a 50mm electrical conduit, pool pipe one of my ideas, is a tight fit to insert/remove a string one day.
May I remind you of galvanized conduit?
You don’t even have to thread the ends for the fittings any more what with the fittings that push on.
The neat industrial installations I’ve seen don’t use bends etc. because you can simply leave the cables exposed (and accesible) when negotiating a turn or whatever.
Feeding cables underground is another story however…
My word, never knew it was so commonly available after I Googled.
Comparing PVC downpipes with galvanized conduit - costs.
50mm diameter can be a wee bit of a tight squeeze for 5 strings i.e. 10 x 6mm wire, I think.
Hence the 75mm of the gutter pipe diameter.
However!!!
I’m always considering future proofing, what if’s … so because of Googling now, new idea that dropped this morning, the brackets I use must be universal/swappable, read “drill once and be done” that one can chop and change brackets/pipes quick and easy.
Thought about this.
If the double insulated strings in whatever conduit “initiates a heated debate”, there is no way to “removed the source of heat” until someone clever can figure how to remotely switch off solar panels at source daytime on the roof with Combiner Boxes being at the bottom.
Any PVC product, maybe a side benefit, if inspections are done (as we should) you will visually be warned “HKGK”, I think, discoloring or worse, melting.
In light of this, I have now looked at ways to get to the roof quickly in such an event … if you are young enough and heights don’t cause any “dramatic issues”, to go and cover the panels with blankets OR cut the wires between the panels, whatever it takes.
Naaah, a fuse should handle that. I’m not necessarily opposed to using 75mm gutter pipe. I know it doesn’t burn on its own. My point was merely that it is pointless to take chances (with insurance and that sort of thing) if the right product already exists.
I imagine that even gutters need to have some sort of fire resistance. It’s no good if a burning twig (say, because of a lightning strike) ends up in a gutter and it burns the house down.
I do know, however, that in America they don’t want you to use water pipes for electrical, and if you google why, the reason is literally that it does not have enough flame retardance or UV resistance (although gutter pipes will probably have the latter).
Make no mistake, though, I have seriously considered using 40mm plumbing PVC for wire runs in the past…
The (1) costs (affecting me to change my mind later), (2) the aesthetic view and (3) being able to re-route the strings to the front myself (kinda), the three main considerations at THIS point in time.
My personal challenge, I think of ways of doing shiite using off the shelf KISS ways, sometimes no-one may have dunnit, with me posting about it and people giving more ideas, then when all is said and done and installed, I come up with a whole new idea, or see a better idea because I can then ask better questions … and re-do it.
So costs are a big factor for me.
Like the solar system, in this house, has moved like 5+ times over the years … each move is well thought out, till one lives it … or the room where it is in, is re-purposed, or we swap houses like this time.
So I’m quite adapt at adapting, just like my Mother, and we can change our minds on a dime if someone has a better idea.
Change is good … “they” say.
Like moving the solar system now is like “copy/paste” … it is just the damn strings that needs re-routing, so this is also me thinking of ways to make quicker in the future.
Ps. THE BIGGEST job, to unscrew the 18 x 2 nuts on the battery bank, moving it, screwing it all back together again WITHOUT black fingers and melted spanners. 
Folks, let me tell you something, and I’m gonna be honest here—people don’t want you to hear this. They don’t want you to know the truth. But I’m gonna tell you, because I’m always about winning, and this is a winner move, folks.
You’ve got all these so-called experts, these so-called “professionals,” telling you not to use gutter piping for conduit. They want you to spend money—more money—on stuff you don’t need. Believe me. And I’ve seen it. We’ve all seen it. I’m talking about PVC piping, folks. PVC. It’s tremendous. It’s the best. It’s going to save you big time, okay?
Let me explain. First of all, PVC gutter piping? It’s cheaper. I mean, way cheaper. We’re talking about saving money, okay? Huge savings. Why would you spend all that money on fancy electrical conduit when you can go to any hardware store, get your PVC, and boom—you’re done! It’s easy. It’s fast. And we love fast, don’t we? Fast is good.
Now, I know what some people are going to say. “Oh, but PVC might not be as flame resistant as conduit!” Wrong. PVC is durable, folks. It’s weather-resistant. It’s tough. It lasts. And you know who’s really good with things that last? Me. I’ve laid the best conduit. I’ve put in the best gutters. Nobody does electrical like me! I know quality when I see it. PVC’s the real deal.
And don’t even get me started on installation. You want to talk about easy? You can pull new wiring yourself, whenever you want to! You don’t need to hire the big guys. You don’t need a fancy team. You don’t need to be paying through the nose. Just a little glue, a little cut, and boom, you’re set!
(Sorry… I just had to, and ChatGPT is soooo good at writing Trump-like speeches).
Something to consider is that it is generally not recommended to mix the usage of piping, as a uniformed person may not realise there are live cables inside what is traditionally a water down pipe.
THAT is a very good point!!!
With sparkies coming around for quotes on the Initial CoC, I’m NOT going to use them, too many glaring “what are you smoking” moments, did result in a one good idea …
I need to borrow a proper labeler.
Can do with a lot more labelling … for keeping stuff simple for myself too.
And this gutter needs labelling, for sure.
Ps. Where the wires come out at the bottom of the PVC gutter, right back to normal trunking, under a roof. As gutter there would be like a “nope, not gonna work”.
Red line the gutter:
At the top there, want to do this - glued - with strategic points lower down not glued - easy of pulling pipe apart:
Following on on Plonks post …
It will then be the best the biggest the baddest install ever.
A great install.
A install that no-one can do better.
… just had!
Look, folks, I’ve done a lot of things in my life. A LOT of things. But let me tell you, this electrical installation? It was something special. Tremendous. Absolutely incredible. People are talking about it. They say it’s the best, okay? Believe me. Nobody does installs like I do.
The thing is, folks, I didn’t just install it—I made the whole system better. I improved it. It’s more efficient. It’s more powerful. It’s running smoother than anyone thought possible. And guess what? The system’s still running perfectly. People are still talking about it. They’ll be talking about it for years.
Folks, let me tell you, we’re gonna talk about Victron. The best equipment, the greatest, nobody does it better, believe me. You see these other companies, they’re weak, they’re sad, their equipment is terrible. You don’t want that. You want Victron.
DVCC: The Best System
Victron has DVCC, Distributed Voltage and Current Control. It’s incredible. It lets all your devices work together. Other systems? They can’t do that. If the sun’s out, and your generator kicks in, you could have a problem, a big problem. Overcurrent, boom, your battery bank is gone. We don’t overwork our batteries. We keep them strong, healthy, lasting long, longer than anyone else.
Flexibility? We Got It.
These all-in-one systems, some people like them. But they trap you. You want to add something? You’re stuck. With Victron, you want more power? Add another inverter1. Need more charging? Add another charge controller1. We have so many products, the best products, believe me. You can mix and match, create any system you want. It’s amazing.
Integrations, the Greatest Integrations
We work with the best. Hatz generators, Pylontech batteries, Orion chargers. We turn generators on and off based on the battery. We use dirty grid power to charge batteries without overcharging. We do it all. Other companies? They can’t even dream of this.
Remote Monitoring? Nobody Does It Better.
You want to see your system when you’re not there? VRM, Victron Remote Monitoring. You can see everything on your phone, your tablet, your computer. It’s so easy. Your installer, your technician, they can see it too. We can fix problems before they even happen. It saves you time, it saves you money. The competitors, they don’t have this.
Online Training, The Best Training
Want to know more? We have online training courses7. Videos, resources, even a test. You pass, you get a certificate7. You’ll be an expert, a Victron expert.
Sizzle and Steak
Some people talk about policy, about details. We have the best details, but we also have the sizzle. We deliver results. We put America, and your power system, first.
So, folks, choose Victron. The best equipment, the greatest flexibility, the best integrations, and the best remote monitoring. Don’t settle for less. You deserve the best, and Victron is the best. Thank you, God bless you, and God bless the USA.
