Put up my panels yesterday but have to wait for some cable extensions to wire everything up so the plugs are out and exposed to the elements. Are they safe? Or are they only waterproof when connected to each other?
Im following along with Will's 400 watt system with alernator charging. Link and he mentions that the branch connector is rated for 30 amps but the mc4 cinnectors are not. However at the end of the branch connector he recomends theres an mc4 connector. Should i just cut the mc4 off and connect it to 10 gauge wire going to the controller? This could be a dumb question but im a little confused. Thanks, yall!
I have a 200W Renogy suitcase as I wanted to keep it portable and versatile for RV or if I just go car camping. It comes with the controller attached and disconnects between panels and battery cables to make it easy to store and tote around.
The MC4 connectors are very easy to disconnect by hand, they seem to have a bit more space to get your thumb and forefinger in there. I bought some MC4 connectors off Amazon and replaced the battery side with 12 AWG and a 20 foot cable to connect to my RV but these new ones require the use of the tool to remove.
I would like to find the brand Renogy is using or I have seen videos of ones that have built in tabs you can squeeze to make them easy to remove for this type of application.
Anyone know of some?
Hey van life! Need some solar / electrical help. I have an Ecoflow solar panel and some WindyNation solar extension cables I bought off Amazon. The WindyNation MC4 negative female connector is apparently pretty crappy, because I cannot disconnect it from the solar panel MC4 after connecting them. I got the MC4 tool and am able to push the prongs in, but no amount of tugging will separate the connectors. Anybody have any recommendations for prying it apart? Is my only option to cut the wire and reconnect a different MC4 onto the solar panel? Anybody have any recommendations for not-shitty MC4 cables that will disconnect somewhat easily? I want to be able to remove my solar from my van and use it for other things if needed.
If I have a M/FFF and F/MMM MC4 Branches but don't use 1 of the 3 (ie. only M/FF and F/MM are used) will that lower my PV output?
I have to connect my two 250W 24V panels in parallel to charge my two 12V batteries (in parallel) via an MPPT solar charge controller.
First of all, does this make sense? I mean am i doing it right? lol newb here, obv.
Second, i don't have y-branch mc4 connectors. I only have single ones. Can I hard wire the panels in parallel using only single MC4 connectors. I find this hard to explain so I am attaching an illustration that i hope would help. Thanks!
https://preview.redd.it/5aytkvft4rg61.jpg?width=2976&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9c753362860fe58c6570137151fbaaf533a88d1a
Is there such a thing as a panel mount connector for an MC4 fitting? Or, should I just be using something like the Renogy Cable Entry Housing and route a couple of shorter cables with MC4 connectors outside my battery box?
There seems to be fairly differing opinions on this among my crew. I’m curious if anyone has some solid evidence they can point to of wet MC4s failing at significantly faster rates than those installed dry.
Title says it all.
They are very similar looking judging by pictures online of the MC4 crimp head, and I am making purchasing decisions to set myself up to be able to work with solar setups in proper. If I could avoid spending money on a brand new tool in lieu of using an old one, I'd very much prefer to.
I was trained that you should never ever use the mc4 and amphenol together. I thought that was standard but I've recently met some solar professionals that see no problem plugging them into each other. I tried to find an article to back up my concerns but was surprised that I couldn't find anything. What do you all think and do you have anything to base that argument on?
Handy bob uses 6 gauge wire from his panels to his CC, to limit voltage drop. So, how do you accomplish this with mc4 connectors? I'm going to have 5 100 watt panels in series.
Can a 12 gauge mc4 connector on a panel connect to a 10 gauge mc4 connector extension cable? Do mc4 connectors in lower than 10 gauge exist? Thank you.
https://handybobsolar.wordpress.com/the-rv-battery-charging-puzzle-2/
I am trying to connect my 100 watt allpowers solar panel to my ecoflowtech river battery. My solar panel uses mc4 connections and the battery uses a 6.5x1.4mm dc input port that accepts 10-24 volts and up to 110 watts. To connect my panel to the battery I am using an mc4 to 5.5x1.2mm dc cable and a 5.5x1.2 mm dc female to 6.5x1.2mm dc male adapter that came with the battery. With my cable and adapter attached to the solar panel my multimeter reads around 18 volts but when I plug it into my battery it does not react or charge. I attached links to my set up below. Can anyone tell me what I am doing wrong?
Solar Panel: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013E07FNM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Solar Panel Cable: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0751BZJT9/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Battery: Ecoflowtech River https://ecoflowtech.com/technology/
Basically, they are friggin' $12 a piece and to wire 4 panels in parallel I'd need 6 of them. Is there any reason I can't just cut and splice the wires?? Thanks for the help!
The parts I'm talking about:
Put up my panels yesterday but have to wait for some cable extensions to wire everything up so the plugs are out and exposed to the elements. Are they safe? Or are they only waterproof when connected to each other?
If I have a M/FFF and F/MMM MC4 Branches but don't use 1 of the 3 (ie. only M/FF and F/MM are used) will that lower my PV output?
Is there any advantage to using the MC4 connectors to wire my panels in parallel vs a clean proper splice? Thanks!
