• Have you tried out dark mode?! Scroll to the bottom of any page to find a sun or moon icon to turn dark mode on or off!

diy solar

diy solar

Can I use regular electrical cables instead of solar cables for my portable 100W panel?

J

JohnnyBravo

Angler
Joined
Nov 20, 2020
Messages
97
Location
Romania
Hello guys,
I have DOKIO suitcase /folding 100W (2x50W) panel that I want to use to charge my Ecoflow Delta 1300.
I would like to move the panel around my house while keeping the Ecoflow inside therefore I am looking for longer cables.
Now the questions:
1. why should I use solar cables? how long regular electrical cable would last for my application?
2. can I extend solar cables just by using WAGO connector, XT60, or even twisting them together with or without soldering? Why should I use MC4?
3. assuming I'll go in the future for 400W panels array (2x200W or 4x100W), as long the cables connecting panels will stay behind the panels (so no sun exposure), do I really need MC4 connection?
4. the wire size for such 400W array would require to be the same between the panels as the one connecting to the PWM/MPPT?

thank you
 
MC4 is convenient not required. Solar cable in my opinion means uv and weather resistant wire. Otherwise is just multi strand wire which is usually copper or copper wire that is coated to prevent corrosion.
 
JohnnyBravo said:
Hello guys,
I have DOKIO suitcase /folding 100W (2x50W) panel that I want to use to charge my Ecoflow Delta 1300.
I would like to move the panel around my house while keeping the Ecoflow inside therefore I am looking for longer cables.
Now the questions:
1. why should I use solar cables? how long regular electrical cable would last for my application?
2. can I extend solar cables just by using WAGO connector, XT60, or even twisting them together with or without soldering? Why should I use MC4?
3. assuming I'll go in the future for 400W panels array (2x200W or 4x100W), as long the cables connecting panels will stay behind the panels (so no sun exposure), do I really need MC4 connection?
4. the wire size for such 400W array would require to be the same between the panels as the one connecting to the PWM/MPPT?

thank you
Click to expand...
I use landscaping wire all the time.
For a single panel you could even use an extension cord.
What kind of wire were you considering?
 
Supervstech said:
I use landscaping wire all the time.
For a single panel you could even use an extension cord.
What kind of wire were you considering?
Click to expand...
I have left some 14AWG and 16AWG single and multi strand insulated copper wire from my electrical installation of my house, also I have some ribbed tube that is used in such application.
 
The key thing on wire is the size of the wire vs amps drawn from it.
wire-selection-chart.png
wire-selection-chart.png

As long as you keep the wire size within the amp range your going to draw across it your good to go there. I would get a few mc4 connectors and a crimper to make cables from the wire you have if your going to use that. The mc4's are not "required" but it makes disconnecting and reconnecting a dream when fooling with this stuff.
 
Back in college when I repaired stereo equipment. We had a salesman who encouraged people to cut a short extension cable in half and wire that between speaker and amp. When people wanted sound on their patio, just had to add an additional extension cord for the extra distance. The plugs are polarized so that works fine. Except some people forgot and plugged either their amp or speaker into a wall outlet. That brought me business! A cheap easy way to get that panel some distance to sun when you are camping.
 
Solar cable resist UV and are also ratted for 1000V, the standard cable using in a house wiring H07V-U in my country is rated for 450V so you cannot use it in a string of 6 or 8 panels, for your small array has long you don't go higher than 230V you are OK.
MC4 are the norm, in winter probably your panels will get water so on their side use MC4.
 
Crowz said:
The key thing on wire is the size of the wire vs amps drawn from it.
wire-selection-chart.png
View attachment 163646

As long as you keep the wire size within the amp range your going to draw across it your good to go there. I would get a few mc4 connectors and a crimper to make cables from the wire you have if your going to use that. The mc4's are not "required" but it makes disconnecting and reconnecting a dream when fooling with this stuff.
Click to expand...

so, about the connector and its ease of use, why not a WAGO where no crimping is needed? :)
 
efficientPV said:
Back in college when I repaired stereo equipment. We had a salesman who encouraged people to cut a short extension cable in half and wire that between speaker and amp. When people wanted sound on their patio, just had to add an additional extension cord for the extra distance. The plugs are polarized so that works fine. Except some people forgot and plugged either their amp or speaker into a wall outlet. That brought me business! A cheap easy way to get that panel some distance to sun when you are camping.
Click to expand...
Did you give him kickbacks for all the repair work he sent your way or just a happy symbiotic relationship?
 
ok, my setup with 1 such panel works fine, what about 4 such panels, either all in series or 2 series + 2 parallel to not exceed the ampacity for 14 AWG wire?
 
JohnnyBravo said:
Hello guys,
I have DOKIO suitcase /folding 100W (2x50W) panel that I want to use to charge my Ecoflow Delta 1300.
I would like to move the panel around my house while keeping the Ecoflow inside therefore I am looking for longer cables.
Now the questions:
1. why should I use solar cables? how long regular electrical cable would last for my application?
2. can I extend solar cables just by using WAGO connector, XT60, or even twisting them together with or without soldering? Why should I use MC4?
3. assuming I'll go in the future for 400W panels array (2x200W or 4x100W), as long the cables connecting panels will stay behind the panels (so no sun exposure), do I really need MC4 connection?
4. the wire size for such 400W array would require to be the same between the panels as the one connecting to the PWM/MPPT?

thank you
Click to expand...
I have 2 100w pv on 14 awg speaker wire 60 feet and have had it like that for a year now. 84 watt load. Runs just fine. I did protect it from the sun with conduit though.
 
Will be utilizing SOOW wire. Rated for a wide range of indoor and outdoor settings and is flexible which lets one move it if needed.
 
So had an interesting conversion today with someone who had purchased some of the Patriot solar generators (mini battery packs). They were hoping to use them to power important items in the home.

Bottom line, nice idea but don't think they had any idea how much power would be needed to power the items they wanted to keep going. I encouraged them to pick up a kill a watt and run a power consumption test. I proceeded to give an estimate of the power one item might use and tried to explain that a small unit like this was unable to do what they were hoping to do.

Sadly so many are going to find themselves in a difficult position once they decide it is time to use their "toys" for a power outage.
 
Any wire is fine, if You know it's limits. For "ordinary" electrical wire the worst thing is UV from sun. It will ruin the insulation in a Year or two. So it's ok for a temporary/supervised use.
As for WAGO - if You are using original ones, know how to check the wire before inserting, check the connection after inserting a wire (takes some practice), keep the current below half of what's in data list, know how position them to be sure no moisture gets inside them or under the insulation of the wire, protect from UV and heat, connect the polarity right and no flammable material nearby - will be ok (again - not for a lifetime).

I'm speaking from 10 year experience of outdoor installations of 230 - 560 W systems.

But if even one point mentioned above is unclear - 4 mm2 solar cable + crimped MC4 is way to go. Both items are designed to eliminate most of trouble, so You will get the best sleep at night.
 
JanisD said:
Any wire is fine, if You know it's limits. For "ordinary" electrical wire the worst thing is UV from sun. It will ruin the insulation in a Year or two. So it's ok for a temporary/supervised use.
As for WAGO - if You are using original ones, know how to check the wire before inserting, check the connection after inserting a wire (takes some practice), keep the current below half of what's in data list, know how position them to be sure no moisture gets inside them or under the insulation of the wire, protect from UV and heat, connect the polarity right and no flammable material nearby - will be ok (again - not for a lifetime).

I'm speaking from 10 year experience of outdoor installations of 230 - 560 W systems.

But if even one point mentioned above is unclear - 4 mm2 solar cable + crimped MC4 is way to go. Both items are designed to eliminate most of trouble, so You will get the best sleep at night.
Click to expand...
what can happen if the WAGO connection gets wet?
 
The WAGO as it is is not sealed and wire ends / contact surfaces are exposed, so You could get all benefits like current leakage, corrosion of contacts and/or wire ends, galvanic processes to name the few. In subzero temperatures the stress of icing is a risk, too.
For the outdoors, I could provide some more horror stories (for ex. small ants forming a conductive bridge in not properly sealed connector).

There is solution provided by WAGO: Gelbox .
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

M
Solar Panel Extension Cable Question
Replies
2
Views
225
mgillis2
M
N
Grounding Solar Panels to EG4 3000EHV
Replies
1
Views
138
robbob2112
robbob2112
footios76
I figured out a setup with the help of AI. Can somebody verify Please!!!
Replies
3
Views
534
AntronX
AntronX
B
MC4 connectors won't snap-connect
Replies
2
Views
245
Suijkerbuijk
S
G
Help w/ setup of 2 Renogy (series wired) suitcase panels for camper
Replies
2
Views
194
Gphoto125
G

diy solar

diy solar
Back
Top