My thought is to have a short (less than 2ft) wire coming from the controller on the panels as well as coming off the 12V male plug that connects to the trailer.

Over the course of a year, it will get charged much more at home where I can always get max charging. Generally, the female MC4 connector is associated with the positive lead and the male connector is associated with the negative lead. I tried this project with a lesser quality panel and the project failed because it wasn't efficient enough.With this high-quality photovoltaic MC4 (standard4) connector set (male / female), the solar connector cables between the module and the controller can be set up as required. Yep, they're occasionally a bit finicky to get apart (and my fingers are definitely getting old) but not enough to make me wish I has something different. Once you've got the two modules connected in series, you need to use MC4 cables to bring that power to wherever your electrical equipment is located (usually a circuit breaker and a solar charge controller). Whether you've combined your modules with the multibranch connectors or with a combiner box, you'll need to understand how to select and use MC4 extension cables. com/p/Renogy-Male-and-Female-Connector-to-SAE-Adapter-13-AWG-Cable-CNCT-MC4-SAE/301811354" on this server.

Wiring MC4 Equipped Modules in Parallel: Parallel wiring requires the positive leads to be connected together and the negative leads to be connected together. Our SVB experts explain how to use solar energy on your boat and help you find the right system for your vessel. To determine an item's service and warranty coverage in your country, please contact the manufacturer. The total number of modules that can be combined will depend upon the electrical rating and physical size of the combiner box. Storage of both the actual electrical connections, female and male types, are subject to corrosion and soiling.

I've also read that energy loss is less a function of the connectors and more about distance and gauge of wire. For the record, I switched everything over to SAE connectors to avoid the bad connections from "cigarette lighter" type plugs which suck. Panels connected in series are defined as Strings, Panels connected in parallel are defined as Branches. This disengages the locking mechanism on the male connector and allows the two connectors to separate. If you connect two of them in parallel, your total amps would be 16 amps Imp and the voltage would remain at 18 volts Vmp.

To travel the 20-foot distance to your equipment, you will need a 20-foot wire with a male connector and a 20-foot wire with a female connector. I don't want to use a polarity adapter at the hub to switch, too complicated and another failure point.

Modern solar modules tend to use the MC4 connectors because they make wiring your solar array much simpler and faster. The SAE connectors are the same design as the flat 4 trailer wiring hitch connectors although they are only 2 connections wide, not 4. The second was 3x 410Watt fixed frame panels, with all the charge controllers, circuit breakers and accessories needed. Given the current pricing structure, the Renogy 200 watt suitcase with PWM controller is pretty hard to beat.