I’ve wondered what other variables are at work given that mostly these connectors work as they should.
I’d like to see them come with plugs covering the openings. This would keep dirt, salt air, moisture, etc out until they are connected.
As to if there were lots of failures with SW modules then I wonder if whoever built the whips had poor quality control. Might be they were not seated properly or dirty or the crimp they used wasn’t calibrated correctly or they were stored in a salt environment creating corrosion or something like that.
I looked up the specs last night on the mc4 and it’s like 30+ amps depending on the wire, pretty impressive
Jay
On Nov 10, 2023, at 5:53 AM, Dave Tedeyan via RE-wrenches <re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
Mine was a roof mount. We had very few SolarWorld projects. In fact, this might be our only one.
Exactly the same thing happened for me on a ground
mount system, 3500 feet elevation the the Sierras so open cooler
air, fully engaged MC4 factory connectors PV to PV connectors with
SW285's, not passing current, melted. No attempt to contact SW
just made up new connectors.
My calculation is with anything that is no doubt made
up by the bazillion with a machine (connectors, light bulbs,
pencils, chicken nuggets, etc) you're going to get some duds. In
20+ years of installing PVs with factory made-up connectors, I've
only seen this happen 2-3 times. Installing in the mountains we
no doubt use ground mount much more often than most installs in
urban areas which would make a hot, melted connector possibly more
of an issue a couple inches above a comp or wood roof. We've
never seen any connectors fail beyond the melted/deformed but
still "contained" stage .
Back when SW was first transitioning from one
connector to another, I remember them saying they (I think it was
UTX and MC or was it UTX and Amphenol?) were compatible. We NEVER
mixed connectors despite their claim.
Bill
Feather River Solar Electric
4291 Nelson St. (Shipping)
5575 Genesee Rd. (USPS, UPS)
Taylorsville, CA 95983
530-284-7849, 258-1641(cell)
CA. C10 Lic # 874049
Solar Powered since 1982
Home of the Sunny Side Up
On 11/9/2023 4:31 PM, Ray Walters via
RE-wrenches wrote:
I'm trying to find a pic to post, but they were MC4 connectors,
not the UTX.
Ray
On 11/9/2023 4:57 PM, Brian Mehalic
wrote:
Are they the Amohenol UTX connectors? SW had a recall on them,
sounds like about the right timeframe.
12 Ga wire is not going to catch on fire, but the MC
connectors might. I just went back on a 7 yr old
Solarworld install, and had a bad series MC connector
(module to module). It got quite crispy, deforming and
bubbling the plastic on both sides of the connection.
It was still passing current; I didn't get a chance to
measure the volt drop. It was completely plugged in, so
not an installation issue.
This was not one of our connectors made up in the
field, these were Solarworld factory connectors on both
sides, same model modules. That also means no mismatch
of "MC4" connector type.
10+ amps continuous, moist environment, 30F+ hotter
than ambient temp, all are tough on connectors. I
predict more connector failures as module current
ratings increase.
Ray Walters
Remote Solar
On 11/9/2023 3:02 PM, Glenn
Burt via RE-wrenches wrote:
Good luck trying to convince your
customer that their house caught on fire because of
a manufacturers flaw, and you have no responsibility
for it…
It may be an out to shift the
blame, but it only makes everybody get some on them…
Appliance
manufacturers have their own requirements that are
not the same as the NEC requirements. As long as
you are not modifying the manufactured assembly
you are not responsible for compliance of that
appliance. By appliance, I mean the solar module,
microinverter, etc.
From:
RE-wrenches [mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org]
On Behalf Of George McClellan via
RE-wrenches Sent: Wednesday, November 8, 2023 9:06
AM To: RE-wrenches Cc: George McClellan Subject: [RE-wrenches] Cable sizing for
high current modules? NEC
interpretation/guidance?
Team;
With the move to larger cells,
some modules have an Isc that is pushing the limits
of 12 AWG wire. If I apply the rule of 156% (or
125% solar derate*125% continuous load derate) to an
18 Amp Isc module this will exceed the 25A that a 12
AWG wire can carry. I understand that the homeruns
will need to be a larger AWG (10 ga), but do the
solar module cables (from junction box to MC4) also
need to be larger? Any guidance or reference
material would be greatly appreciated.
This message is private and confidential and may
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