SAE Connectors VS MC Connectors

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As of this post I have experienced MC connectors and SAE connectors in terms of use with solar. The SAE connectors are used in other industries like radio equipment so I had already had experience with them before jumping into solar.

SAE cables can plug right into each other however it will reverse the polarity. That's why we use a polarity switching device to connect to SAE cables together. SAE cables just have terminals and no threads. Additionally sae cables only come in one variation.

MC connectors are better for water proofing and most solar panels come with MC connectors. It would appear the harbor freight solar panel is an anomaly however there are more SAE connectors coming onto the solar market. Unlike a SAE connector where the positive and negative terminals are permanently bound the MC +/- connectors are separated.

As pictured, the MC connectors have a male and a female side. The male side contains an "O-ring" to keep things water tight. A SAE connector, despite its conveniences does not have this waterproofing ability. MC connectors have plastic tabs that lock into the female. To unlock is simple one must press down on both tabs the same time.

Incorporating SAE Into ECO-WORTHY

As noted in earlier articles, the ECO-WORTHY solar panel comes with MC connectors. Having been into amateur radio and having setup the harbor freight solar system, I have SAE cables on hand. That is why I chose to convert MC into SAE using an MC to SAE cable from eBay. The SAE cables that I have have an inline fuse AND no connectors on the end. Since they have no connectors on one end I am then able to strip them and solder them directly into the charge controller.