[RE-wrenches] Amphenol Connectors

[Jay]

 I’ve seen some paperwork on something similar. It was tested with #14 wire, which of course no one uses which makes it void. 

Also who is now legally responsible if there is an issue?  

I heard of a big US distributor who had a similar report done. 14 gauge wire. After the fire, and all the lawyers the report/ certificate was worthless, which put the legal responsibility back on the distributor. 

What I don’t understand is that connectors are about the cheapest part of the install. Just use like for like and eliminate most issues and also any liability. ( see latest Walmart/ Tesla fiasco, grab some popcorn gonna be good)

I’ve rarely seen like for like failures but many dissimilar ones. 

PV Cables has them all, even the really weird ones. 

Info I’ve seen from MC says that different OEMS use different coatings which don’t always agree and can cause accelerated corrosion. Actual sizes of the plastic and metal and tolerances can be off creating issues. 

Just not worth it in my view. 
My 2cents

Jay




> On Aug 25, 2019, at 5:40 PM, Glenn Burt <glenn.burt at glbcc.com> wrote:
> 
> I see that Canadian  Solar has some official looking report from Chinese CSA stating that the Amphenol connectors they use are tested as interchangeable with MC-4… Haven’t been able to figure out what the piece of paper means, how the testing was done, or how they certified it…
>  
> From: RE-wrenches <re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org> On Behalf Of Jim Duncan
> Sent: Sunday, August 25, 2019 7:10 PM
> To: re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org
> Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Amphenol Connectors
>  
> Several years ago I disassembled an Amphenol and a MC4 connectors to find for myself what the difference was. It came down to the cross section of the O-ring. One brand was smaller than the other. Also the female component that the O-ring fit into was correspondingly different. 
> So in one assembly the fit was too tight but both mismatched pieces would go together with extra effort while the other the o-ring did not fit tight enough and would snap together with normal pressure. It's been a number of years since I did this but I doubt that either manufacturer would alter anything that would make new connectors not compatible with older ones. 
> I also recall that MC was on a tear for years, especially at trade shows, confronting any unauthorized competitor connector maker that implied that theirs were compatible with MC products. 
> 
> Jim Duncan retired...
> Solar Acres Farm
> 817.917.0527
> solarguy2004 at gmail.com
> On 8/25/2019 5:21 PM, Mark Frye wrote:
> Speaking of Tesla... 
> 
> What with Walmart and (Amazon?) suing them for PV fires... 
> 
> Can anyone here give a brief run down on the whole Amphenol UTX (?) defective or cross-mated connector story? 
> 
> Thanks, 
> 
> Mark Frye 
> 
> 
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