WindyNation 8 AWG 8 Gauge Pair 10 Feet Black + 10 Feet Red PV Photovoltaic Solar Panel Extension Cable Wire Solar Connector (Variety of Lengths Available)

Unfortunately based on my experience (or lack there of) with this product I must give it one star! I ordered the 80ft 8AWG extension (which means it would be used to extend the connection from the panels to the charge controller) however upon working on the installation I noticed that the red cable had two MC4 Male connectors (as seen in the pictures), which made it useless since I was not able to connect it with the male connector coming from the panel. The black one was fine as expected and matching the images on the product page with one male and one female connector. I like how thick the cables are and they felt pretty heavy duty. So I ordered a replacement (which Amazon as usual took care of). Upon waiting another few days and with my project on hold, I received ANOTHER set of cables with the same issue. So because it was not a coincidence, but a huge lack of quality control by WindyNation, this time I decided to send it back and order from a different brand/seller. Very frustrating indeed!!! Because of this the project is now delayed for over one week!

I have a Renogy 100W Solar Suitcase with controller attached to back side of panel and wanted to replace the very short (8 FT) cable that came with the panels so that I could extend beyond the front of the trailer in order to get the panels in the sun during the day. Being that the cable is 8 AWG and 30' long seemed like a great idea. Once I received the cables I soon came to the realization that the cables are way too stiff to use for a portable solar panel application. Although you can get the cables to lay flat with some effort, it reminds me of rolling out a cold stiff garden hose. I would however recommend the cables for a permanent solar application as the outer housing and MC4 connections are good quality. I ended up returning the cables and purchased 30' of 10 AWG Solar PV Multi-Conductor Tray Cable - 600V Type TC Cable (sold on Amazon) and added Renogy MC4 connectors which is a better option for portable panels especially since both cables are housed in the same PVC jacket it's like rolling up an extension cord.

Most solar panel wires are only 10 or 12 guage. When your running an extension voltage drop becomes important on longer runs. The gauge size in this case is not important for amps but for voltage drop. This is one of the only cables out there that is 8 instead of 10 or 12 gauge. As such I was able to bring 3 volts more just by changing wire thickness. This is very important when it's a cloudy day and your 100W panel is only putting out 18W to start with. Every volt counts.

I can't see what actual wire gauge is, but like some others have observed, this doesn't actually appear to be 8AWG. If it is, they have reduced overall outside wire size via skinnier insulation, which compared to Renogy 10AWG, is stiff. Here are outside measurements via calipers: Renogy 8AWG 7.70mm, Renogy 10AWG 6.90mm, Windy Nation 8AWG 6.5mm. Something isn't right!

I was using a standard gauge feed for my two 100W panels to the WindyNation P30L charge controller. I had only seen 4.x amps from a single panel to a surprisingly low 5.3 amps when I reconnected the second panel. I figured anything that would help would be OK.While I figured I’d see some improvements going to 8 gauge, I was pleasantly surprised (actually shocked) the following equally sunny day when the charge controller input was displaying 8.4 Amps.Couldn’t be happier.While these come with MC4 connectors on both ends, I cut one end off to insert into the P30L input connectors.I thought about giving only 4 stars? Because the wires are STIFF! The insulation is stiff plastic, but rugged, and the conductor strands are very coarse, not finely stranded copper. While going to 8ga was an improvement, more conductors at low voltage (12V) is even /more/ current potential (though a small percentage I know) than merely going to a larger wire. That disappoints me. If the Windy Nation “kit” had come with MC4 connectors that would fit 8ga (they only fit to 10ga) I’d have used the very fine-strand 8ga wire I bought for this (I could not locate 8ga MC4s to buy separately).Otherwise very happy with the product.I had no idea I’d gain so much efficiency in just 20 feet by going up a gauge. I’ve always way oversized wiring for marine and RV 12V systems but I’ve never had or taken the opportunity to do an A to B comparison before. (I used 2/0 for the 5’ cables that feed my 1200W pure sine inverter which is oversized, too, and their swaged copper terminals are waterproofed. All in the name of efficiency and longevity. Sometimes overkill is exactly what’s needed)Highly recommended.

I bought the 10' and the 20' sets. I noticed that all the nuts that tighten around the cable at the connectors were needing tightening a little. I snugged them up not thinking much of it until I used the 10' cables. They didn't have a voltage output at the inverter. I did some troubleshooting and found that the metal piece that's inserted into the plastic connectors, one was not fully inserted and making contact. I removed the nut and found the weather bushing misaligned keeping the metal piece from inserting all the way. I corrected that and the cables worked fine. Other than that I like the 8 AWG cables since I have to run them 30' to the inverter. Previously I was trying to minimize the length of DC cable to the inverter. This left the grid tie inverter mounted under the solar panels. After having two inverters fail I decided it could be environment related so I've moved them to the shed near by. I did this today so I don't know if that solves the grid tie inverter failing yet. I hope so!! I'm also hoping the 8 AWG wire doesn't have a lot of losses.

This wire is a little stiff to work with but once installed I noticed a difference in charging times.