Connecting goal zero panels to anything not goal zero!

[Aitch]

Yes exactly. Those 4 female sockets are in parallel, so they are already all internally joined together.

On your recommendation I have ordered one of these adapters, thank you, I will report back... ?

 

[Deleted member 783]

I'm not familiar with Goal Zero panels-are they that much better? If not, why do people buy them since they use proprietary connectors? I haven't seen any other panels that use their own.

 

[Aitch]

I'm not familiar with Goal Zero panels-are they that much better? If not, why do people buy them since they use proprietary connectors? I haven't seen any other panels that use their own.

They are good quality, but not any better than a Renogy panel! So yes, overpriced. Got mine free as a special deal on the yeti I bought, so mine was great value? so I don’t mind too much buying their overpriced adapters!

 

[SolarRat]

On your recommendation I have ordered one of these adapters, thank you, I will report back... ?

It wasn't a recommendation, it was a possible easy solution. My recommendation was to get rid of all those stupid connectors and use something more standard . Hope it works for you...it *should*!

 

[Deleted member 783]

They are good quality, but not any better than a Renogy panel! So yes, overpriced. Got mine free as a special deal on the yeti I bought, so mine was great value? so I don’t mind too much buying their overpriced adapters!

It's very hard to argue with free! That's why I'm using gel batteries for now.

 

[Aitch]

It wasn't a recommendation, it was a possible easy solution. My recommendation was to get rid of all those stupid connectors and use something more standard . Hope it works for you...it *should*!

Ok, sorry for the long delay on this...busy etc...

So I bought the adapter cable which has 4 female 8mm goal zero stoopid connectors, I plugged in my mc4 to male goal zero cable into my solar generator (the Minion) put my two males into two of the 4 female...nothing so they are not connected...cut two of the female connectors off and stripped back the cable case and twisted the co axial cables together (centre to centre and out side to out side) now I have a short double ended female cable...plugged one end into the mc4 to 8mm (male) and plugged my goal zero panel 8mm (male) in the other end...still nothing!

Do I have to reverse the polarity of my female to female short cable ie do I connect the co axial cables not centre wire to centre wire but centre to outsidewire?

 

[Bob142]

Let's see if I can do this without confusing myself, and if it makes sense to you. Short version is that I strongly suspect you have reverse polarity and you likely need to do the last thing you mentioned.

If you bought the same MC4 to 8mm adapter I did, the polarity of the cable looks like this (picture from Amazon):

You needed this version and not the other one they sell because the Renogy panels have male positive MC4 connectors (at least mine do). So that means that when you plug the Renogy panel directly into the Minion's input MC4 connectors, the Minion must have female positive MC4. Now, connecting the above cable into the Minion, you've reversed the polarity that GZ uses because you've plugged the male (negative) of the above cable into the female positive Minion input.

If you bought the other version of the above cable with male positive, my reasoning still applies and you're reversed once you use it the way you have.

 

[Aitch]

Let's see if I can do this without confusing myself, and if it makes sense to you. Short version is that I strongly suspect you have reverse polarity and you likely need to do the last thing you mentioned.

If you bought the same MC4 to 8mm adapter I did, the polarity of the cable looks like this (picture from Amazon):
View attachment 5576
You needed this version and not the other one they sell because the Renogy panels have male positive MC4 connectors (at least mine do). So that means that when you plug the Renogy panel directly into the Minion's input MC4 connectors, the Minion must have female positive MC4. Now, connecting the above cable into the Minion, you've reversed the polarity that GZ uses because you've plugged the male (negative) of the above cable into the female positive Minion input.

If you bought the other version of the above cable with male positive, my reasoning still applies and you're reversed once you use it the way you have.

I understand what you are saying, I will swap the wires over and it will work! It is dark now so I will have to wait until the morning to test it out.

I will test the continuity to see exactly which part of the GZ connectors is positive.

Thanks for your help and positivity ?

 

[Aitch]

Ok, so I tested with a meter to see where all the positivity was, then reversed polarity between my two female GZ connectors and Bob’s ( not you Bob) your uncle!

I connected it to the GZ panel and for a brief second my coulomb meter registered amps coming in then the sun stopped working (strange occurrence in southern Portugal) Do you think the sun has a <10amp fuse?

 

[dye008]

Bumping this thread to see if anyone has an easy solution to this where I can just buy an adapter to plug my goal zero solar panel into a a non goal zero charge controller.

 

[Aitch]

Bumping this thread to see if anyone has an easy solution to this where I can just buy an adapter to plug my goal zero solar panel into a a non goal zero charge controller.

I don’t think they would make this adapter, you could cut the 8mm connector off and unwrap the co axial cable and attach two standard solar cables for your charge controller (test which part of the cable is positive). I have done this. Or take the pv junction box apart and see if you can attach your two cables in there. ( I have Not tried this!)

 

[dye008]

Hmmm, I think that would probably be the best option. So in this case, I could buy something like this cable, cut off the SAE part and plug it into my charge controller would work right? https://www.amazon.com/iGreely-Polarity-Reverse-Adapter-Automotive/dp/B07X2VYK5R/

 

[Aitch]

I was suggesting connected some standard solar cables bare ended to your charge controller as per normal and cut the 8mm goal zero connector off your GZ cable you will then have a co axial cable to soldar the two parts to your solar cables, or get a connector box if it’s neater.

 

[dye008]

Seems like a lot of work and will cost more than just buying a 50w panel.

 

[Bob142]

You could buy this to convert your GZ panel output from their 8mm connector to an SAE connector:

Portable Power Stations, Solar Generators & Home Backup | Goal Zero

Experience the power of Goal Zero by improving your lifestyle with our portable power stations, solar generators, solar panels, power banks, and home energy storage solutions.

www.goalzero.com

and buy an SAE to bare wire connector to go to the charge controller:

6" 2POLE WEATHERPROOF FLAT TRAILER TYPE DC CONVERT SAE PLUG TO BARE WIRE ADAPTER | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 6" 2POLE WEATHERPROOF FLAT TRAILER TYPE DC CONVERT SAE PLUG TO BARE WIRE ADAPTER at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[JTNYC]

Would an 8mm female to MC4 cable like this one work? My solar panels come with barrel connectors, including 8mm and I use these cables to make series and parallel connections as well as with anything that accepts MC4.

Amazon.com

 

[Daedalus]

i know this is late to the party on this reply (Mods i apologise) I too came upon this quandry. My solution was to buy a lenovo 7.9mm fly lead, it is indeed fits the GZ ports and chop off the panel mount other end of the lead and wire in the connector of choice. For me it was a 5.5mm jack as my 60W non GZ panel had that port. It now means i can feed my Yeti 150 and my sherpa 50 from non GZ panels. as the Lenovo leads are circa £4 a pop its an easy way to get power into your GZ kit.

It now sits as a permanent item in my GZ solar kit pile and am looking to build a second one