PSA: That $40 DIY solar panel kit melted my shed wires

I ordered a budget solar kit off Amazon last spring to power a few lights in my backyard shed. Hooked it up exactly like the manual said, felt pretty good about it. Two months later I smelled burning plastic and found the charge controller wires had actually melted together. Turns out the gauge wire they included was way too thin for the panel output. I'm lucky the shed didn't catch fire. Has anyone else had problems with those cheap solar kits labeled 'beginner friendly'?

3 comments

3 Comments

colethomas1d ago

Wait, did your kit come with a charge controller? I thought most of those cheap ones are just panel to battery direct. Maybe it's just me but that sounds like the controller was the issue more than the wire gauge.

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wesleyflores1d ago

Did your buddy's setup just quit in the middle of a sunny day?

violag806h ago

That 14 gauge wire he used was 40 feet long, and I used to think wire size didn't matter that much for small setups. But watching that charge controller shut down on a cloudless afternoon because of voltage drop changed my mind real quick. A 10 foot run with that thin wire probably would have been fine, but pushing power that far just killed the performance. Now I'm the annoying guy who tells everyone to oversize their wire.