Any good reasons not to ditch the MC4 connectors?

[Rando]

You are probably right, I have just never come across them in the wild with the exception of an occasional SB on a large battery.

But the point stands - they are really not the right connector for automotive, harsh environment or external wiring. The primary reason people seem to use them is because everyone else on the forums uses them (their 'cult status' I guess). It is probably a good thing to start suggesting better connectors for these applications.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Agreed, they are not sealed, not particularly good for vibration, there are better choices strictly speaking for automotive use. I think they are fine for stationary solar panel connection and probably preferred over an MC4 which isn't designed for several mate cycles. But neither is are the Delphi connectors, which are only guaranteed to meet their electrical specification for 10 cycles. They are also not designed to be hot mated, which Powerpoles are, which why is they are used for storage backplanes, and the PP series is rated to 600 V rather than 12 V. So there's not really one perfect, common connector here.

 

[Mccaf]

I guess I need to give the Deutsch connectors another shot. I have a 50’ run from the controller to a 100w Renogy and I hate the MC4s. One broke on the second disconnect.

 

[rayra]

Ditching the MC4's is a great idea, as others have pointed out they are not the right connector for this application where they are plugged/unplugged on a regular basis. However, I wouldn't use Anderson Power Poles, these aren't the right connector for this application either. Instead I would suggest either Weatherpack or Metripack connectors. These are rated for wet outdoor environments, are latching and have strain-relief for the cable.

As an aside, I am not sure why APP are so popular, objectively speaking they are a pretty crappy connector, which is why you almost never see them used in a professional application.

They're an easy connector to deal with in the DIY sphere and have a long presence in remote-control vehicle and HAM radio hobbies. So their use spreads to other areas. They're also relatively inexpensive in small wire gauges and easy to assemble. And there are a lot of surface / panel mounting options for them.