Cheap Cable vs Quality Cable

Anything less than a professionally manufactured cable compromises the entire system and is a waste of money. Cable is where all your current flows to and from your batteries. Think of it this way. Cheap cable simply cannot handle the load. If you cheap out on this component, you waste your money on everything else. Solar panels, batteries, inverter. Everything is compromised.

Having a warehouse in Central America, with no electrical codes, we have the unique opportunity to view the result of using cheap cable and cheap cable components. There’s folks all over America doing the same thing.

The cables we make use the proper cable to get all the current you need to your inverter and battery. It is UL Listed 2100 Strand Pure Copper cable. UL (Underwriter Laboratories) means it is certified sufficient to meet the electrical load specification for which cable is designed. Our cable has UL Listed Terminal Lugs. Our lugs are crimped with a 10,000 lb crimp, and we add heavy duty heat shrink. This cable is pure copper and lasts for years.

The below image is NOT our cable. This image is an example of homemade cable. It is made in China from cheap components. Bottom line? The cheap cable and components over-heated and ruined the battery.

The lug, the crimp and the cable all conspired to make the lug hot and melt the battery post on the battery. When new, the cheap cable looks similar to USA-manufactured UL Listed cable.

• This cable is only 2 years old. It is homemade Chinese save-a-buck-cable;
• it now has to be replaced because it is completely corroded through the inside of the cable;
• commonly called welding cable, or battery cable is rather ambiguous term. This cable was made from strands of copper-look-alike material, incapable of handling the amperage required.
• The lugs were soldered, and not properly crimped. Solder does not make as good a connection as a properly crimped lug. We crimp with a 10,000 lb air over hydraulic crimper.
• The lug was a thin cheap copper lug. This lug is another cheap material that, again, is insufficient for handling the load current.
• It is wrapped it with electrical tape. They didn't use heat shrink. The tape started to fall off after 6 months, causing the corrosion mentioned above.

See the Quality Cable we manufacture.

If you have any questions, call us! We’re happy to provide guidance.

North America: 888-826-0939
International: 575-539-2111
In Panama: 836-5588