12v Solar Charge Controller Buyers Guide - Beginner Friendly!

Will, what about when I want the battery to charge not from solar but from shore power.. I would like the system be able to do both..

can someone please explain why the need of temperature sensor for lead acid batteries?

Can you damage an MMPT controller if the voltage coming in to the controller doesn’t exceed the max voltage but the output of controller exceeds the amperage it’s rated? Or will it adjust

I have the $15 unit and it works OK (past 6 months) You can set upper lower and float voltage and 3 types of lead acid battery (only) and a timed output.

The Epever Tracer 1 used to be sold under the Hqst brand controller sold through 2017. User manuals show they are identical. My 40v controller turns on and seems to be working but it is not charging batteries. Batteries are new and everything was tested. Could you please tell me what can I do to make it charge batteries?

Renogy: when you're not confident enough to whip it out at the urinal 😂

Hi Will: great video! The one thing I took issue with is you pumping two different charge controllers in the same battery. Each charge controller is going to see the other as a parallel load to the battery. perhaps the regulator of each controller does not care where it’s current goes. But it does mean that the current load will be different than if it had one battery each. For example, imagine that one of the controllers had a short circuit on the output. That short circuit would short the other controller output. Yes, in this extreme case, you would probably blow a fuse. But it makes the point that the controllers cannot be completely independent if you hook them up to the same battery. If nothing else, and this is perhaps the rub, by hooking 2 charge controllers in parallel to a battery you have eliminated all certainty that they are being measured independently. As you claim, it may not matter in the end. But a claim is not proof. And unfortunately this leaves doubt in the results. Regardless, thanks for the review!

Thanks great info

I had our roofer install this fan in our previously unvented attic. It was an instant change. Our house (split level) was instantly about 5 degrees cooler!

Bom dia!!
Parabéns pelo trabalho de qualidade!
Que Deus nos abençoe sempre!!
Good morning for all !!
God bless!

Paired with EcoFlow Delta

Question, is there a way to have 24v in ( two 360w panels in series) to take advantage of the larger array wattage and output 12v to the battery? Does anyone make an mppt that can do that? I am new to this and noticed I can have double the input wattage in terms of panels if I run 24v. I just thought if they had a step down transformer, with big wires you could stay with 12v still.

Hi
Sorry I found it a bit difficult to follow all different models , not being familiar with those makes specially in UK market, so can you please recommend just two different models which you think are the better for me, to be able to get one in uk market, as this is very new to me, i am retired and more knowledgeable about mechanical stuff than these electric/electronic things with a standard leisure battery , that's i have trying to install in my garage roof two of those panels for using jet wash m/c and small Inverter 4kw power , just a few lines of setup to follow the my plan
Thanks

I loved your review! My system is using a Redodo 200Ah battery and a Giandel 4000w power inverter, if I’m hearing you correctly, you suggest the Victron controller over the others. Is that correct?

hard to follow you-- well i could do this but i could do that and this and that--- learning is like building with blocks- you place one and then another on top--- going from one block to the next- you my friend are bouncing between 4 walls - changing the blocks - comparaing blocks put them down pickingthem up and moving eleswhere--- its like learn the family tree of teh hatfields and mccoys--- and yes when i was thinking of building one your videos were great- now that i am actually it and with a starting point of a 24volt 4000 watt inverter--- damn its hard to figure out. stacking all in ones dont make sense either-- why buy m,ultiple inverters when its multiple charge controllers that is needed--- can a charge controller be added to an all in one

So PWM fared well against MPPT it looks like. Would one solar panel 100 watt be enough to charge two 12 v lead acid batteries under load or would I need 2?

I wonder if Renogy has addressed the terminals since this video was posted. Spec sheet indicated 8awg.

Hey @willprowse, first of all thank you so much for your informative videos! I have learnt so much and you explain things in very easy to understand ways that has made the information easy to digest. I wanted to ask you, have you had any experience with the Plasmatronics PL series at all? looking at a the PL40 and wondering if it is a good controller. Seems like it has many functions available but not sure if It is going to be usable for my 760 - 1000w setup. Thanks again :)

How much RF noise is created for emergency comms ?

EPEVER AN series charge controllers added low temp cutoff/protection & factory settings for lifepo4 make a video on it 🙏

Redarc??? Excluding them is like ranking college sports without the SEC....

I need to construct a box to enclose a 12V battery and associated hardware to mount in my Suburban. I was originally leaning towards the Rich Solar MPPT but since space is a premium I may go with the Victron due to its compact size. Hopefully, it will play well with my Redarc DCDC charger.

Actually the cheapest pwm controller will do a great job on lead acid battery as long as you control the temperature. I find that the weak point on these are having an accurate soc. I have several small systems that they have been working great for years.

Good day. Please get to test the new 60A powmr solar charge controller. Thanks

How many watts can Pwm 30A solar charge controller can handle at max? Can it handle 540 watt panel 12v or 460 watt panel 12v?

You appear to be very knowledgeable on this equipment. But there is one problem I was having with your video. I was unable to see anything you were discussing because of the text on the screen. Other than that I will give you a thumbs up! Good job young man.

Excellent video Will
Thank you

My head hurts now.

When you refer to items don't just say " this is pretty good " say the make so people know what you are talking about

I have several solar chargw controllers. Just ordered my first victron 150-70. Hopefully its a good one because my powmr controller kinda sucks

Can you review the POW-M60-PRO MPPT 60amp Solar Charge controller (MPPT charge controller)?

The way energy prices are going today ,With people being put onto smart meters with the flexible tariff contract ,Some people are looking at getting off grid solar ,home battery pack & a generator & or a wind turbine .
UK gets the bulk of its energy from the EU via 4/5 under sea pipe & cables [ interconnectors ] Its the EU that has the mega grid and Germany is shutting down a lot of its supply ,I dont know the reason for that but there are power cuts ,If france decides to cut down supply the UK is the last in line so will get cut back . The smart meters scan for the latest price hike and update your bill & can update your bill every 30 minuets ,It can also cut off your domestic supply via its wirless network ,the energy then goes onto government buildings & industry ,Thats the real reason its called smart .

If you have off grid solar and off grid inverter you can run your kitchen appliances from a dedicated socket keeping your bill down , the battery pack can charge up at night .

Any offer for solar includes its GRID TIED if your generating say 3kw but only using 2 kw the other 1kw goes into the grid they may give you a few pwnce for it but sell it for a lot more .
Times that by millions of houses and the energy companies are doing very well out it .
UK gov did away with the feed in tariff & now the energy compnies may offer you a small amount for it .
Economy 7 disapped , fixed term contracts will disapear .
The bulk of the wind turbines on & off shore are owned & maintained by EU companies UK was given a small amount of maintenance contracts .
Energy is set to get even more expensive because of the tie up with France /EU !

All I need is a small system to power a small fridge in a 50 year old camper. I use propane for everything else. I am so fed up with clowns trying to sell me 3000 or 4000 watt systems.

Which ones are common negative and which ones are common positive?

I am designing electronic and electrical systems for Boats and Yachts and need the best components, thanks, much Will. Noyan (Brooklyn NYC & Jamaica W.I)

DC Load? What's the point of this connection ( If you are connecting the inverter to the battery)? How much power does the charge controller need from the battery with the display off?

Hi, I built an electric trike with a 72v lithium battery. I'd like to use solar to charge it and do more when not charging the bike. Is there a lot of loss if I use a DC to DC to convert a panel to the higher voltage, or what do you suggest? Thanks

Any comment?

This what one review said : Does what it should but I promised myself easier access for the settings. This is not the case. Use MT 50 now only as a monitor

Just came across this older video....didn't that $15 PWM show a temperature on the display?? Looks like same one I have and mine shows a temperature read. Is that the temperature of the unit since no leads going to battery??

I just purchased the Victron Smartsolar 100/50 and the terminals are nice and sturdy,could easily take a 6 awg cable. They must have upgraded them.

Do you have any examples of set up for 400 A solar panel charging a 300 A LiFePO4 battery?

My first choice was going to be the vitron But I decided against it just because it has the Bluetooth and to me that is a serious safety risk if someone hacks into that and after watching your video I’m so glad because if those ports are that small that is garbage

You are very Thorough. I have watched a lot of videos and all of them pissed me off except for yours yours is amazing. And the craziest thing I just had to go do my own research and I know nothing and the one I have in my car right now is the one that is your favorite swan glad I picked the best one

So to sum it up…. They have a range of price, features, size, different connectors, screens…. The bottom line the all have their place and all work in the system which is designed with the individual controller in mind. Probably the biggest difference is the ones with temperature monitoring.

friend purchased Ep Ever and it was defective - he is going to by victron

Hi can i ask you, i see a lot of these are 10a, 20a, 30 or 40a whats the best for a system with 2 x 165a solar panels please?