Review of the most popular MPPT solar charge controllers up to 40A, plus real-world performance test - EPever Tracer, Renogy Rover (Bluetooth), Victron Smartsolar and Outback (Tracer BN). www.cleanenergyreviews.info/b...
Those massive input terminals sold me. Thats my idea of how to do something right...well Ive been looking for which one to buy...Ive got 390 watts now but getting another 300 watts of panels so Ill give it a good testing...thanks for the great video...
I recently ran into a situation where the SOC shown on my Trimetric 2020 became inaccurate due to repeated deficit charging which we were not aware of. Lessons learned: 1) Don't rely solely on the calculated SOC. 2) Regularly check the Specific Gravity of the battery bank and correct the readings for temperature.
EXCELLENT review, testing setup and charts for showing all of the results. I have the Victron 150/35 that U tested and the Victron BMV-712. Both of these items are going into my DIY Solar Generator. Hope to have a video on this project up in the next 6 months. It will use external Battle Born 100A 12v batteries. This project is being designed for my Amateur radio. Looking forward to more of UR great videos.
Thanks for all that information it was great I have already bought a VictronConnect 100/50 for my boat and it turns out I made the right choice thank you very much
I have watched so many videos and I must say this is the best I've seen. Good camera work, good focus and you sir are a good teacher. Thanks for sharing with us.
you are an excellent bloke, I wish you a great time and hope to see many of your videos in near future. Thanks for your work, its a beautiful and well displayed/ analysed review.
Superb comparison videos. You made my decision easy. Went with a Victron 100/20 for my bike camper trailer. Only $25 more compared to Rover+ optional BT module, but the app and small size is worth it. Thanks.
I run the EpEver 4210A (40A) controller into a 24V battery, with 1140W of mono panels in parallel. This has worked well for the last 3 years, and provides 50% of my domestic power, using an EpEver STI 1000-230-24 pure sine low frequency conversion 230VAC inverter. It took a lot of reading specs to arrive at this choice before committing to buy. I like this review, it is neat and well set-out, but does not take into account the specifications of the individual units running at their intended power levels: There seems to be a fixation with maximum voltage, rather than conversion efficiency. The statement of maximum panel-voltage is like your car's speedo or tacho - it shows what it can instantaneously do, not what you should stick to all day long. From the performance graphs in the manual of the 'tracer', it can be seen that maximum efficiency happens when the panel/battery voltage differential is lowest, as long as it fits within the spec. My panel's MPP is at 36.6V, which is 8V above the battery voltage; the efficiency of the system tests at between 96.5% with high input voltage, and 98% at the lower input voltage. Higher efficiency = lower losses = less heat = better reliability. 1.5% of 1000W is 15W, enough to raise the temperature of the system significantly in a hot environment. The only reason for high I/P volts is if there is a long run from panels to MPPT unit. My system can run at 70% continuously, with allowance for cloud-edge peaks and temperature drops. For the purpose of the exercise, I'd like to see this review done again, after study of the manufacturer's data is taken into the equation.
Lmao u just told him to redo his review correctly lmao , thanks for your professional insight , an pointing out what actually needs to be discussed an how important it really is
I am AMAZED that Outback Power rebranded a Chinese MPPT unit. *That said, I install Outback/Midnite/Schneider equipment, but I use EPEVER equipment myself. I just works, and the price is good.
Good concise review, maybe should have started the test with the battery at a lower SOC than 86% to see how the victron stabilised, likely it calculated the watts incorrectly because it hit the max voltage quickly. I have an Epever AN, was debating between BN and that. Did not think BN was worth the extra cash money. Very happy with AN. I had a Votronic controller before and it had flaws, like draining battery in low light level 1.5A, in the end it failed completely so I don't recommend those.
Thanks for the info good video I ended up buying the Epever 30a I'm a beginner at solar and this one seems the most practical and I've seen it in other videos
LV Streeter How do you like it???I believe that’s a tracer???I’m still using an old 40 amp 4210 mppt tracer probably five or six years old now or more ??? I had it in a box in the cupboard,,,I bought two of them years ago from Renorgy solar,,,I used one until it went out and then I decided to try a Renorgy commander 60 amp didn’t last very long,,,and when my Renorgy commander 60 amp went out after only about a year(and Renorgy solar would not make it right they said it was barely out of warranty but it was out of warranty and they would not do anything I even offered to pay half the cost on another new one or send it in and have it fixed at my expense and they were not interested in the least they did not.) so I used my old tracer 4210,,, it was a few years old by then however it was still new it had been in the box in the cupboard and I pressed it into service and it still works good however I know I’m going to have to replace it sooner or later and they stopped making that particular model,,,soooo,,,I have looked at the EP ever tracers and wonder if there as good as my old 4210????
I'm very new to solar, I bought the smaller 10 amp tracer to go with a 50w panel, mainly due to price and reviews, once I feel more comfortable about solar and learn the in's and out's I will probably upgrade to a victron with more panels, but for a starter learning I think the Tracer is the way to go before investing to much money
Lots of good information. Since I have limited space in my vehicle's battery compartment, I decided to go with the Victron unit due to its small footprint as well as its performance.
I've been using Outback FM 60 and FM 80's for many years now on several differing systems, they are excellent controllers and give the user vast control over many parameters. Interestingly Outback have a fixed price repair or refurbishment service if one does inadvertently disconnect battery bank from system with 65 amps coming in from the solar side. They even paid the return freight from the West Coast USA to East Coast Australia, Far Northern NSW. Very good quality and very reliable units IMO, and worth the higher price, buy well buy once!
As a solar charge controller newbie, this helped a bunch! Thanks, going with Victron for quality and accuracy, along with the very advanced app and minimalism (don't need load control or a display so I don't see it as a con for me).
There's no excuse for lack of at least a minimal display on a controller of this cost, you can't always rely on apps/bluetooth etc and it's not always convenient to get out your mobile and fire up a special app anyway.
@@nigelshindler6334 Honestly Victron setups generally encompass a display unit elsewhere anyhow, makes no sense to have a display on every part of a system.
@@veysher3756 indeed, and that is part of their master plan, why just sell one stand alone item when you can sell a whole set of things! But most canal boats, for example, don't have space for four different boxes to do one job so we like to have at least a minimal display on a solar controller. If there is Bluetooth as well that's a bonus.
@@nigelshindler6334 Although that's fair, the amount of information the Victron setups provide in my opinion is worth all the parts an extra work involved.
That was a good but imperfect review. One comment, you need to draw current roughly equal to how much your are putting out to compare the controllers fairly. As it stands, it could be the SOC of the batteries that determined the performance of the controllers, not the controllers themselves. Regardless, thank you - its not practical to get all four controllers and do this comparison ourselves.
True, batteries are my limited now. I have 400 watts of panels, but the most power input I have seen was 200w. And that was only after I got a new battery installed. I have the 40amp renogy.
New subbie. That Renogy Rover Li 40 gives out inaccurate voltage readings for LiFePO4 batteries. I'm using it without a shunt and it's a hassel trying to figure out the SOC. I really need a shunt. Great video 👍
Victron all the way. Have two thin film panels on the roof of my Land Cruiser with a Victron charge controller , lithium battery and inverter (Victron as well). The MPPT is uuuuultra fast. I observe the output while driving and see how quickly it adjusts going below bridges or in shaded areas of trees etc. Tested in Mozambique with 45 deg C outside and in Lesotho at 2500 m or in winter at -3, also had one day water coming in the box, everything was wet: still working like a charm!
I was thinking of getting the 150/35 Victron , but do you know what they meant in this video where it showed the list of "cons" and listed "no load control" please? I don't know what that means ?
@@timmyinthewell1 Hi Kevin. The no load control is completly faulse. As a matter of fact the controller has the most sophisticated and advanced control on load port as well as to the rest of parameters too. I link you a video i found to see how the load controls are on even the smaller controler 75/15. They all use the same software. I believe the producer of this video here said by mistake it has no control on load port or maybe i didint understand well because english isnt my first language. Anyhow i link you this video in case it might help you. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-DA2Y0QtUlRw.html
One really BIG TURN OFF for me is when they are starting to link these units via APPs to smartphones. I am happy with my two old Tracer units which merely display information and can be programmed manually.
I had very good success with the Renogy Tracer MPPT units as well - but switched over to the 40A Rover units when I upgraded my battery bank, as the Tracers aren't compatible with LiFePo4 batteries. As mentioned in the video, I also noticed an offset from the Rover display to actual measured battery voltage.
Nice video. Better cover your panels when u connect/disconnect. I have 3 different tracers including the new tirion. They all make a light high pitch sound when there is no charge. Annoying when there is 1 in the garden house
The lower indicated Renogy voltage reading is concerning, especially with only current to power it flowing. Because all your wiring is not visible, putting the voltmeter up on the regulators terminal screws instead of on the battery, would be undeniable proof of a problem. That eliminates any installation suspicions, since you did mention it was hard to get wires in and holes were small.
Good video. Also, the Renogy has 12 months data logging built in. The Victron SmartSolar only has 30 days; and you need a separate logger (eLog01) if you have the EPEver Tracer AN/BN or Triron. Makes a difference if you want to see how much power you are producing over the year.
I have a Tracer AN (30a) and it logs more than a years (average production) data internally, and it can be viewed through the MT-50 display. But it's just the average as far as I know.
@@wesleyofficer1237 Thanks, handy to know about the functionality in the MT-50 display. I never purchased one for my Triron. I've since moved to an all Victron system but I'll keep the MT-50 in mind if I even need to switch back.
@@wesleyofficer1237 my victron 100/50 has a data stored since day one 7 months ago, happy to see the lifetime total of over 200kWh so far and also all the monitoring history and trends
Amazing video and comparison truly, now does the Victron support LifePo4 as well? Thank you so much as you have put so much into this video, Excellent.
@@cleanenergyreviews Excellent, thank you so much as I am building my own 12v 100AH off grid power station, I am probably going to get the Victron as I have heard a lot of good things about it for a while, cheers buddy.
Great Video, I purchased this controller (60 AMP Rover essentially ) for my boat and am OK with it. I use it to keep 400 AH lithium batteries charged, monitor with the BT2. My energy consumers use relatively low amperage except for the 12 volt fridge and that is somewhat low. My only issue is the Load terminals, they do not output voltage they are in the off mode all the time. It seems like the design is to output voltage when the panels are not powered (night), this makes no sense to me, unless you are simply using it for a timer after the panels stop producing. I thought the purpose of load is to use surplus energy when the batteries are topped off, that would be a great idea since the solar panels would not have any use for the solar energy after the batteries are at 100%+.
A few points to note with the Rover MPPT controller: 1. With all loads going out of the devices load terminals the SOC feature could theoretically be somewhat accurate for this MPPT if it calculated the data it has access to, as it could be calculating all incoming and all outgoing power, the output load terminals are rated 20 amps he states, so if you were wanting a decent size inverter or other load/s you could not have it on those terminals. 2. when the Rover had a reading of 12.5volts (0.2 volts below the others) it would have been correct to measure the voltage to the MPPT at the terminals of the device itself to rule out voltage drop in the cable and or cable terminations, not measure at the battery. Another helpful test would be to calculate the MPPTs running power consumptions. I personally recommend the Victron battery monitors, especially when you have invested a lot in your battery bank. My background: I live off-grid, I design and install small solar systems, and I am a Registered Electrician. Thank you for taking the time to make this video.
Thanks for your comment. Yes, we did double check all connections and measure the voltage at the controller terminals as well. The measurement was always 0.2V below the others (there is another commenter here who also said they found the same problem with a Rover MPPT, so it isn't an isolated incident). All controllers had the roughly the same length of cable and no loads were present.
Learn more about how MPPT solar charge controllers work here - www.cleanenergyreviews.info/blog/mppt-solar-charge-controllers * Use these timestamps links to skip to the relevant sections: @7:56 - Start real-world performance testing @11:45 - Test results @13:11 - Overall comparison and rankings @13:58 - Measuring battery SOC using a DC shunt - Victron BMV programming and Peukerts constant explained
Epever Tracer AN is by far the best of this bunch, especially when used in conjunction with the PC Monitoring Software. Cost, features and build quality are great and the reason I use 3 of them myself..
They are very good value for money I must agree. Great for small systems but the 40A model used here is not suitable for larger systems with Voc over 100V, or if you want to use a modern 48V battery system.
@@cleanenergyreviews I have a 48v, 100A Tracer 10420AN 200V PV Charge Controller that has been working flawlessly for the past 3 years in my home.I also have a 12v 30A in my RV and a 24v 40A in my cabin, both working flawlessly for almost 5 years. They are excellent controllers considering their cost.
@@stuartdavies8388 Thanks for supporting EPever, yes, You are right, we have Tracer AN 50-100amps,12/24/36/48VDC, 150V and 200V for a big system, also support parallel up to 6 units
Its true to say the Victron unit doesn't have a display, but thats not surprising as its designed to be used in conjunction with bluetooth and a mobile phone!
Going to buy a Renogy in a couple of weeks based on different reviews they seem a good unit,hoping that one was just slightly calibrated wrong,and anyhows been using solar for a good 15yrs now so not worried about that slight difference, and will be running 400watts at 100v for winter so won't affect me..buying Renogy on price and the fact one reviewer opened unit up and inside was quality build..all best
Good choice. The Renogy has 12 months data logging built in. The Victron SmartSolar only has 30 days; and you'd need an entirely separate logger (eLog01) if you want any history for the EPEver Tracer AN/BN or Triron. Makes a difference if you want to see how much power you are producing over the year.
Good info however, for clarification, the Renogy Rover does not always come with the Bluetooth dongle. You got the kit. The dongle must otherwise be purchased separately.
The biggest gain using MPPT, IMHO, is when it is cold out, or you have panels with good shaded performance(on panel bypass diodes) and/or you have a high Vmp on your panels. I have observed that magical 25% to 30% improvement over PWM. Your single static setting does not cover those use cases.
Interesting comparison. It would be great to see partially shaded performance. In my experience this is where some fall flat on their face, especially with a high voltage panel setup.
Yes, we planned to do a partially shaded comparison but unfortunately ran out of time and the weather turned. This is where MPPT tracking speed and accuracy will make a big difference. (I'd expect Victron to perform the best out of this group under partially shaded conditions)
My comment related to a single high voltage panel LG panel and direct comparison Victron to Enerdrive where the Victron was far superior with partial shading to the Enerdrive, which tell me it's more about the MPPT's ability not high vs low voltage panels etc. Maybe Enerdrive is better on 12v panels but given Victron does exceptionally well on a high voltage, simply means they did more R&D and built a superior product in that regard.
They are 2 pole DC circuit breakers (20A rating). These are quite easy to source in Australia from a number of suppliers. Noark are the best known manufacturer. www.noark-electric.eu/en/products/Installation_devices/DC_Miniature_Circuit_Breakers_Ex9BD
@Citizen Smith and Serious-RC Yes the Victron costs more but over its lifetime it could well be cheaper, and in the meantime you have more capability and more reliability and in Australia at least they have a great attitude to keeping the customer happy.
I like the option where they screwed up auto-absorption duration feature for over a year, under-absorbing lead batts due to intermittent shade confusing the algorithm, couldn't resolve the issue with patches, and caused sulfation / battery damage. See their own forum for discussions and evidence. I hope they have it under control with new firmware. If not, take manual control of Absorption duration.
I wish there was an ideal one. The Victron 100/50 gets bouncy under 6A, also confused by clouds under 36W, confused by clouds fooling it into float. The Outback, EPEver is very robust, but often gets confused by high temperature panels, and ends up doing MPPT just above battery voltage. It's infuriating to lose half your power. But its slowwwwness means it's not confused by cloudy weather.
Just so you know, when the panel temperature increase the Vmp drops, this is normal. If you only have panels connected in parallel then on a very hot day the panel voltage (Vmp) might drop close or even below to the battery absorption voltage. If this happens often then it might be worth rearranging the panels into series then parallel (depending on the Max Voc of the MPPT)
The maximum solar input for all these controllers is also a very good feature as some of these are designed current limiting features which mean you can use more solar than what they are rated at great feature for cloudy weather or when there is shade
Yes, oversizing the solar is very common these days. Generally, 20% oversize is considered safe However, only a few models, such as those Victron, allow oversizing without affecting the warranty. Other models which don't specifically approve oversizing solar may be damaged, so be careful and check the spec sheets.
@@cleanenergyreviews epever says that with their controller you can oversize PV until to 1.5x the rated power of controller. This is in alla epever manual. In old tracer-A models until 2x the rated power!
@@DupczacyBawol, it should come shielded by the builder, but electrical rules cares in China not. You cover a solar charger with aluminium foil ??? Thats a idiotic a solution........ 😱 Then the charger will die very quick, at overtemperature, thats for shure.
@@Schmitz3 less expensive for sure but its been working great plus I technically getting more amps 30 amp vs 40 amp amp I did oversize my PV system a little on the victron the rich solar handles it great. The rich solar also using the bluetooth BT-1 adapter connects quickly let's me check pv production daily, weekly, monthly let's me set all battery perameters. Will it last as long as the victron I dont know in my case the victron didn't last even getting connected. If your happy with your victron good for you.
Great explanation I have a victron 100/50 and 2 x350w solar panels, but only 1 on my caravan roof so far, the max watts it has gone to is only 190watts which I thought it would have been more, so I am going to put the second panel up. My question to you is over 5 meters what size cable I need to join and run the cable to the controller from the panels, as the controller might not fit the diameter of the cable that is needed for the 500watts all though it handles 500 watts? thanks Wes
victron have more mppt trackers the cheap one is 180 euro model victron mppt 100/30 (you have the smartsolar and the bluesolar one model have Bluetooth
@@william38022 for 800 watt solar panel it's about 66amp on 12 volt and 33amp on 24 volt or 17amp on 48volt battery packs . So really only on model will do it www.victronenergy.nl/solar-charge-controllers/smartsolar mppt ve.can It's a Dutch company victron lol.
Thanks for this great video comparison. In the end, they are all very similar in terms of perfomance. Would go with victron due to its massive positive reviews on the net.
Yes, personally I would consider Victron to be the best quality out of the 4 options. It also has a 5-year warranty and by far the best app-based setup and monitoring platform.
Why didn't you use the epever in your 150/60 review? I'm looking into mppt cc and i see a lot of support for the epever for those on a budget, is the epever just not a good enoug controller in the bigger size.... I can afford the victron, but i like the tracer because of it's wire connections. Can't find it in a 60a though lol. So when it comes down to the victron wire connections being just as poor as the epever, im wondering if the price being doubled for the victron is worth it? Also on amazon the promote buying a victron battery protector? Is that not part of epevers unit but built into victron? I'll research and see if i can find my answers but thought id ask and see if you know. Watched both videos, really great easy to understand content. Much appreciated, God bless!!
Shame the batteries were charged before the victron could show it's capabilities. In the yachting world there are lots of discussions about charge controllers and often it comes down to the battery being full! Ive heard people calling their panels or controller faulty because they aren't seeing the full label values.
Should be noted that if you want to install most/all in the USA in a residence including the Victron it is not NEC compliant and requires you to add a Ground Fault Protection Device which adds to the cost and complexity.
One things for certain, you will find plenty of people all over the internet who’ve changed from any number of these units to a Victron after the failures they have had, you will be hard pressed finding it go the other way. I switched to Victron after my “great value” Epever started smoking up in the camper after about 12 months of use. I think you will find most people that eventually land on Victron do so after bad experiences with the cheaper ones.
Hi mate. Thanks for a great vid. Can you tell me if the outback tracer is compatable with lithium batterys. And where can I purchase 1 in Australia? cheers
Cheers, most of the new tracer models have lithium battery options and settings. In Australia, most people purchase Epever products through online stores like eBay.
We decided to compare the four 'most popular' 40A charge controllers currently on the market. The Triron series is very similar to the AN series but has a much better display and a few extra features.
Interesting, but I'd like to see a retest with the following alterations: 1. Read the EpEver manual, and study the optimum panel-connection table! I run 6x180W 36vMpp panels in parallel, converting down to 24V battery via a 4210A. From the table it gives the optimum number of panels and how they should be connected. From the efficiency graphs, it can be seen that max eff. is obtained by lowest differential between panel and battery voltage, with a minimum limit on panel voltage. Higher differential = higher losses = more heat = lower reliability. Running panels in series reduces the power available to the battery and wastes it as heat. 2. The MPPT in the EpEver takes a while to settle, then continually adjusts itself. 3. The more current you draw from the panels, the hotter they get; current drops with temperature rise, the panel temp will rise between the first and last panel tested. 4. The battery needs to be initially at probably 50% SOC in order to take maximum current available from the MPPT; if it is close to fully charged, each MPPT will be different in their efforts to stuff further amps into a nearly full battery. A reasonable test that proves the functionality, but misses out several important factors.
1. RTFM? You got to be kidding! LOL - as long as the number of panels stays equal for each charger then it is a fair test. The EpEver is limited to 100V which limits the way you can set up panels and means you need heavier duty wire to carry the increased amps compared to the others which all went up to 150V. Also every charger there has recommended optimisations for panels that weren't followed. So I think on that count it's a fair test with no way to make it better without favouring one system over another. 2. They all do - that's the point of an MPPT. The faster they track the more efficient they are, so speed and accuracy are the determining factors. He tested speed from cold but I'd have also liked to see some simulated shading and unshading to show speed of actual tracking. 3. The panels were already at 45 degC when the test started and ambient temp was only about 27. I very much doubt the increased resistance due to temp coefficient had any effect at all. And in any case the most efficient was the last one tested - which wouldn't make much sense if the panels were getting hotter. It's an uncontrolled test anyway because the sun is moving in the sky between tests. It was however an excellent approximation. 4. You're 100% right that they should have started off with a lower SOC to see max watts. However - he got near identical results (barring speed) from every charger except the Victron, so I'd call that a success. Bottom line - they all worked. To me the Victron was the best value, because it's the only one there capable of stepping up to 48V system which makes it more flexible. It's also the highest quality and the longest warranty. The EpEver probably the best choice for those on a tighter budget. You get what you pay for.
i noticed you put peak power of the victron up there - as the end power wattage - even though it only hit that mark for a second - and not constant power . and it only settled between 306 to 310 after
Yes, we explained why this happened in the video. This was the last test and the battery reached the adsorption voltage which means the MPPT starts to derate the power output to maintain a constant voltage. It was just bad timing
I use Xantrex charger with built in load controller. Has built in dump load I have never had one bit of trouble since I went to this company and model. I run ten large cat batteries which are solar batteries, an amazing set up. I started buying 12 volt panels in 2005. I have had nothing but trouble out of my charge controllers I was using. Over time I increased and transfered my system to a 24 volt system. I run my entire home, barn, and garage and my entire system has cost me under six grand.
