MPPT charge controllers

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mmacleod

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Does anybody have recommendations on which brands of charge controllers are good/bad? Either avaialbile in the country or for import.
I'm looking for either 40-50A at 48v or 80A at 24V.

Any thoughts on Microcare?
Does anybody know anything about 'wrnd' - they have an interesting looking local product range but I wonder if they are really local or rebranded imports? Or some kind of scam as the product looks far too nice for such a shady webpage :(
Any other local manufacturers worth looking at?
 
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wetkit

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I had a 60Amp Microcare unit running for a year without any issues. Worked very well.
WRND is a local company but have not used them before.
Outback is propably the best money can buy.
Victron is way too expencive for the features you get. They good, but not that good.

Only thing that I had a problem with was the PV input voltage. Most of the above units is limited to 150V input volts.
Then the manufacturers also reccomend not to go above 4 x the battery voltage on the PV side.
This means for 24V battery, max voltage on PV is 96V.
48V battery bank is 192V, but then limited to the 150V input.
This makes selecting the correct PV panels very important.
 
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mmacleod

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mm, WRND prices are very tempting, just wish I could find someone who has actually dealt with them as otherwise I'm a bit nervous :p

I'm definitely not looking to throw huge amounts of money at this, so yeah I really don't think the high prices for e.g. victron can be justified, outback I'm sure can be justified if you can afford it but I definitely can't :p

On the voltage thing, unless I am missing something 48v seems to be the way to go, with 150v input limit I can set my 310Wp 12v panels from Artsolar up 3 in a string. 24v seems to be too limiting, both in terms of amperage and input voltage (due to the 4:1 ratio)
 
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mmacleod

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e.g. http://www.bhgpower.co.za/product/60a-mppt-solar-charge-controller-12243648v/ seems amazingly priced, though very thin on details...

Another thing I've noticed is that it is very hard to get information on what sort of external control these things allow, e.g. it would be very nice to be able to control via serial port like this one has http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Ecno...with-RS232-communication-port/2023453335.html (but only 100v input is crap :p)

Even the expensive brands seem to be thin on details when it comes to that. What sort of control did your Microcare unit allow?
 
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Sonic2k

Sonic2k

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mmacleod said:
e.g. http://www.bhgpower.co.za/product/60a-mppt-solar-charge-controller-12243648v/ seems amazingly priced, though very thin on details...

Another thing I've noticed is that it is very hard to get information on what sort of external control these things allow, e.g. it would be very nice to be able to control via serial port like this one has http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Ecno...with-RS232-communication-port/2023453335.html (but only 100v input is crap :p)

Even the expensive brands seem to be thin on details when it comes to that. What sort of control did your Microcare unit allow?
Click to expand...
Very few have external comms, and even less of it is documented.
The Chinese were not very forthcoming when I used to be in this game recently
 
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mmacleod

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Koosi said:
Very few have external comms, and even less of it is documented.
The Chinese were not very forthcoming when I used to be in this game recently
Click to expand...

I suppose then that hoping for one where the firmware is open source is completely wishful thinking :p
 
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treeman

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I ended buying a Victron bluesolar 100/50. This 12/24V unit can handle panels up to 100v and deliver 50amps charging current and has a TTL serial port direct bus and the spec is published. It is expensive (R4500)for such a simple no frills machine but I like simplicity.

I had mixed feedback re microcare when asking industry folk as this was my first option, I get the impression there was early teething and warranty issues but on paper they look good and include nice big breakers and their products do look well designed. My decision 2 go victron was in trade in value, many stockist's ,international support forums etc. I must say that everyone in this industry has a bias towards one product or another!

Outback does have a cool retro look and neat display but the comms bus is proprietary and the UART adapter is expensive and I am not sure stocked. I read that the designers left to start Midnight Solar. The manual is comprehensive and there is much one can do and program to turn things on and off. Oh another thing, this is fan cooled so excluded as a selection criteria.

Tristar Morningstar I was also keen on, heatsink cooled, logging, standard comms bus, expansion modules, up to 48v support, but expensive and not that common here.

Axpert seems to be a well priced inverter & charger all in one. It is chinese though but I haven't heard bad reviews yet. Looks like an office appliance!

Ok so now I am looking for 24v 2000w pure sine wave inverter. Name brands, victron, cotek, meanwell, are about 2x the price of the chinese power inverters ( they look like these http://m.kosunpower.diytrade.com ). Again the advise I got...some say they will blow up and others say they are all made in the same factory as the name brand!
 
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gimpex

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treeman said:
I wanted separate modules so I could experiment..but truth is I found out about Axpert too late :|

I would like to know if Axpert is reliable so I can safely recommend to others, the people at this company say works well.
http://www.solarsolved.co.za/index....rt-2000w-24v-off-grid-inverter-charger-detail
Click to expand...

Ok , thanks.

I will start buying bits and pieces in the next few weeks.

I like Axpert. Been reading a lot about it. The only thing that puts me off is apparently it either takes solar or eskom power. Cannot combine the two , unlike some others like Infinisolar for example. Not sure if it's even a real issue practically speaking , if you take the 5kva unit but one always wants options.
 
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mmacleod

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FWIW I managed to get a modpus protocol spec from one of the Chinese manufacturers just by asking nicely :)
 
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mmacleod

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Hehe, if I was shopping around for something big like a 12kW array I would of course be a lot more willing to spend big money on charge controllers as well :)
Anyway I decided to import a cheap but well rated chinese controller - I'll let everyone know how it goes once it arrives and has run for a while.
 
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SilverNodashi

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mmacleod said:
Hehe, if I was shopping around for something big like a 12kW array I would of course be a lot more willing to spend big money on charge controllers as well :)
Anyway I decided to import a cheap but well rated chinese controller - I'll let everyone know how it goes once it arrives and has run for a while.
Click to expand...

4 Axperts inverters, hooked up together will easily work with 12Kw solar array. And you would have 16Kw puresine wave power as well, with some added redundancy - i.e. if one inverter fails, three will still work fine.
 
itareanlnotani

itareanlnotani

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I have a FM80 in one of my solar installs, and I like it. Its only on a 2KW string though (3 x 36V @ 8 Amp x 2 Strings).
Seems to work fine with the Lead Acid I have it tied to in that install. (Still working on money for my other batteries...)

I have 3x Victron Multiplus 3kv's* in another install.
I've had to upgrade firmware a few times to resolve bugs in the software. Given its supposed to be a mature product, was unimpressed.
They also run hot compared to any of my other inverters, so need active cooling in summer.
*They're not MPPT but I thought I'd mention my experience.
 
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