Renogy 30A 12V/24V PWM Solar Charge Controller with LCD Display Flush Mount Design Negative Ground, Compatible with Sealed, Gel, Flooded and Lithium Batteries, Adventurer 30A,black

Finally, a controller that doesn't lie about being MPPT. This is PWM and appears to work well with my radio room backup ex-car battery. As others have said, the connections for the wire will take a realistic gauge for light solar work - #12 in my case.Instx for setup are plain enough. The readout rotates between incoming solar panel voltage, current from the panels going to the battery, battery charge voltage, current used by the "load" output, and error [or OK] code. I'd like to have seen this pass the full 10A it's rated for out of the "load" teeminals. For a garage or patio/pool lighting scenario, I'm sure it's fine. Turn on a VHF/UHF two-way radio, and the filter caps must confuse this charger's amp measurement as it goes into a protection mode. Not a problem in practice; I'll just keep running the radios off of the battery/AC-DC supply/solar cintroller feed all paralleled, per normal.All in all, a very fair deal for the money.

Without a doubt and after testing most of the PWM controllers in this realm, I'll say this one is the best. This one not only works, but you don't have to worry about it and it just works. It's also a great price for 17$ which is what I paid. If you are looking for a charge controller either for a backup or just because you have less than a 200w panel or two 100w panels in parallel this little controller will fit the bill for you. You can add the BT controller if you want but why? That costs more than this unit and this unit already has this data built in. Just press the select button to see voltage, amps, battery voltage, load, load settings and ways to maximize your small setup with a excellent PWM controller.Thank you Renogy for this controller and please keep this low price for all of us that know how to properly use this. This is seriously the best sub 20$ PWM controller out there for small panels and it just works with all the features it provides. I'm very happy with this unit and would highly recommend to anyone.

4 stars explainedPros-charging algorithm voltage values are correct as measured with DVM (only flooded, agm and LiFePo4 tested)-LiFePO4 charge voltages can be set by user from 14.2 default to most common values depending on battery manufacturer spec. I use 14.6 volts (new). 2018 version default was 14.4 volts-Completely sealed against elements-When equipped with Temp sensor, will include battery temp on the display rotation (new). Previous version required manually toggling the display-shows input Panel voltage (new).Cons-Battery voltage readings can be inaccurate for all battery types and worsen with temp sensor attached (but solar panel voltage readings OK).-Exchange to get a controller that read accurately resulted in an improvement, but attaching temp sensor again introduced .2v to .4v error.-Battery type selected does not display by default (previous versions did, i.e. Gel, Wet, LiFePo4, AGM) Have to push buttons on new version to go into Select Batt Type menu.-Battery type selection button often unresponsive.-Selecting LiFePo4 charge voltage values sometimes not responsive; if desired value is passed up in scrolling, could not scroll back; had to scroll through full range and couldn't get a response for each push of the button.-Panel and battery connection LEDs no longer present. Loss of an EZ visual status observation, possibly an energy saver. Must wait for status to scroll automatically or must scroll manually through display to see status.--Auto scroll interval too long to see 5 parameters. Two secs per parameter should do it.-Hard reset process discussed with Renogy to clear possible errors not described in manual and might or might not work. (later determined attaching temp sensor caused the incorrect readings)In a nutshell, some of the improvements in this version are welcome and some of the old features are missed. But that isn't the problem.This newer version had inexplicable battery voltage reading errors not present in in 2018 versions I own. Amazon and Renogy were great in trying to get a working replacement, but in the end, decided to abandon that effort in favor of a refund for now.LiFePo4 does not use temp compensated charging as lead acid batteries do. So, when the LiFePO4 battery voltage read spot on, backtracked to see what was different. The difference turned out to be the temperature sensor. I used the sensor for flooded and AGM, but disconnected it for LiFePo4. Attaching it caused a substantial voltage reading error for all battery types that made it impossible to accurately determine battery state of charge. Charge algorithms didn't seem to be affected when measured with an external DVM. Neither of the 2018 versions I own are affected by attaching the temp sensor.One other thing to remember about LiFePo4 batteries is they do not like to "float" at much above 13.6 volts after reaching full charge. This isn't much of a concern in solar charging because charging ceases in the absence of solar energy. Thus there is no real need to have a voltage limited float stage setting after the battery is fully charged and balanced.This is the very first time I've given 4 stars to an item I've been dissatisfied with, but this controller, even with the battery voltage reading issue still offers useful functionality once set up. Use an external monitor if you want accurate voltage readings to monitor state of charge when using with the temperature sensor. Otherwise, I especially like the user defined charging voltages for LiFePO4 as values can vary among LiFePO4 manufacturers. It's important to use the right setting.The temperature sensor addition should only cause the controller to do its job of reducing charging voltages above 77 deg F and increasing charging voltages below 77 deg F where temp compensated charging is necessary. It should NOT affect the accuracy of reading battery voltage. An otherwise 5 star controller gets a "pushed" 4 stars. It does all things well except show acceptable values for temperature compensated flooded and AGM battery voltage. Both the original and the replacement returned to Amazon citing the Renogy case number. If the accuracy of the resting voltage is of utmost importance, then 3 stars.

Function: I used this to charge a large 12v battery (900CCA), with a 50w panel. It took awhile to charge it to full from 8v. Cloudy days, inconsistent sun, etc. Separately, I used it to charge a 10AH 12v battery and it worked well.Durability: It seems fairly durable, as it's been dropped a few times, and it's gotten wet from rain.I would not recommend using 10 (awg) gauge wire, as it struggles to stay connected. I'm using 14 awg to the battery and it's fine. 12 would probably be fine.This was my first iintroduction to solar. Next time, I'll buy a higher wattage panel and charge controller. Overall, it works well.My only complaint is it continously cycles through the display settings. I would've liked to leave it on one display only. But, low cost, ease of use, and durability takes the win more 5 stars.

This is a very well built module that works as advertised. I have paired it with a LiFePO4 battery and a foldable solar panel to create a backup power box for field use. Instructions are straight forward and the performance is as expected. Highly recommend this if you are building a backup power box to combine with a solar panel or a plug in power supply.