Cheap RV MPPT Solar Charge Controller
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- Опубліковано 1 жов 2024
- There's a new MPPT solar charge controller in the shed and it's got an interesting little trick up its sleeve.
Items used in this video:
❗️These links are affiliated and I may earn a small commission if you purchase❗️
MPPT5012A-DUO solar charge controller: s.click.aliexpr...
LED Volt Meters: ebay.to/36rHyrZ
Unit meter: ebay.to/2LUEyLq
Aneng AN8002 Multimeter: bit.ly/32nqRLJ
Wago Connectors: s.click.aliexpr...
#MPPT #Solar #Charge #Controller
Looks like the quietest fan I've ever seen!
Higher output model has a fan ej.uz/mppt_bt
Nice work again Adam!
Could you measure the potential fan header for any output? This way a fan could be fitted if needed...
Looks like a Chinese copy of a vitronic without the fan
This is a Votronic MPP 165 Duo Digital clone. They also come in a 350W version with built-in Bluetooth and fan but without the AES. The mosfets are placed in the same way. I've paid 78Euro for that version including the LCD display. The temp sensor is a 2k ptc, same as Votronic. The manual doesn't describe all dip switch settings. Just refer to the Votronic manual for a more complete description of this controller.
You got a link to it?
Just check on AliExpress. The brand is Olys. The 25A version seems to be sold as 20A now. There are also versions without the brand label. So better just search for MPPT
I Bought the Bluetooth version as well but i can't seem to be able to pair. What PIN did you use? not in the manual and the usual suspects don't work.
@@Mr-Curious Let the app find the regulator. No pin is needed
@@54CHARM I am not successful :-(. I see the device as solar regulator in my device list. But the app itself never sees the regulator. sucks :p i just bought it for this feature.
Thanks for looking at this solar controller I have one I fitted into my motorhome and have been happy with it so far and pleased to see it does what it says on the tin.
Great. No trouble with heat then? Does yours have a fan?
I've the 350W/25A version of this controller (with fan) and the default LifePO4 charging voltage for that version is 14.6V (floating:13.6V). This equals the max charging voltage of my 100Ah LifePO4 battery. There are more LifePO4 settings though which aren't listed in the manual: 13.9V (up,down,down,down), 14.2V (up,up,down,down) , 14.4V (up,down,up,down) 14.8V (up, down,down,up). Cheers
how have you come to this conclusion ....
do the settings you suggest knock out all lights bar mppt light on the instructions lifepo4 setting ?
This is a Votronic Duo Digital 350 MPPT charger clone. Check the manual of this charger for those additional settings. I only understand the first sentence of your reply. The remainder isn't clear to me
Thanks for a very interesting review. I could use this for my Woodland cabin and use the starter battery port to charge a battery just used for lights. Then my inverter on the main batt will not leave us in the dark when that battery runs down.
Thanks Adam! You and Will are the only solar guys I trust and watch! I'm going to pick a few of these up just as spares! Nice little SCC!
I would never use such charger on LiFePO4 batteries ... that's not a acceptable voltage in any case. the voltages are Above the recommended fully charged and Nominal Voltage ... that is a destroyer of LiFePO4 batteries.
Agreed 👍👍👍
Note that the V meters are not precise.. they are 0.5V off
MPPT testing way is wrong. 😂
you should have put your multimeter on the pins in the back left corner that you suspected were for the fan and see if it is outputting a voltage and then hooking up a fan and see if it is indeed temp controlled. Could you see anything on the board that looks like it can measure temp?
Thinking for about $10 more ($44 to $54) We can just buy the EPever and also be able to change the float voltage or delete it and all other adjustable parameters and display, and it already has a decent heatsink. Would rather buy that one then have to mess around with adding heat sinks and a fan to this. Our time is worth something. It's not bad for what it is I guess if we just use it with a couple 30 watt solar panels in series It may not need a fan. Would have to test it. But still I don't like that high of a float voltage
Perhaps you could find a little fan to put across those contact at the top left that are clearly meant for one and see if it works.
Would you do a review on the 60a Vevor solar controller mppt? I'm considering getting it instead of a 100/50 victron unit.
I’m sure if you send one in he will be happy to help
Victron Kit rocks IMO, you can sometimes get it cheaper.
Perhaps you could install a small fan and re-test the MPPT solar charger. then see how effective the cooling is'.
If you fill the mosfet area with heatsink plaster that would keep them mosfets cooler. It looks awful and the components would be stuck to the board permanently but I think it would work.
Guessing the little girl that does fans didn't attend work that day ?
Possibly it's only used for the larger unit.
I have got this control in my caravan a it always says battery low even when the leisure battery is full on the main control panel thanks
Enjoying your Videos Adam. As a Van owner who has been learning about Solar for the past couple of years, I would say that the best method of charging your Van / RV battery via Solar is using a decent MPPT controller with good panels, over 200W out, but the more PV power the better really. If you connect engine and Leisure batteries using a decent VSR then when Leisure side is full the extra power will pass to Vehicle side anyway.
Cheers. Good to hear about your experiences. I’m sure your way is probably best, but I thought this charger was interesting for a video. Thanks again.
Looks like a good unit for the price,i guess stick a small fan in and away you go..
Is it just me or does life E PO4sound wrong because life is not like without the e so I believe is you are going to say it like that it is just Life PO4
ikr, its_-> li-fe-po4,
The disadvantage is that the MOS does not provide heat dissipation.
I'd guess the fan is present on the higher current models
That is pretty cool if I ever put some solar on my vehicle and an extra battery for an inverter too
That look like a switch mode power supply.
Or buck converter.
Would have been nice to know what switches they were.
Listed at about $23.10 USD (40 AUD or so) there. 10A will get you just say a single 160W panel at 23.4% efficiency or over which puts out a max around 8.9A. Useful for a vehicle with a single extra battery to charge, but not much use for a larger array. The 25A version is twice the price, which could get you to 2 x 160W panels.
Hello Adam.
Everywhere is mentioned only RV, can I use this charging controller in my boat ??? What do you think... I do not see why not ??? I found on AliExpress newer model with integrated Bluetooth function to connect smartphone, and it has fan inside too ... ;)
Thanks for a very educational video, btw!
Thanks I will try to get one of these and I will add the fan
Hi nice video m8 am looking for a mppt controler for my campervan .I have been given a 37.3v 270w solar panel and have a 100ah gel leasure battery . What would u recommend to buy
Adam and many like the Epever Tracer AN series, usually around £45 for the 20amp version, thats probably the best of the cheapest option, HTH ;-)
A better one than this,spend 200$.
Hey! thanks for your videos!
I bought such a controller and installed it. He worked for 3 months and "died". The radio master looked and said, the chip burned out, it is possible to replace it, but it is expensive. In addition, there is no firmware for the controller. What do you advise? I took it on Ali.
Thanks!
you bring up several points i am trying to work through. i have a 800 watt solar array at home that i am learning from it for about the past year. about 6 months ago i put a "charge regulator and a "25 watt" glass (dangerous glass) panel on the dash of my vehicle, i have many electronics i dont want turned off that use power at all times and i got tired of getting new batteries every 9 months or so which is why i added this small solar setup to the vehicles. question 1: while this panel is 25 watts i highly doubt i am getting much more than 13v x .3a = 3.9 watts, i am now in the process of testing to confirm but my suv battery was too high today today and i was short on time to put a big load on it. anyways about 3 weeks ago my alternator went out, i put a new one on and 2 weeks later the new one went out. i made note of this, but carried on. i wanted to put a 40 watt flexible panel on the dash, keep in mind the solar panels stays there at all times, i thought about just putting one of my many extra older pwm controllers on that panel, but i didnt know about a minimum wattage to get things going. its possible i may only get 12 watts, surely this is minimum is a limitation of mppt, right? i just got a mppt for home and im testing and learning from it too as i speak. question 2: do rv folks leave all the solar stuff plugged in and powered up and charging while driving around with the alternator, batteries and charge controller all tied into the same system, like i am doing? i am trying to figure out whats going on and why everything is falling apart on me. tonight i just noticed a rigid branded tiny 120 watt inverter that was also tied into this system suddenly cant power more than 35 watts in the vehicle or on the bench, its only about 2 months old, and i tested it when i first got it and it was in fact capable of 120 watts continuous on the bench for literally hours, now on the bench it shuts off and turns back repeatedly on a confirmed 35 watt load and gets really hot, the fans do work btw, but it seems to be able to handle about 25 watts without shutting off. also, i suspect i have a bad charge regulator i do not know the difference between a solar charge regulator and a solar charge controller. so in summary in the last 3 weeks i have found : 2 bad alternators, 1 damaged 120 watt inverter and 1 bad solar charge regulator. what am i doing wrong????
I've had the 25amp one... worked great for 3 months now doesn't work... I checked fuse still good just stopped working wish i spent extra bit it was €80 i think so still pricey
Please review the other model MPPT5010 it is only $35 and also claims to be 10 amps and MPPT. also has optional bluetooth dongle.
Hi Adam, any idea why when I connect starter motor battery cable in this Smart Mppt charger, it goes into a state of 'ready for service' like at night when no sun is present. worked fine before I increased AH of leisure battery and then when I disconnect the positive charge cable to starter battery, it resumes charging the leisure battery as designed.. bit stuck for why it does that when it worked before.
I was looking to purchase this for it's dual battery capabilities but interestingly when I queried Olys regarding the secondary output specs they said that it's charged from the main battery and not from solar! Without having one I can't confirm this statement unfortunately.
I bought the 25 AMP version after seeing your review it does have the fan 😁.I then bought what I thought was the LCD that goes with the controller. It didn't fit the connection didn't match 😔. Could you help me with the correct LCD display please 😁.
Very good review video
maybe a silly question?? at 17:00 when you measured the current in and out it showed a negative to the batteries, is that discharging?
The direction of the wire in the clamp meter decides plus or minus. Turn it 180° and polarity will show the opposite.
We know it's charging, we're only interested in the magnitude so it doesn't matter if the meter shows plus or minus.
As Andy says, it depends on the direction through the clamp meter - sadly if I turn the meter to read a positive result I have to turn the screen away from the camera! Good questions though, perhaps I should have commented on that. Cheers
@@AdamWelchUK good to know..thanks
how about the efficiency and warranty? we are origin factory of PWM and MPPT solar controller, could you reply my email?
I would get straight back to the seller and tell them that the fan is missing. They'll either send a fan, replace the unit, or refund your money. If they don't play ball, fit a fan anyway.
Thanks Adam.
Pls Make a review test on makeskyblue mppt.
You shoud try their MPPT5020-BT version. Full infos via bluetooth and the fan seems to be there and by the side screws I guess the transistors are casing cooled/mounted in the wind path. Would have much interest in this video.
What is going to happen if there will be higervoltage on a starter battery let's say as if the alternator is working? Will it charge the auxiliary battery with the alternator when the sun is down?
I am curious if the difference in the 20a and 10a is just the 2 capacitors and 2 more mosfets you might want to check and see if so that would be a interesting mod that would intrigue some people like me.
Those MOSFETs will not be reliable ....they need to be tabb and pasted to an heatsink ...I wonder if you can fit a fan in the slot to help ? Thanks for the video
What a shitty design for a charge controller. Not bonding the MOSFETs to the case for use as a heatsink and not providing a heatsink or fan for them is guaranteed to make a product with a reduced lifespan and limited current carrying capabilities. On the good side, nice video as always.
Cheers.
I generally always say to buy a charge controller that is designed for twice as much current as you plan to put through it for this very reason. I say generally, because I didn’t say it in this video :-/ I was thinking about those fets last night. I’ve built a solar charge controller that is designed to take half the current of the one in this video - but I still attempted to heatsink the mosfet and diode to keep heat in check. The board design means it would be tricky to pop on a heatsink too - they are pretty close to one another.
Maybe they borrowed a term from the US car companies, "planned obsolescence".
Nicholas, you should know the electrical components well. I fully agree with your opinion. We produce solar charge controllers, also have same idea with you.
So does this work with Lithium also? Two batteries, one bulk charging, another one trickle or no charge at all?
Could you remove each mosfet from the pcb, add adequate wiring to the pcb, and reattach them to the side of the case internally? Thats if they share a common ground. And also add a fan.
Thats a very small & Cute Controller!
Just realized I don't see a Fan in any of the photo's on Ali ! You can see obviously the screw holes and port but no fan. LOL They are going to smack the guy or gal that listed it in the document.
Hi Adam, I'm a lurker & love your videos, I am up to 3 panels now on the caravan and want to upgrade from PWM and this looks like exactly the ticket. However (sigh) all the ones I find online have 45-60 days shipping and I was hoping to find a seller here in the states. By the way, do you ever sell any of your colection or just keep them all? If I bought one from you at least I'd know it was thoroughly tested :-) Thanks in advance
I did a little research on that controller and Eco-Worthy sells re-branded versions of it (12/20/25/40 amps). All of them can use the MT LCD display (MT-5, Product L03MPPTXSQ-1)
www.eco-worthy.com/products/mt-lcd-display-remote-meter-monitor-suitable-for-charge-controller
(US $23.94 and free shipping in the US.)
I'm reasonably sure I've seen "MT-5" as a meter designation elsewhere but not making that connection right now.
Some of the controllers have Bluetooth (-BT in model number) and there's an app available (haven't yet seen a source for the app yet).
That’s interesting thank you. MT5 and MT50 are meters numbers used by EPEver which is where you may have heard it before? I still have an eco-worthy charge controller in a box in the shed (my first mppt solar charge controller) it was great. Thanks for the research.
I would say if you are going to use this and at its maximum rating that you get to and add a small fan for peace of mind, all in all this seems to be a good item for the price.
the bluetooth 365w duo with fan and brilliant app can be had for £40 and works great for lifepo4.
its a gem
it does mppt from start and delivers over 95% efficiency and if like me you have 21v panels and 40v panels you can fit 2 controllers and use a duel app to view both systems on your phone.
its an absolute bargain able to deliver more than what far more expensive products do.
Dear Harry, do you know the name of the app?
What's the voltage of the fan that they didn't put in by installing one you couldn't make it last do you think you could add heat sinks or just run a cable through the top of the two attach a heatsink that
There seems to be room for a couple of more MOSFETs and capacitors (and a fan of course). Is that the reason for a cheap enough price? A factory reject?
I expect they may be populated on the higher current model - no proof, just a theory.
Goodday i have a question what is the diffrence between a cc cv dc to dc buck converter and an mppt charge controller?
Look like fake. Because mppt have IC driver and something. This is pwm charge
PWM don't need a big inductor like this one has.
Thanks Adam! You and Will are the only solar 👍👍👍👍👍
Hello guys, I have a question, I have a small 50w solar panel, can I use a buck converter to charge a battery instead of a dedicated solar charge controller? Thanks.
Possibly you can yes, but they are not particularly well suited to it. For example many might not like a battery on the output - unless there is a protection diode the current can flow the wrong way when the panel is not creating a voltage (ie at night).
Assuming all those FET's are common tab it would be easy enough to put a heat sink bare across the two sets. Wish you investigated the liFePo4 voltages . Not auto 12/24 system it seems.??
Definitely they all need to be isolated. I wonder if they included the thermistor and only a fan needs to be added.
Fantastic review
Hi Adam can the max. output voltage be reduced to 14v?
It looks like they never finished assembling it - I would definitely fit some individual heat sinks on them MOSFETs and a drop of splooge to stop them fatiguing the pins and then fit a small fan
I ended up buying one of those 3s mppt modules and an an on off switch lol
The small voltmeters often have an adjusting screw on the back in one corner. Maybe this is also the case with your small voltmeter. I could set all of my little voltmeters exactly.
Nice little unit. Even has a fan! You have excellent vids!
Thanks for the research, if the mosfets are better cooled somehow, it looks like a good little ripper!
3S lithium cells with a BMS. The solar charger would output 4.56 volts per cell but the BMS would stop at 4.2 volts and stay off until it drops to the low start-up of the BMS even with the solar input varying?
lifepo4 not standard lithium meaning 4s
Yeah as David says LiFePO4 has different parameters - they usually get charged up to around 3.7v per cell not the 4.2 of lithium ion. Actually I think LiFePO4 works far better as a lead acid replacement than lithium ion because of this. So as I said in the video, a four in series LiFePO4 set should work quite nicely with this charge controller.
Experiment to make it more useful.
The only issue is no heatsink's for the mosfet's. I'd be tempted to run enough wire to reach the housing and connect them to the case, other than that it seems perfect.
Useless, aluminium case as, no components are not connected to chassis.
Nice that it'll charge the starter battery but a real shame about the missing fan.
The problem I get with charge controllers is those that have a load side usually cannot cope with the stated load. Example - I have a 30A Renology MPPT controller and if I put two fans on consuming 3.92A approx, the thing stops dead, tells me there's a short circuit then after a moment or two decides there isn't and runs things as they should be.
That's not a charge controller faultc per se, but the fact that they are rated with resistive load and nowhere on the box, manual or listing it says so. If you put inductive load on it ie. motor it will crap out beacuse the motor at start is actually consuming more power than rated at star-up (motors are rated for continuous work current). That's why you use different rated fuses with inductive load - same constant current characteristics but more current surge capabiity.
Doktoreq all the load side is, is a switch combined with a voltage sensor. If the voltage is too low, the switch won’t allow current to pass. How simple is that yet renogy or rather the Chinese manage to fuck even that simple thing up.
Interesting, but what happens if your battery I is a different chemistry than your battery II? Guessing you just cannot connect them both then?
I think the secondary output is designed for a typical lead acid car battery and the chemistry option doesn’t change anything for the second battery.
Ll
word of warning ordering from aliexpress. i am still waiting for two orders from back february and i guess i can write them off. unfortunately.
Open a dispute in time to get a refund. Up to now I've received all my products without problems
LiFePo4 is pronounced lithium iron phosphate.
Lifee Po 4 is a joke pronounciation, Adam is not a dumb person.
You set the dip switch to gel, but then said you attached a lead acid battery? Would this cause issues?
Lead acid is the overall type of battery - it is broken into sub sections, flooded, sealed, Gel, AGM. They all use lead and some type of acidic electrolyte. I choose a setting which is reasonable for the type of lead acid I was connecting. Sorry if I caused confusion.
I could do with that for my van, as it sits in the drive for 90% of it's time you can guaranty the battery be flat when you want to start it. How much did it cost?
They sell for $36 on aliexpress (link in the description).
What panel config did you for this review?
Hi Adam here's one for you lol I have just been on eBay to buy a solar panel and controlled kit ,but messaged the seller to see if the controller would be suitable for a battery pack made up of 18650s in a 10p 3s configuration and I was told I didn't need a controller with that configuration just the panel ?? I'm waiting in an answer back as to how it would stop charging and not just keep charging
Ouch - I think there is a misunderstanding there! I’d imagine the voltage of the panel was such that you’d absolutely need a charge controller.
@@AdamWelchUK I told them exactly what I was using lol
How does it stop the charging and not over charge
songqi1688:
Dear customers,
According to your description, a battery pack with a rated voltage of 11.1V which consisting of three 3.7-volt lithium batteries can be directly charged using this solar panel .And you do not need to purchase a controller.
Best wishes,
Iris
(Knocks) Anybody home?
Great vid, what was the price or is it in the other comments
You let me down adam, been looking forward to your next video and you changed the line up lol...
Your last video has inspired me, im going up to 48V but i can no longer use my own diybms for 14s as well as keeping my solar monitor.
Its time i moved to the actual diybms, jlcpcb say £25 for 15 mostly populated boards (just missing a thermister and the attiny, £13 from rs and a trip to jodrell bank) but they then say another £25 ish for 5 populated controller boards when i only need 1.
Have you got the 4s diybms up and running yet? what did you do for the controller (i'm guessing you didn't buy 5 boards but if you did i would buy 1 from you), also the 2 pin jst's are they 2.54mm pitch? is there anything else i need to know?
I try to keep it mixed up because not everyone likes the same topic video after video (and I like to mix it up my self). I’ll send you an email and see how I can help you.
@@AdamWelchUK Awesome, thank you :)
I'm looking for someone who could order the populated boards, and program them for me, if anyone is interested in giving me a hand, i have a 7 s liion system, it probably wouldn't hurt to have a few replacement boards, email me at jtj28659@gmail,
Does it go into float? Self consumption?
Excellent! Thanks a lot.
Another good video there Adam.. Keep it up mate.
The model number on your unit doesn't match the manual.
Really? That’s a good catch. I guess that explains the lack of a fan!
Thanks for review!
Fab mod on the future.
An a question to my fellow viewers, anyone else noticing some strobing? Of the lights. Or Adam did you have a lighting issue?
I noticed in the edit when I tried to point my torch below the pcb that it seemed to strobe - is that what you noticed or was there more than that?
There was a strobe from the torch. And with the cooler lighting your little meters where strobing a touch on my TV. I only asked as it might be my screen. Or could be just a artifact of the camera and the LCD displays on the meters.
An can I take this opportunity to say, you make me wish I had a shed.
Sorry there were some white balance issues - and the shutter speed can sometimes cause issues with multiplexed LEDs. Every tinkerer should have a shed - or a space you can use like a shed :-)
Маленький да удаленький.
I've had the 25 amp version on my boat & same on the van. Mine does have a fan on it though .. I took it apart when I got it as I was unsure with it being so small .. good review as always 👍
Oh and mine are rebadged as spark .. the voltronic ones are even better so I guess they used the main board and added to it
s.amsu.ng/06xQhmde7eHN
Interesting thank you Andy. Glad to know they work in a real situation (and for a good while). Cheers
Good
Nice Adam
Aluminium? I love you guys. Great vid.
Do you know I even pronounce the ‘h’ in herb :-)
Cheers.
@@AdamWelchUK ..... Eee tort me ta walk anta talk lyke a regular Lady !
Wouldn't you have the starter battery as the primary ? (as it's the most critical ?)
Rob Robbie I guess that depends on your use case. Starter batteries are used for very short periods of time before the alternator starts to charge it back up. Leisure batteries may be used for hours or days before the engine is started again. The limiting factor is that the primary battery can only charge the secondary at 1 amp.
Cool I just bought one of theses. a 70 amp version for $70.
Do you have a link?
@@RK-nl1hn do a eBay search
@Dan P just fid cant find any.
@@RK-nl1hn yeah can’t find the one I bought now. Search this mppt charge controllers ebay. 15 amp ones come up. A 70 amp one is now $200. Wow.
That's a very stylish paperweight!!
I have been following you Question Which is the charger controller for 4s li Ion 18650
Try the Makeskyblue controller or it's much cheaper equivalent Powmr. The latter one I'm using at the moment to charge my 4S 100Ah pack based on 18650 cells. These are MPPT controllers. Check AliExpress and order at the Ysolar shop. They send you 60A version even if you order 40A version
whats MPPT stand for???
Maximum Power Point Tracking