Victron Energy SmartSolar MPPT Solar Charge Controller (Bluetooth) - Charge Controllers for Solar Panels - 100V, 50 amp, 12/24-Volt

Great little MPPT controller that charges at 49.9 amps with my 800w (2x400w) array in parallel or series.*Heavy* plastic casing with aluminum frame and heat sink on the underside, the heat sink runs at about 170f when charging at the maximum 50 amps, but below 30 amps runs considerably cooler, <135f.The app works even with my Samsung tablet and phone (Samsung security protocols are notoriously difficult for Bluetooth connections), though it does take a few seconds to reconnect each time you switch windows or if the screen shuts off. The app, however, offers an option in the settings to keep the screen on until you manually close it. This is handy in case you mount your phone or tablet on your dash to occasionally look at the controller and/or shunt activity while you're driving.The wiring and setup (via the app as this controller has no built-in screen) is easy and fairly intuitive, though the terminals for charging power to the battery are a little close together with a scant 1/4" in between, so you absolutely MUST use crimped ferrules to connect them for safe installation, but really, proper connections are essential anyway. Using bare wire could lead to a short if a couple strands don't feed into the screw clamp connection hole; and with up to 50 amps of current, it may even be possible for the charge current to arc through the air and short out. The clamps will only hold a max of 6awg wire, and even then only if it's crimped very tightly into the ferrule. Proper 8awg full copper wire will, however, carry the full 50 amp charge output as long as the insulation is rated at a minimum 75c/167f.I haven't had any reason to contact the manufacturer's customer service, but they have a website chock full of previously-asked questions and answers with a ton of useful information for any diy installers or those new to solar.I also recommend purchasing one of their smart shunts for monitoring purposes. This really takes the guesswork out.It's also worth mentioning that your battery state of charge will determine how much power flows into it, and if your battery is full or close to full, the controller will limit the input from your solar panels to prevent overcharging. This is important as I often see critical reviews where the controller or panels are blamed for having "low max output" because they're connected to a battery that's at or near full charge. Occasionally, this is posted on the day after installation... "... it worked great for one day, then died out to almost nothing!" (because the battery bank was nearly full from the previous day's charging).When my battery bank is 95+% full, my power output from 2 400w panels drops down to 15w as the charger switches to float mode. At 90% it begins to taper off the amperage, and since watts = amps x volts, the panel output is reduced to help prolong battery life. My setup is specifically calibrated for maximum battery lifespan, so your setup may reduce current at a different state of charge.Overall, I definitely recommend Victron products as a result of my own experiences with them.

This was a replacement for the same model received in "other than new" condition. This was shipped in the Victron packaging, and inside another box with cushioning around it. My prior Smart Solar100 | 50 arrived in a torn Victron box with a shipping label plastered on it.Having previously read the instructions several times, I set the rotary dial to "7" which is for LiFePo4 batteries and got on the installing the controller. The app is great and pretty straight forward, if you have read the manual, I left the settings pretty much as default, with the only change was my reducing the max charging amperage the 35 for the first run. It did do a couple of firmware updates, and I turned on the panels ... my charger was off due the insufficient solar voltage (it was around dusk) ... and my 4 new 12V 100AH batteries in parallel, had just been fully charged as recommended by the manufacturer. I connected my refrigerator and figured I would check on it in the morning.This system is in my camper van, which has four 100watt panels flat on the roof, I had been using an EcoFlow Delta 2 which needed more sizzle. I went out to the van at a little after 8am and was happy see that the Victron was in "bulk" charging! (My Delta2 does not even start charging until around 9:30 am this time of year) .. I added more appliances to the load, and got to work on the van's flooring. By 10:30 am I was over 225 watts and climbing quickly, and by 2:00 pm I was in float mode. This thing is great! Read the manual, be happy!PS: The one minor negative is the blue tooth range. At 30 feet the Victron loses connection, my Delta2, Bluetti Charger!, and my Alpicool refrigerator all work fine at that distance.. minor issue.

This is just to provide some comparison between these MPPTs when i am in search of one that suit my needs.The test being done in various conditions, multiple PV configuration and repeated at least 3 times to eliminate some 'quick and easy' judgements.Honest observation during test found that each MPPT here has their own 'strength' and 'weakness', but all seems are good quality one.None of these result determine anything about 'reliability' and 'longevity' of the MPPTs and no intention to favor one from the others as they are different from their price point and strength/weakness as mentioned above.And by no means this was the 'absolute' result since product batch, setup/configuration and environment condition may differ from time, application and place perspective.Component of tests:- 4 x 300W Monocrystalline Solar PV- 280Ah LiFePo4 Batt 12V- 150A Smart BMS- AMPINVT MPPT 150/40- EPEVER MPPT 150/40- VICTRON SmartSolar 100/50(*) Victron is the only MPPT has higher specs of amp (50A) while the other 2 are 40A, but AMPINVT and EPEVER has higher volt (150V) compare to Victron (100V)Key Performance Indicator:- Tracking time and amount of current (amp) generated in various conditionsa) Series/Parallel, and combination of Series and Parallel of PVb) Combine multiple MPPTs (parallel) in same systemc) Cloudy/Shading and Full Sun radiation performanceTest Method:- To measure the current generated by each MPPT, i use the battery BMS across all the MPPTs so this will eliminate AMPINVT/EPEVER/VICTRON specific calculation and calibration on each of their device.- Using 'external' amperemeter (BMS) will make the judgement square and fair between the 3 MPPTs and objective(not subjective as per vendor specific)Build wise1) AMPINVT- If i could choose, i would like all the MPPT being build like AMPINVT.- It is very nice solid metal all-round, 2nd most heaviest and the connector style for batt and PV are full clamp type which is good one.- The only complain on this 150/40A series is the connector very small for 4AWG cable size (batt), it is impossible to fit in 4AWG cable in the batt connector.2) EPEVER- The heaviest and biggest among the 3 MPPTs and the shape a bit awkward for me- Solid build and provide more heat-sink surface to dissipate heat- Among the 3, the connector type on EPEVER is the worst in my opinion, it was 'pinch' style with screw so it doesn't have good amount of contact and holding power, however the connector size is HUGE!, 4AWG size is not a problem at all.3) VICTRON- Being the smallest (less than half-size of EPEVER!) and the lightest of all- All metal case with heat-sink on the bottom- Connector style similar to AMPINVT and the size is also small, impossible to fit 4AWG cable size!Tracking Time- No doubt AMPINVT is the clear winner here for tracking time, it is very fast compare to VICTRON and EPEVER, VICTRON took almost double the time to reach maximum power point while EPEVER being the slowest of all.- However, this is very important and i almost didn't notice it first till i repeated the test , albeit AMPINVT tracking time is the fastest, the amp generated is not steady, it is fluctuate between 2A(min) - 6A(max) from the max current generated, it seems AMPINVT was 'very active' re-scanning the maximum power point in looping mode and sweeping through the current between 4-7 seconds.- Due to unsteady current generated by AMPINVT, this may reduce the total amp-hour produced even though the tracking time is the fastest (quick/shortest).Cloudy Day- In 2S PV setup, all 3 produced very similar amperage.- In 2S2P PV setup, VICTRON has perform slightly better on cloudy day (by 0.3A - 0.6A) after multiple test reading, while AMPINVT being the last one.Shading Problem- In 2S PV setup, VICTRON and EPEVER produced slightly more amperage compare to AMPINVT.- In 2S2P PV setup, 2 out of 5 test reading shows EPEVER generated slightly more amperage compare to VICTRON (by 0.4A - 0.8A)Full Sun radiation- In 2S and 2S2P PV setup, i can't really tell since the max amperage for AMPINVT and EPEVER already reached (40A), while VICTRON has 50A max, thus VICTRON constantly produce more amperage by 6A-8A higher than the others.Conclusion- AMPINVT has very attractive price point, pretty compact but loud (fan noise) and the really downside is 'unsteady' amp generated, however if system small enough (less than 600W) with 2S PV config only and very limited budget, i think AMPINVT is quite difficult to resist here, since the remaining 2 options is twice or thrice the price.- VICTRON is long known name in MPPT worlds, no doubt it could be the best and the test result telling not far from the tale, however this is the most expensive one in the 'similar' class, if budget is not an issue and you want to build very compact (small) system then it is no brain to not pick up this one.- EPEVER, this MPPT perform similar as VICTRON in many ways and perhaps slightly better in shading scenario, can do over paneling up to 3x the power specs (3x520W=1560W) is huge advantage but due to size you need bigger space, but i guess the the best bang for the buck on this class.