Mppt controller under $100

[Kristalsdreamtrip]

Can someone please suggest a decent mppt controller that can run 500watts of solar panels?

 

[XERTYX]

I have an epever AN series 20A MPPT controller. It was about $70-75 I believe. They make a 40A that will handle up to 520 watts on 12 volt I think it's around 100 bucks. The 20A will handle 260 watts on 12 volt or 520 watts on 24 volt.

It does support lithium but you'll need to also buy their "ebox-wifi" or bluetooth adapter and download their software to set it up for lithium. They have a specific app JUST FOR lithium batteries oddly enough. The app is only available as a side loaded one btw. It's NOT on the google play store which is sketchy but I use an old tablet to run the app.

That's the only MPPT controller i have any experience with if that helps. Cheers.

 

[jonyjoe303]

Your probably not going to find one at 100 for that much solar panels outputted to 12 volts. But outputted to 24 volts you might be able to find some.
But if your set on 12 volt system the makeskyblue 60 amp will handle up to 720 watts, you can find on ebay for 106 dollars ( with shipping/tax about 130).
I been using the makeskyblue and its a good performer, it has its own lcd screen so you can program it directly. One feature it has that I really like is the ability to calibrate the voltage on the controller to the battery terminal voltage, this will take care of voltage drop that all controllers have. A drawback is the loud cooling fan which comes on when pushing max amps.
I use on my 365 watt panel and it extracted up to 27 amps, on occasion I seen 375 watts showing on the lcd screen, so under the right conditions it will get at least 100 percent out of the panel maybe even a little more.
The 50 and 60 amp models have a feature to prevent voltage surges when used with lithium. They have a 40 amp model (90 dollars plus shipping/tax) that can handle up to 480 watts but I would not recommend for lithium.



specs

 

[Kristalsdreamtrip]

I found one called makeskeblue and this one by power me https://www.dropbox.com/s/zztyrdi9ntmjolr/screenshot_20210813-101120.png?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ax5zsh9spdd7my8/Screenshot_20210813-100628.png?dl=0

They look similar, will these work maybe?

 

[PeterPiper]

Better option...imo......$96.00 delivered

https://www.amazon.com/Controller-D...child=1&keywords=epever&qid=1628869662&sr=8-6

 

[abnorm]

^ That's too small (she has a 12 volt system ).......30 amp is good for only 390 watts of solar.........Epever has a 40 amp good for 500+ watts

.............$129 from your link

 

[XERTYX]

If you do go with the epever bear in mind what I said about lithium batteries. You need either their wifi adapter or an MP-50 I think it's called... adapter to setup the parameters for lithium batteries. I didnt have to fool with mine really as I was using FLA and the defaults were fine by me.

Another odd thing that irks me about the epever controllers... I plugged mine in around like 3:52PM. So now every day at that time the "daily" watts generated reads 0. It's still in float and everything is fine but I like to have a look see how much I've generated and I gotta do that before 4PM.

Unplugging it would probably reset the time. Just very odd. So I'd plug it in to the battery around 12am or maybe around 5am or something. That was unexpected.

It also tracks monthly energy generated. 30 day months? 31 day months? Idk. Maybe once it is plugged in it assumes its 12am on Jan 1st.

None of this takes away from the functionality of the epever controller. It's just very odd. But I CAN reccomend them. You'll go over the $100 budget unless you build a 24v system with the 20A model for up to 520 watts.

Edit:

I forgot to add the 20A model has a max solar input voltage of 60v. So if you're using residential panels that have a nominal voltage of say 38ish volts you'll have to run them in parallel and not series which does not make me happy for a 24v system if in fact you do build a 24v system. My system is wired in series and I see usable charging on cloudy days whereas I wouldn't if it were in parallel. But I'm using panels from amazon so my PV volatage is around 42v.

 

[jonyjoe303]

the makeskyblue orange one is the one to get, its the one I got. The green one (powmr) is a cheaper copy of the makeskyblue that doesnt have all the latest firmware/features. According to the powmr mppt60 manual it doesnt have the voltage calibration or voltage surge protection that the makeskyblue mppt60 has.

 

[PeterPiper]

^ That's too small (she has a 12 volt system ).......30 amp is good for only 390 watts of solar.........Epever has a 40 amp good for 500+ watts

.............$129 from your link

Silly me.
I was thinking she probably wouldn't get 500watts out of 500watts of solar panels.

 

[abnorm]

Piper....You can do whatever you want on your system.......BUT don't suggest that it's standard practice to safely over panel solar controllers

 

[PeterPiper]

Piper....You can do whatever you want on your system.......BUT don't suggest that it's standard practice to safely over panel solar controllers

I appreciate your permission.  Thanks.
But I don't think I suggested that it's "standard practice".  Actually, I was just giving her a link to more options.  Not necessarily A 30amp option.
She could temporarily use less panels and this would fit her stated budget.  She can probably figure that out.

While I agree supplying too much voltage / current to the CC is not advisable, I also don't assume anyone is so ignorant that they cannot determine their particular situation and particular needs.  In other words, I won't assume she's an idiot.   Just needing to learn a bit more.

I have a feeling that she will make the right choice after all recommendations are made.....and be a bit wiser for the exercise.

Unless you know what you're doing, I would agree it's best not to supply more voltage / current to your charge controller than specifications allow.
That said, for those who can, if you take the time to calculate all the various parameters of your particular case it sometimes might work (safely).

 

[XERTYX]

Eh. As for me I'm not gonna risk overpaneling. I almost shat a cow when I DID see more than 200 watts out of 200 watts of panels. I saw 227 watts I believe it was out of 200 watts of panels (according to the sticker) and I knew my controller was only rated for 260w.

The OP could of course buy the 20A epever and ebox-wifi adapter and install everything now just leaving the second 250 watt panel disconnected and later add another 20A epever controller for the second panel.

Personally if it were at all possible I would go with the 40A epever controller which has 100v PV input and still connect those panels in series. Even with a 12v system. That's gonna run around 150-160 bucks though not $100.

If I could go back and do it again I'd have bought the 40A to begin with. Then when I'm able to get 2 250 watt panels I could just swap out my rich solar panels and not the whole system.

 

[wayne49]

Silly me.
I was thinking she probably wouldn't get 500watts out of 500watts of solar panels.

Until a crisp clear day and the controller gets cooked.

The controller's max input is the ratings of the panel(s), not for average output from the panel(s).

 

[wayne49]

The Epever appears to be less expensive, since it has no user interface, no display, no keys, it is less expensive, but nearly useless.

Add the user interface hardware to get the total price.

 

[PeterPiper]

Hey Kristal,

Another potential is a used controller. as long as you get a return / refund allowance and test it as soon as you get it.

I bought a used Xantrex controller off ebay about 5 years ago and didn't use it until a few months ago. It could have been total junk.
Instead, it's been working flawlessly for nearly a year now and was a great purchase.

Just another possible suggestion.

 

[XERTYX]

The Epever appears to be less expensive, since it has no user interface, no display, no keys, it is less expensive, but nearly useless.

Add the user interface hardware to get the total price.

The epever does have an LCD screen and 2 buttons. But it is cumbersome to deal with. Also I believe lithium HAS to be setup via the serial port but I could be wrong on that note. But the wifi dongle is VERY useful. 

They have another model that DOESNT have an lcd screen or buttons which have beefy heat sinks and I think 200v PV input voltage but I think the smallest is like 40A maybe even 60A.

 

[Kristalsdreamtrip]

The guy I got the two 250w panels from said that he has clocked several of them at over 250w so I will be aware of that when purchasing. I planned a trip, galveston, TX, then Corpus Christi, Tx, then up to amarillo to see tx2stugis so he could help me sort thru all this. I just wanted to have the parts with me. Well, while camped on this AMAZING beach in Surfside TX (that u can park at for 14 days, move up 1/2 mile and 14 more days and so on), I fell and shattered all my bones in my wrist. Had to have metal plates and screws put in. I'm getting my cast off tomorrow and am going to pass on going to Amarillo for a few weeks while I heal more and am out of so much pain. Gps says it's the same distance from my daughter's as it is from here so no extra driving.
The 40a Epever sounds like the way to go but a little complicated. The makeskeblue orange my be better, either way, I have a little time to find maybe a used one with all the goodies. Thanks everyone!

 

[jonyjoe303]

Its good to take your time researching all the controllers available before making your decision. You can find real world reviews on youtube on most of these controllers, so you can see the actual sizes and operation.

 

[XERTYX]

Oh geez. Life really kicks us when we're down eh? Well I'm glad to hear you're on the mend. Take your time, heal up, and check into some controllers. I believe will prowse reviewed makeskyblue on his channel. The epever is what I wound up going with because it was the cheapest with the features I needed and didnt seem like crap.

I would link a video on epever controllers but I'm out of high speed data so I cant ATM. If you look for epever ebox wifi there is a guy on YouTube that plays around with his epever AND the dongle I mentioned to adapt it to wifi.

He really gets technical modifying it in some videos but the first few are pretty straight forward and to the point.

Whichever you go with I wish you the best of luck and a speedy recovery.

 

[wayne49]

The Epever that I am familiar with is a 40A blind, deaf, and dumb (aka headless) unit that requires a separate human interface unit. Like an inexpensive laptop that comes without a display and keyboard.

I thought that the unit mentioned in the thread was similar, since it seemed to need purchasing extra kit to use the full functionality.

Both the Renogy Rover 40 amp and the Rich Solar 40 amp MPPT units require no extra kit.