Victron Energy SmartSolar MPPT 100V 30 amp 12/24-Volt Solar Charge Controller (Bluetooth)

This product is amazing. There is excellent software development that can be used both on your phone AND your tablet IN LANDSCAPE ORIENTATION. It comes with Bluetooth built in so that youre not having to decided between using an on device display thats the equivalent of a calculator from 1995 or extra Bluetooth dongles for incredibly limited app software development that is only usable on your phone. It has many different presets and the voltage ranges for those are all within reasonable levels compatible with a huge spread of brands. I recently had to replace my battery because my old charge controller was only compatible with its brand of lifepo4 batteries as the voltages were all set at 14.4 including the float voltage. I couldnt have the old controller destroying the new replacement battery, and I had seen the name victron mentioned in forums but I never really looked into it, but I was pushed into the situation so I did my research and was incredibly impressed with the features included, the accessible exterbal 25A fuze, and most importantly the intelligent app design that is also compatible with tablet operating systems to be used as an actual intelligent dedicated display. After installing this with 3x100w mono panels my new battery was able to go through all charge stages to float without error, unlike my other old controller that constantly had overvoltage errors on the old and new battery. Incredibly that company updated the their app to remove several features such as charge limit and imposed restrictions to certain settings, so the charger was literally unusable with the new replacement and I was pushed into getting something else. Im glad I was, the app support and common sense compatibility is amazing. The size is incredible too, its not big at all. Victron should be the first name people think of when they start setting up a solar system. There is just no debate now that Ive been able to experience both firsthand, and Im not interested at all in a different company thats willing to burn out the other brands batteries so that you purchase their own. I dont like that at all. Get Victron, dont argue with yourself about it. Youll have a working system much less likely in need of being replaced in two years like I was. You dont need to figure out the hard way like I did that Victron is top shelf reputable quality. Ill definitely be getting more Victron products in the future.

OK, I was sold after I demod the Bluetooth app with its settings, including LiFePo4 compatibility. Ability to change the settings for storing a battery (say at 80%) versus field use (probably charging to 100%) is excellent. All the way around the build quality is good. But the terminal block was and is very frustrating. I wanted to use 10 AWG, not necessarily for high currrent but for mechanical strength. And yes, I did want some `fire insurance by using the fatter copper wire. And I do have the proper crimper and crimp terminals. I was very surprised when those didnt fit. I kluged it by tinning the stranded 10 AWG wires and shaping them square using a extra-long-handled needlenose plier, good thing I had one of those. Im not so eager to use the square crimper on tinned cable, though it might work. I imagine 12 AWG with ferrules will fit but that could involve testing that, doing a current-capacity calc considering how long I want my load cable to be, and then replacing cables. Victron, I suggest you do that current-capacity check yourselves, including temperature sensitivity, and you will see how youre making my life more difficult. On a bright summer day were talking potentially 20 amps continuous, not intermittent. So I supposed in the end Ill have short lengths of 12 gauge with strain reliefs and Anderson Powerpoles that connect to a load cable thats 10 AWG for both strength and distance. Bottom line if you have another credible option, go for it. If not, I guess regrettably this is as good as it gets.

I installed two of these solar charge controllers about seven days ago. They seem to be working great. I also installed Victrons smart phone application and was able to promptly update the firmware and monitor their measurements via Bluetooth on my phone. I would definitely buy these again.

Not much to say. It works as advertised is is very high quality. Well worth the money. I will be buying more Victron products.

Great solid case, the efficiency is great and I really liked the bluetooth/wireless networking. This really helps overcome some of the documentation challenges with a Victron product. The ability of this device to network with the BMS product is great. Unfortunately the whole of the Victron line of products are not up to this same level of integration just yet, so dont expect the inverter/charger line of products to integrate with this system.

I have a small system with two 100 watt PV panels and a 1000 watt pure sine wave inverter. This charge controller allows me to squeeze out all the wattage out of the PV panels even on cloudy days. So far Ive seen a max of 175 watts from the two panels in direct sunlight and 24 - 135 watts on cloudy days... not bad. The build quality is exceptional, the plastic case is thick and heavy and the components are solid. I like the simple design. The only thing I dont like about the controller are the wire nuts and ports, they are rather small. You may have a problem connecting any wire gauge smaller than 10 to this controller. The Victron connect app provides useful information via Bluetooth but you need to be within a few feet of the controller to keep a stable connection. I will be ordering the Bluetooth battery shunt shortly and setting up a VE.Direct network to get better battery information as the controller only provides limited information on the battery charge state and voltage. I am finding that Victron is more like expensive Lego blocks if you want additional functionality you need to purchase more bolt-on components. Unfortunately most of their components are expensive but you get what you pay for and they make very good products.

The controller seems well constructed. However, I could not get the blue tooth to connect consistently. In fact it failed to connect more than succeeded. Also. had difficulties getting 10 gauge wire to connect to the controller. I finally was able to but it took some effort. Fix the blue tooth and Ill try again maybe, but for right now Ill pass on this one. UPDATE UPDATE. Was contacted by EDEN Products and they did provide assistance and get me running. The problem is the Android app has issues where the Apple app does not. I loaded the app on my iPad and everything seems to work so I will keep the controller. Below is my response to EDEN Products: Put the app on my iPad and everything seems to connect. I will update/upgrade my review on Amazon. You folks need to get the Android problem resolved. I should not have had to go thru all of this for the money this controller cost. Also when doing a firmware update it required the scan code be entered but on the app all it said was Enter the code off the controller. It didnt specify what code, where it was located or anything like that. The thing is also very hard to read off the label because the print is so small. Speaking of small print I had to download the manual because I could not read the VERY small print in the enclosed manual. Its things like this that cause people to want to purchase from you in the future or not. I revised my rating from 2 to 3 stars and kudos and thanks to EDEN Products for their support.

Simple to install, easy to program, and awesome to keep tabs on your power in/out!

Ive been using it for a solar setup in my Subaru Outback. Its been good but not great for name brand electronics. Easy to use unit, but more targeted at contractors and installers rather than DIYers. Theres astoundingly limited tracking for modern hardware and no way to write a customized charging program. Just a handful of dropdowns and numbers to tweak. It also eats up a surprising amount of power on its own (50+Wh/day with PV unplugged and nothing rbeing powered), perhaps due to outdated/low end bluetooth hardware. My watch, on the other hand, regularly passes info back and forth With all this wasted power it doesnt even update my phone with the latest stats for offline viewing. Ive tried to find ways around these limitations, but the software isnt very flexible. I picked a name brand controller assuming their dozens of similar products would have given the software time to mature. I was mistaken and wish I had picked a cheaper option.

Seems to work fine. I have the SmartSense battery monitor which this uses to get accurate battery voltage and that is really helpful since I have a ~20 wire run from my solar controller to my battery. But having now owned 4 different charge controllers in the last 7-8 years, I dont think Victron is worth the extra $. Heres why: First, you get zero support. Thats right, Victron will only provide support to certified resellers, so if you have a problem and you bought from Amazon guess what? Youre SOL. In my case I believe theres a bug in their charging algorithm, but I literally cannot talk to anyone at Victron directly. (That said their community support is great, but its not the same as actual technical support). Second, some of their really useful features (like being able to monitor charge voltage over time and graph it) only work if you disable screen lock and leave your bluetooth device (phone, typically) connected and running the app. Dont change apps because your graphs will reset. Why cant this run in the background? The unit does have daily stats but that doesnt help me when Im trying to understand why charging isnt cutting out as expected. My personal issue is that I have a LiFePO4 setup (which this device does support), but I want to cut off charging on my setup when the battery hits about 90%. The Victron has several settings to shorten the absorption times, all of which seem to work when I drain the battery and need to recharge it. However if the battery doesnt get drained one day and starts off full, the unit still goes into bulk mode for several hours and ends up topping off the battery. I assume this is a charging algorithm-related problem, but its disappointing behavior and defeats the reason I purchased the device.