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

Experimented with a few other charge controllers for our off grid RV. I think I am finally happy with this Victron 100/50 charge controller. My 400ah lifepo4 batteries were charged from 54% to 100% by noon on a sunny blue Arizona sky. My previous charge controllers usually got the batteries to 100% by 2-3 PM if I was lucky. Love the app!! I was able to enter my specific batteries parameters that were recommended by Powequeens manual. Also able to see the history of what my panels and charge controller did for the day/week/month/year. Im Happy!

The Victron 100/20amp controller installed and started without problems. I was able to use the VictronConnect app to look at the status of the system and configure the charging profile for my 100 ah hybrid gel battery. The controller powers all loads until PV capacity is exceeded then adds in battery power as needed. No need to remove battery for charging ever.

I use this to charge my battery with solar. With the Bluetooth capability. Now I can monitor the status of my second battery.

Im no electrician, so I didnt know this had to be programmed. I thought I could just connect my solar panels and battery to the controller and it would do the rest. It worked fine like that for two months, then my batteries dropped to 0% with no real reason. Its still a mystery! You have to install the app for the device and input the battery settings via bluetooth. Theres no other way to do it. But after that, its been working great with my setup.

I own many Victron charge controllers. I like these the best because: 1) They actually work with most battery banks -- 12/24/36/48, Yes 36v works. 2) Unlike the bigger more expensive units, the fuse is external and replaceable 3) You can buy 6 of these for the price of a 250/100 controller 4) If you have one big charge controller and it fails. Your whole system is dead. There is strength in numbers. Unless you NEED big high voltage strings, these are a better option in my humble opinion.

I purchased one of these for a project on a golf cart. After installing this controller, I am impressed, to say the least. A tablet is being used as the front end along with the VictronConnect software. The software is very simple and easy to read, and also very accurate. There was some talk of weak bluetooth connection, but I still took the chance being I was going to use this in a golf cart, so of course it would reach the 3 feet to the tablet. But, low and behold, I can reach this device from over 20 feet, through three walls. I am on the couch, the cart is in the garage....wow. This was also tested while the cart was out in the yard soaking up rays. You could see exactly what the charge controller was doing, so cool. I will be adding reviews for the other VictronEnergy items I purchased to work with this device. They all network together and keep things in sync when you have concerns with low voltages, or battery temperatures. Such a peace of mind.

I have built 3 so called Solar Generators, and have used Victron Energy charge controllers in all of them. I tried other brands, and always seemed to run into issues with configuration, ease of use and size. I have two 100/30 charge controllers and I love them both. They are small. very very efficient and they are so reliable. I love the Bluetooth connection and Victron Energys app. Configuration is a breeze, and I can even do a little logging of the chargers performance. This controller also has a very small footprint, and it fits into tight places. Installation is easy as well. These are little more expensive than other controllers, but they are worth it to me. They have never let me down, and they are very reliable. I find them to be a good value for the price and I highly recommend them. I give this controller 5 stars.

12V Solar Generator project up and running with this Victron 100/30 MPPT Solar Charge Controller. This item was a little pricey but you get what you pay for. Good investment for my project. Range on bluetooth is limited but app works great when in range.

Update (2/12/23): Current inventory of VE products: (2) 100V/50A, (2) 100V/30A, (1) 100V/20A, (1) SmartShunt IP67 (newer), (1) SmartShunt (older), (1) BatterySense. Best feature is the VE.Smart networking feature, which allows the components to work together to optimize charging of the battery bank. Update (8/2/22): Ordered a 2nd unit. Working great! iPhone app has many great features. Summary: I have evaluated quite a few MPPT controllers for Vine, and while all were decent, the Victron Energy (VE) has high ratings, so I decided to purchase one for evaluation. My solar/PV system specs: 1000W of panels; 24-volt, 270Ah marine battery bank (Optima); Voltworks 2000W inverter. Using the system to reduce our electricity bill. This review is for the 100V/50A, which is the 2nd VE controller Ive purchased. Observations: The first thing to notice is that this one, unlike most others, does not have a control panel (just three LEDs); which means youll need a smart device to read the values. There are two basic VE offerings: this SmartSolar (built-in bluetooth), and BlueSolar (requires a BT dongle). Between the two, I went with the built-in BT (SmartSolar). One great feature of the VE system, is that it allows the MPPTs to communicate with each other via BT; which is a great feature for a larger system. Recommendations: One reason to choose the lower cost BlueSolar over the SmartSolar, is if you do not need the additional features that the BT brings; but for me, I didnt mind spending the extra $30-40 (per controller) to gain those features. Pros: Industrial quality & features; good application support (firmware updated upon first connect); security (bluetooth); good/efficient charging algorithm; good data and graphs. Cons: No built-in display (offset by the much better app and graphs). Conclusion: At $225, rating this 5-stars. Of all the MPPT controllers I have reviewed, Victron is the recommended brand. Related Products (lised in ORDER of HIGH to LOW rating): VICTRON ENERGY MPPT 100V 20 amp 12-24-Volt (Bluetooth) ~ $160 (5-star) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075NPQHQK EPEVER MPPT Solar Charge Controller 10A 60V PV 1206N ~ $60 (5-star) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B094JCG6Y1 ACOPOWER Midas 40A MPPT ~ $180 (4-star) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08HQB8RYK ACOPOWER MPPT Solar Charge Controller 30A ~ $140 (4-star) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01NB1KOOZ Renogy Rover 20/30/40 Amp ~ $112/170/168 (2-star) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MRWTAB5

EDIT 2/28/21 : Bluetooth problem solved, even when you remove app from device the pairing stays and locks out other devices. So I removed the MISSING! power button or bluetooth reset. as the subject. The bluetooth has been fine. I have an epever 40amp that is cheaper and has better connections (not all epevers but the higher model) Bluetooth crashes almost daily. I am sick of unhooking then hooking back up this unit because I cant see whats going on. There is a FAQ or in the manual if the Bluetooth freezes you need to power cycle the unit. This works but how to power cycle? Uninstall and re-install unit? Thats your choice. The stats and UI are fine on the app but this is poor design not to reset automatically after time period or give user a way to reset without UNINSTALLING THEN REINSTALLING unit. Should I install my own external switch on the highest price in class controller? UPDATE.. I removed pairing from 2 zte devices. And just use samsung tab and looks like not crashing going to 4 stars. Still wires are close and companies should use some kind of uniform comms with cat5.