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

I was using an EPEVER MPPT solar charge controller with similar specifications. OMG this controller is SO MUCH BETTER at calculating the maximum power point! In the last 5 days, Ive already generated HALF of what I generated with the EPEVER, which I had and used for 2 full months! Even in similar cloudy conditions I am generating so much more power! The built in Bluetooth function is super easy to set up. I used my android to configure it. I had it up and running in no joke, 5 minutes! I will CERTAINLY be buying more products from Victron!!

This is a good solar charge controller, once you setup the battery parameters correctly it works really good, it is efficient. What may makes it difficult for some people is the fact that you need the specs from your battery manufacturer to know the battery charge voltages to setup absorption, float, and equalization (only for Flooded or if your battery manufacturer requires that) You need a special usb cable if you plan to use the app in a laptop running windows, unfortunately the bluetooth connection doesnt work for that they say on the Victron forums that they are working on it. The bluetooth app is good, I allow me more distance for monitoring my batteries with more independence, instead of looking to the tiny LCD screen of my old and trusty PWM SCC. UPDATE: this controller have the tendency to consume the battery no matter the chemistry you have. Same thing happens with SLA or LiFePO4 you have the battery all the way to the top and then the controller takes from 12 to 20 amps per day. I have disabled the load, it is permanently off but if you use a voltmeter it shows that you have 0.6 volts on that and 0.1 volts if I disconnect the solar panels. I suppose it is a design defect, but who knows. I will be moving on to a different product this time because at the rate it discharge a battery you are wasting precious solar energy and there are cloudy days that wont allow the battery to be fully charged.

Spend a few dollars extra and get the best. In my case the small size and feature set made it the only logical choice for my boat. The bluetooth connection feature(s) via smart phone is worth every penny, you can change LifoPO4 to lead acid settings in 30 seconds. I can monitor my battery bank from the house, If you are going to hook up 3 or more panels in series you may want to get the 100V version for about $20 more. Cons: I have read these units run a little warm. That is because they have the best MPPT controllers in the business and actually do create the most watts from the array, Bluetooth network probably sucks some power to maintain, but we are talking minimal amounts. The screw connecters for the wires are small, and I couldnt put a #10 stranded marine wire in them. Customer support is funky, but the distributor that sold it to me called me on phone within an hour. Documentation can be confusing at times

After purchasing a 26$ controller, which seemed to work okay, I decided to upgrade to a bit more professional controller for my simple solar solution so I could have a better view of what was really happening with my 400 watts of solar panels dumping to 2 marine deep cycle batteries. This unit is everything that I expected and much more. The bluetooth interface is amazing. 26$ will get you a charge controller and most likely it will work but with the bluetooth interface (iPhone, IPad, and Mac) on the Victron, I can watch this one work real time along with built in trending. It keeps track of my power generation daily with bar graphs showing peak Watts and Volts per day along with battery charge max and min. I can see, while writing this, I am currently making 301 watts and have been generating for 3h 43m in bulk mode loading the batteries. For me, that is worth the extra money and 5 stars for Victron for making a product that is easy to use and very stable. NOTE: Make sure you size it right. Many different models to chose from to fit your solar size.

The Software Is Awesome and Gives So Much Detail On My Tablet. The one problem is that my tablet is only about 15-20 feet away from the controller and it sill loses signal so often, even with the doors open and no major interference. Ive seen other reviewers mention the same issue.

Solid quality.

So far working fine on my 480 watt 48 volt panel

In a side-by-side comparison between this Victron unit and an HQST solar controller it’s impossible to tell any difference in battery charge current. The Bluetooth communication for setup and monitoring is easy and convenient, except for the occasional dropouts. If you really don’t need the 48 volt capability I recommend saving some money and use the other brands. I intend to run a 48 volt battery system but set up a 24 battery bank for comparison of the Victron and HQST (which is a 24 volt maximum). Each controller was connected to identical 400 watt PV arrays and battery charge current was measured by watt-hr meters. After accumulating 500 watt-hrs the arrays were swapped and test repeated. The results showed no meaningful differences in charge delivered to the battery bank. The solar climate was a mix of sun and clouds during the test. Visual snapshots of both meters during the test reinforced that both controllers were responding similarly throughout the variation in cloud cover.

The SmartSolar MPPT 100/50 Charge Controller Bluetooth worked initially, but it suddenly will not work. My other Victron Bluetooth products have worked for a long time, several years. This did not. It was a good charge controller for a few months, but now I have no control over it. I went through all the troubleshooting guides, and performed everything they suggested, but still will not work. I am considering either getting the optional display or the Bluetooth Dongle, but it is not necessary for Smart Solar products, and if the cost for the two are 25% what a new solar MPPT charge controller from a competitor costs, I will probably just change it out for a different brand. Too bad - all my other Victron products in the system work well. The Bluetooth on other components work fine. Since I cannot connect to Blue tooth, I cannot even update the firmware to see if that works. There is really no real tech support that I can find.

The terminals where the wires connect are tiny. My solar panels use 10 gauge wire which never in a million years would fit in the tiny connectors. The manual indicates that 10 gauge will work but I had to remove about half of the strands to get the wire in. I then bought some crimp on ferrules thinking that the 10 gauge ones would fit. Nope the 12 gauge tips barely worked. I hope that these tiny wires are enough for the power from the panels and into the inverter...