EcoRenovator - View Single Post - Anything to look for in 12V charge controllers?

Solar Mike · 12-24-15, 02:14 AM

I had a couple of these for testing, look exactly the same, they will not handle 30 amps for any period of time; the tracks inside the unit and the current sensor and fuse mounts pcb area heat up to > 70c if the current exceeds 15 amps, the internal temp sensor heats up as the air inside the case gets very hot, the output mosfets push onto the rear heatsink for cooling, in my ones they were not actually touching the heatsink, had to pack them with a piece of copper.

Unfortunately these are complete junk, to get them to work properly I drilled air ventillation holes around the case, replaced the internal temp sensor with a 10K resistor (dont need it using LifePo4 battery), shorted out the current sense with a strip of copper and shorted out the fuses, this stops things heating up inside. Mount a input\Output breaker external to the unit. Once this was done, they actually worked ok. If you want 30 amps you will have to split your panels up and use two or get a 60a unit, when they spec 30 amps they really mean 30 amps peak for a few seconds not continuous.

Hope that helps.
Merry Christmas from NZ
Mike

12-24-15, 02:14 AM	#3
Solar Mike Helper EcoRenovator Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Wellington, New Zealand Posts: 61 Thanks: 0 Thanked 6 Times in 5 Posts	I had a couple of these for testing, look exactly the same, they will not handle 30 amps for any period of time; the tracks inside the unit and the current sensor and fuse mounts pcb area heat up to > 70c if the current exceeds 15 amps, the internal temp sensor heats up as the air inside the case gets very hot, the output mosfets push onto the rear heatsink for cooling, in my ones they were not actually touching the heatsink, had to pack them with a piece of copper. Unfortunately these are complete junk, to get them to work properly I drilled air ventillation holes around the case, replaced the internal temp sensor with a 10K resistor (dont need it using LifePo4 battery), shorted out the current sense with a strip of copper and shorted out the fuses, this stops things heating up inside. Mount a input\Output breaker external to the unit. Once this was done, they actually worked ok. If you want 30 amps you will have to split your panels up and use two or get a 60a unit, when they spec 30 amps they really mean 30 amps peak for a few seconds not continuous. Hope that helps. Merry Christmas from NZ Mike