Wanderer Li 30A PWM

I have an IRLP node with a 12V lithium battery for backup should the power go out and I needed a charge controller as the DC in I have is about 20V, which is naturally too high to simply directly connect. This controller is exactly what I needed. It will do SLA, flooded and lithium chemistries, you need to select type of battery manually, and you can dial in what charge voltage you want, in my case, according to the battery I have connected, it wants to see 14.4V. You can set up the LCD readout to display what you want for the most part and it has performed flawlessly since I have had it. The instructions are fairly clear on what you need to do to set it up and it actually is pretty easy. It has worked well during outages, switching from the input source to the battery is seamless. I am very happy with this controller and have already recommended this brand to my friends that were looking for one for their various reasons.

worked great and good quality

4 stars explained Pros -charging algorithm voltage values are correct as measured with DVM (only flooded, agm and LiFePo4 tested) -LiFePO4 charge voltages can be set by user from 14.2 default to most common values depending on battery manufacturer spec. I use 14.6 volts (new). 2018 version default was 14.4 volts -Completely sealed against elements -When equipped with Temp sensor, will include battery temp on the display rotation (new). Previous version required manually toggling the display -shows input Panel voltage (new). Cons -Battery voltage readings can be inaccurate for all battery types and worsen with temp sensor attached (but solar panel voltage readings OK). -Exchange to get a controller that read accurately resulted in an improvement, but attaching temp sensor again introduced .2v to .4v error. -Battery type selected does not display by default (previous versions did, i.e. Gel, Wet, LiFePo4, AGM) Have to push buttons on new version to go into Select Batt Type menu. -Battery type selection button often unresponsive. -Selecting LiFePo4 charge voltage values sometimes not responsive; if desired value is passed up in scrolling, could not scroll back; had to scroll through full range and couldn't get a response for each push of the button. -Panel and battery connection LEDs no longer present. Loss of an EZ visual status observation, possibly an energy saver. Must wait for status to scroll automatically or must scroll manually through display to see status. --Auto scroll interval too long to see 5 parameters. Two secs per parameter should do it. -Hard reset process discussed with Renogy to clear possible errors not described in manual and might or might not work. (later determined attaching temp sensor caused the incorrect readings) In a nutshell, some of the improvements in this version are welcome and some of the old features are missed. But that isn't the problem. This newer version had inexplicable battery voltage reading errors not present in in 2018 versions I own. Amazon and Renogy were great in trying to get a working replacement, but in the end, decided to abandon that effort in favor of a refund for now. LiFePo4 does not use temp compensated charging as lead acid batteries do. So, when the LiFePO4 battery voltage read spot on, backtracked to see what was different. The difference turned out to be the temperature sensor. I used the sensor for flooded and AGM, but disconnected it for LiFePo4. Attaching it caused a substantial voltage reading error for all battery types that made it impossible to accurately determine battery state of charge. Charge algorithms didn't seem to be affected when measured with an external DVM. Neither of the 2018 versions I own are affected by attaching the temp sensor. One other thing to remember about LiFePo4 batteries is they do not like to "float" at much above 13.6 volts after reaching full charge. This isn't much of a concern in solar charging because charging ceases in the absence of solar energy. Thus there is no real need to have a voltage limited float stage setting after the battery is fully charged and balanced. This is the very first time I've given 4 stars to an item I've been dissatisfied with, but this controller, even with the battery voltage reading issue still offers useful functionality once set up. Use an external monitor if you want accurate voltage readings to monitor state of charge when using with the temperature sensor. Otherwise, I especially like the user defined charging voltages for LiFePO4 as values can vary among LiFePO4 manufacturers. It's important to use the right setting. The temperature sensor addition should only cause the controller to do its job of reducing charging voltages above 77 deg F and increasing charging voltages below 77 deg F where temp compensated charging is necessary. It should NOT affect the accuracy of reading battery voltage. An otherwise 5 star controller gets a "pushed" 4 stars. It does all things well except show acceptable values for temperature compensated flooded and AGM battery voltage. Both the original and the replacement returned to Amazon citing the Renogy case number. If the accuracy of the resting voltage is of utmost importance, then 3 stars.

I built a small, off-grid solar system for my shed to power LED lights and a small ventilation fan that consisted of a 50W 12V-class panel (open circuit voltage around 20V), a 10 amp-hour LiFePo4 battery, and this charge controller. In that setup, it's worked great. It's a basic, workaday PWM charge controller that had worked great in my shed for several years until I decided to upgrade the system and added more panels and put in an MPPT controller. Pros: - Small size. - Reasonable price. - Terminals hold wires firmly and are easy to loosen and tighten. (Tip: crimp ferrules onto the ends of stranded wire rather and insert them into the terminals. Clamping stranded wire into the terminals is a bit harder, messier, and more prone to error.) - Backlit screen. - Easy to configure for flooded, AGM, and gel lead-acid batteries, as well as for LiFePo4 batteries. - Charging voltage is configurable for LiFePo4 batteries (in case you want to stop charging at, say, 14.4V rather than 14.6V). - USB ports are handy for charging phones or powering other devices. - It has options for turning the load on and off at and for various times. For example, the load can be turned on all the time, toggled with the push of a button, or when the sun sets (either until morning, or for various periods of time after sunset). - It supports -- but does not include -- a Renogy Bluetooth module that allows for remotely changing settings, seeing the current status, etc. from the Renogy app. - Manual is clearly written in English and explains all settings and options clearly. Cons: - This is a PWM controller which, while simpler, inherently limits its efficiency and requires a bit more planning relative to an MPPT controller. For example, connecting multiple 12V-class panels in series (or using one with a nominal open-circuit voltage greater than about 20V) provides no benefit. They need to be connected in parallel, and then one must make sure not to exceed the 10A current rating of the controller (it does not have any current limiting capability). - Turning on the load also enables the USB ports, which consume about 100mA of current when idle. With the load off, the current consumed by the controller itself is negligible. Still, it'd be nice to have the load on and disable the USB ports. - The on-device settings for having the load switched on or off at various times of day are unclear and require consulting the manual to know what the various codes mean. - The Bluetooth module is very basic and neither it nor the Wanderer 10 have any sort of data logging. You can see the current status and change settings, but no historical data is available. You apparently need some other Renogy device to accomplish that. - The Renogy app has many features, such as social features, promotions, etc. that distract from the core functionality of managing the controller. - Although the controller is reasonably priced, but the Bluetooth module is costly. Combined, their cost exceeds that of a reputable competitor's MPPT controller with built-in Bluetooth, data logging, a better app, and better integration with other devices and remote monitoring. In short, it's an inexpensive, simple PWM charge controller. If that's what you need, it'll do the job quietly and without complaint for years. However, if you want to use the Bluetooth module with this controller, you're limited to live monitoring and changing of settings only. No data logging or historical data is available. For less money than the controller + Bluetooth module, you can get a comparable-power-limit MPPT controller from a major competitor that includes better monitoring, data logging, and higher efficiency.

Started having issues charging our 300AH Lithium battery recently. I thought it may be the battery BMS but thought I'd first replace the GoPower solar charge controller that was 2.5 years old. The GoPower controller buttons never worked properly so it was time for an upgrade. As soon as the wiring was done (took 5 mins), the battery showed it was charging again. I was able to adjust the Renogy charger to 14.4 volts, which the battery manufacturer recommended. For $36 it was a cheap fix and came from a reputable company.

No complaints at all so far. Plugged a 160W Kings Folding panel into it, and in late afternoon, Winter sun on the east coast of Australia, angled towards the sun the best I could, I was pulling 7.85A out of this controller which is more than enough to keep my fridge running indefinitely off my lithium battery. Don't let people tell you that an MPPT is superior, because for small panels, there's very little difference in my experience. Excellent controller that I bought as a backup in case my CTEK blows an internal fuse (again) and is totally useless. Build quality is good, hard plastic with an aluminium base plate. The grub screws hold 8AWG cable very well and it won't pull out on their own easily. The LED indicators are very bright and easy to see in sunlight too.

Son cargadores solares de excelente calidad y modernos, vienen hasta con número de serie, funcionan muy bien con batería LiFePO4 y además vienen con la función de TIMER, los recomiendo ampliamente para cualquier tipo de proyecto fotovoltaico de iluminación.

I may have gotten a Friday afternoon item, you know , one of those things that were not quite finished off properly because the finishing hooter went off and the production line shut down and my unit was stuck in a box untested. Unfortunately it didn't support Lithium batteries, it said that it did in the advert, it said that it did on the Renogy webpages, but it didn't say that on the LCD display or on page 13 of the manual that came in the box with the unit. I contacted Renogy and after an hour of sending photos of my unit, serial number, receipt and explaining the situation it was suggested that I contact Amazon and ask them to sort it out. Anyway, they were as useful as a chocolate fireguard. Amazon, on the other hand, refunded me. So, now I am going to order a cheap mickey mouse controller, like the one in my shed's solar system, no branding, cheap as chips but it works. So much for going with a branded big name product. When I ran the Wanderer I couldn't even get more that 3,45v out of the load terminals, weird.... panel was producing 34v dc, battery 13.8v and load terminals 3.45v. Good luck with yours.

Los equipos Renogy funcionan sin problemas, son fáciles de configurar y seleccionar el tipo de batería a utilizar, la identificación automática del voltaje es otro punto a su favor

Gran producto, lo recomiendo!