LCD Solar Charger Controller/Regulator with Intelligent Dual USB Port, 20A 12V/24V

I ordered this to run a small system composed of 3x15watt panels in parallel, a 12V 35AH deep cycle battery and some lighting.Although the documentation is something I squinted at for a while, this is otherwise an excellent product and I am impressed, especially for the price.This controller reliably charges even when the panels aren't in direct sunlight, allows you to flexibly specify when to stop drawing on your battery, allows you to specify continuous or dusk-to-dawn use and even lets you specify charging profile by battery type, which is actually quite important.I have tested all functions of the controller, including using the USB to charge my Kindle Fire HD, and it works great. It keeps you constantly apprised of battery status as well.

It works now, i first tried it later in the afternoon, i saw electricity voltage coming on the solar line, apparently not enough to fire it up. I thought it was dead. Now mid day it seems to be working fine. The menu items to the left of the screen seem not to work, not sure if that matters much. My battery is at 12.3 with this on it now and I see it transferring the volts into the battery. It seems just exactly like the cheapo Renology controller i had previously, except it has the buttons (non functional i think) and better lcd pannel. I hope it lasts better than the other one did outside.

Now that I have used it for three months, I can say it works as expected. I have it connected to a 100 watt solar panel, with four 12 volt 7.2 amp batteries in parallel. However I have never run out of power as I just use it for 5 hours of 3 light bulbs (LED 12 watt). Sometimes a little more. I have never seen it protect the batteries from undercharging which should be helpful to write a review about that. USB power is very convenient should the power grid went off. Good product overall.

Item appears defective, could not switch modes as indicated in their "Manual". The "Manual" is a single sheet cryptic of jibberish useful for nothing !I wasted a lot of time trying to decode their troubleshooting to no avail. I have returned this item, thank you Amazon for a seamless return process, and will purchase another controller with instructions written by an "English 1st Language" author.Those lucky enough to have received a functional unit apparently are satisfied but woe be to those like myself who didn't get one that "worked as expected".Bottom line is don't tangle with this product at any price.

I am not too sure on this display very small instructions indicate you may damage unit unless their hookup sequence is followed exactly wiring will be exposed to the outside as the unit is surface mounted connections are visible as installed pay a little more and get a unit that is back wired and looks like it was done professionaly installed

This item does what it says for the most part, however it does not fulfill my expectations. The buttons are very non-intuitive to use. You have to hold them a long time, much longer than humans like to push buttons to get a response. And I'm not talking about the "long press" the instructions talk about of up to 7 seconds to enter the menu, but the normal pushing of the buttons. It is a long 1-second press to just change a value. I can see why some people think the buttons are non-functional.There is no amperage metering at all for the display. The output voltage for the 12v is not regulated, you get battery/charge voltage to your item, which could fluctuate over time.The worst feature of this charge controller is that the USB ports derive their power source from the battery directly and are not cut off at the low dropout voltage. I put a 2A load on a charge meter and let it go overnight, expecting 10.6v on the battery in the morning. By 3am I checked on it and the 12v SLA battery was drawn down to about 3.5v, and the load tester was happily pulling 2A off the SLA battery at 3.5v. The 12v load terminals were shut off, but the USB ports were still being powered. This means any load, even a small parasitic load, could over-discharge the battery if the USB ports are used and the battery is not being charged regularly.The USB ports were not able to put out 5v at over 2A of draw. At 2A the voltage drops to 4.95v. The voltage continues to drop as 3A is approached, with a final voltage of around 3.9v at 3A. The voltage also fluctuates wildly at the 3A range, indicating the silicon gate responsible for current regulation is overheating at that amperage. Removing the load and returning it after a moment would result in higher voltages that begin to decline again.For one to two USB devices that pull less than 1A this would work fine (as long as the over discharge problem is not an issue for you). In production I would not rely on the USB ports to power equipment, but would purchase a separate regulated USB DC-DC power converter and connect it to the 12v load outputs.As an inexpensive 12v charge controller, I would say this does the job. The task I'm using it for does not require the USB ports, but I am disappointed that they are not able to be used in production due to the over discharge problem. I would probably go with a different unit for anything but hobby or home use. Relying on this to charge batteries for security or wireless devices may not be the best idea.

I have been using this controller for a couple of weeks now and am very happy with it. For a cheap controller it provides a lot of information on panel output, battery status, and what is going on in real time. It seems to keep my batteries at full charge without overcharging and cuts output power when battery is low.I am using it with a 100 watt panel,12v agm batteries in parallel, 12 v lighting and a 2000 watt inverter which I use for short periods of time in my company tool trailer.

Using this to mange the solar panel and battery for my outdoor patio motorized patio sunshades. One small problem is that the menu display does not tell me if the panel is charging or not. I did measure with a DVM and I can confirm the controller is operating correctly.