MPPT solar controller: Morningstar Prostar v Tristar

[mitiempo]

Originally Posted by socaldmax

The circuit board is comprised of almost all SMDs, and the entire board is covered in a thick layer of conformal coating. Again, much better than I've seen in the $500 solar controllers.

Which controller are you referring to?

[socaldmax]

Originally Posted by mitiempo

Which controller are you referring to?

The Eco-worthy 20A controller. I'm not recommending it for this application, it's input voltage is too low, but it is surprisingly nicely built for the price.

[mitiempo]

Originally Posted by socaldmax

The Eco-worthy 20A controller. I'm not recommending it for this application, it's input voltage is too low, but it is surprisingly nicely built for the price.

Looks reasonable but for the price difference I would buy the Victron 75/15 as long as it fit the requirements. I think the Victron is more adjustable and I prefer remote display as opposed to one on the front panel. Of course the limit for this particular Victron is 200 watts of panels for a 12 volt system.

The Victron costs less as well. $91

Victron Energy MPPT 75/15 Solar Charge Controller

vs $97 for the Eco-Worthy

ECO-WORTHY 20A MPPT Solar Charge Controller 12V/24V |Eco-worthy

I will stick to a major brand of controller - Victron, Outback, Genasun, Morningstar, etc.

[Mike OReilly]

I’ve been following the thread b/c I too am buying a new MPPT. I’ve got 400 watts of solar in four panels, all parallel. I want one controller and from this discussion I’m zeroing in on the Victron BlueSolar MPPT 100/30.

Anyone think this is a wrong choice?

[mitiempo]

Mike

The Victron 100/30 will work well. It would be my choice.

[jeepbluetj]

I have a midnight solar kid with the "whiz bang jr" shunt on my RV with 440w of solar.

I really like it. Very adjustable for all types of batteries. With the shunt: if it's on float and the fridge comes on the controller will just supply more amps to power the house. It doesn't see the voltage drop and go back into bulk. It also doesn't time absorb, it measures A into the battery to go from absorb to float.

In contrast, the PWM controller on my boat is utter crap.

Not saying the Victron isn't good too, just providing some more info.

[Jill on Maya]

Originally Posted by socaldmax

I am of the opinion that Morningstar is a good quality brand, but I also think they're overpriced for their output, and spending another $125 for a display is ridiculous. As for your question about the Prostar, it is a small step down from the TS series, but I think it's still overpriced.

I'd recommend the Victron 100/30 for about $225 ea. They sell a bluetooth dongle for about $50 and then you can view output and set parameters wirelessly via your phone, tablet or laptop.

Victron also has a nice range of other electronics that all interface with each other, in case you're looking for a BMS, inverter/charger, etc that all communicate as a complete system.

The die is cast! We've ordered 2 x Victron Blue Solar 100/30 with the bluetooth dongle. BTW we had to disconnect the last of our two controllers yesterday when we saw the voltage per battery monitor (Bogart Trimetric) climb to over 15V despite controller setting at a maximum (bulk) of 14.4V. The other controller had ceased to input any amps a week ago.

Additional to the recommendations on this thread (many thanks to all who have posted ) we heeded the advice of the supplier we chose who convinced us that the Victron with bluetooth dongle was better value and easier to program and monitor than the Prostar MPPT with built-in meter. We will probably never have the opportunity to compare the two but at some point you just have to make a choice. He also assured us the Victron colour is not as bright as it appears on some websites. We don't have the luxury of inspecting before we order.

We stuck with our preference for 2 units to give both redundancy and the ability to monitor the two arrays separately. BTW the supplier confirmed, as many others on CF have said, that the two Victrons will be quite happy supplying a single battery bank - no "fighting each other" issue.

In relation to monitoring, the supplier assured me we will be able to monitor on an Iphone 5 or newer with IOS 8 or above. What about monitoring on laptop or tablet? Can Mitiempo or Socaldmax share their knowledge of what laptop or tablet operating systems the Blue Solar will talk to? I have an MS Surface Pro 3 with Windows 10 and don't expect the Victrons to interface with it. But additional tablet or laptop for navigation is on the wish list so it would be useful to know what the Victrons work best with.

[socaldmax]

Originally Posted by Jill on Maya

The die is cast! We've ordered 2 x Victron Blue Solar 100/30 with the bluetooth dongle. BTW we had to disconnect the last of our two controllers yesterday when we saw the voltage per battery monitor (Bogart Trimetric) climb to over 15V despite controller setting at a maximum (bulk) of 14.4V. The other controller had ceased to input any amps a week ago.

Additional to the recommendations on this thread (many thanks to all who have posted ) we heeded the advice of the supplier we chose who convinced us that the Victron with bluetooth dongle was better value and easier to program and monitor than the Prostar MPPT with built-in meter. We will probably never have the opportunity to compare the two but at some point you just have to make a choice. He also assured us the Victron colour is not as bright as it appears on some websites. We don't have the luxury of inspecting before we order.

We stuck with our preference for 2 units to give both redundancy and the ability to monitor the two arrays separately. BTW the supplier confirmed, as many others on CF have said, that the two Victrons will be quite happy supplying a single battery bank - no "fighting each other" issue.

In relation to monitoring, the supplier assured me we will be able to monitor on an Iphone 5 or newer with IOS 8 or above. What about monitoring on laptop or tablet? Can Mitiempo or Socaldmax share their knowledge of what laptop or tablet operating systems the Blue Solar will talk to? I have an MS Surface Pro 3 with Windows 10 and don't expect the Victrons to interface with it. But additional tablet or laptop for navigation is on the wish list so it would be useful to know what the Victrons work best with.

The Victron website lists Windows and Mac software to interface with their controllers. They use a V.E. bus to USB cable to interface to laptops. You'll have to use the command line for the software, it's not a native windows app.

Might be better to use your Iphone and the bluetooth dongle, it might be more user friendly.

[socaldmax]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

I’ve been following the thread b/c I too am buying a new MPPT. I’ve got 400 watts of solar in four panels, all parallel. I want one controller and from this discussion I’m zeroing in on the Victron BlueSolar MPPT 100/30.

Anyone think this is a wrong choice?

I think it's a great choice!

[mitiempo]

Originally Posted by Jill on Maya

......He also assured us the Victron colour is not as bright as it appears on some websites. We don't have the luxury of inspecting before we order.

I don't know about that. This color looks accurate to me - and I see them every day.



Besides you should install it near the batteries so it is in the same ambient temp.

[Mike OReilly]

Looks like I’m following in your footsteps Jill. Where did you order yours from? I’m not finding many vendors that list them in their catalogue, most especially none in Canada (my home).

BTW, I like the bright blue colour. Of course mine will be mostly hidden from view .

[Copacabana]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Looks like I’m following in your footsteps Jill. Where did you order yours from? I’m not finding many vendors that list them in their catalogue, most especially none in Canada (my home).

BTW, I like the bright blue colour. Of course mine will be mostly hidden from view .

Mike, are you also going to buy the display and cable for display? This brings the price up quite a bit and in the same price bracket of a lot of competitors (not that it's not a great product). You might want to also check out the Blue Sky 3000i and, if you don't need a display, the Outback Smart Harvest controllers (at 99 bucks, but only up to 300w of 12v panels). I'm also looking to upgrade my solar (adding a 270w 30v 60 cell panel) and am researching controllers. No doubt, Victron is a great product, but the add-ons add up ...

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Copacabana

Mike, are you also going to buy the display and cable for display? This brings the price up quite a bit and in the same price bracket of a lot of competitors (not that it's not a great product). You might want to also check out the Blue Sky 3000i and, if you don't need a display, the Outback Smart Harvest controllers (at 99 bucks, but only up to 300w of 12v panels). I'm also looking to upgrade my solar (adding a 270w 30v 60 cell panel) and am researching controllers. No doubt, Victron is a great product, but the add-ons add up ...

I must admit, I haven’t looked at every one of the good MPPT options. I started with I think there are a number that would work just as well. But I do like the specs and the reviews for the BlueSolar. And the footprint works for my space. Price is always an issue, but it’s not my primary focus. I’ve also been using a Victron battery meter for a few years, and it has never let me down, so I guess I have irrational confidence in the brand . As you say, the others would likely be just as good too.

I plan to purchase the bluetooth dongle and use my iThingies to display the data. This adds about $50 to the unit cost. I don’t plan to get the external display or other add ons so the price is pretty comparable. It does make me a bit wary to be dependent on my iThing to change settings, etc. but I’m already pretty tied to this tool.

[Copacabana]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

I must admit, I haven’t looked at every one of the good MPPT options. I started with I think there are a number that would work just as well. But I do like the specs and the reviews for the BlueSolar. And the footprint works for my space. Price is always an issue, but it’s not my primary focus. I’ve also been using a Victron battery meter for a few years, and it has never let me down, so I guess I have irrational confidence in the brand . As you say, the others would likely be just as good too.

I plan to purchase the bluetooth dongle and use my iThingies to display the data. This adds about $50 to the unit cost. I don’t plan to get the external display or other add ons so the price is pretty comparable. It does make me a bit wary to be dependent on my iThing to change settings, etc. but I’m already pretty tied to this tool.

Mike, I think if you don't buy or need the add-ons it's pretty hard to beat the Victron in terms of price and quality. It's also on my short list for my new solar installation, but I certainly need the display as I have no current way of knowing my amps into batteries. The daily solar output in amps is a nice feature (with a 30-day history if I'm not mistaken). This can be a great tool to track average output from your solar panels.

[smj]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

I’ve been following the thread b/c I too am buying a new MPPT. I’ve got 400 watts of solar in four panels, all parallel. I want one controller and from this discussion I’m zeroing in on the Victron BlueSolar MPPT 100/30.



Anyone think this is a wrong choice?

We just added the Victron BlueSolar 100/50 and two Sunpower 250 watt panels. At first I wanted the hard wired control but got talked into the Bluetooth dongle. Works well.