Renogy vs. Victron solar charge controllers

[Forester2]

Very interested Eric. Sent you a couple Private Messages in regard to this

[Mikec557]

Originally Posted by Forester2

Its time to replace the factory supplied Gopower PWM controller with a MPPT unit. I run 380 watts solar on the roof and don't anticipate changing that so 30amp units should be fine (have additional 200amp suitcase with own controller). Trying to decide between Renogy unit and Victron. In reality I'm trying to decide on one thats roughly double the price of the other (I know the bluetooth module is $30 extra on the Renogy). Don't mind spending the $ if the venifits are there. Any thoughts??

I had a Renogy with the Bluetooth dongle. It worked for a little less than two years. Two lucky things happened for me. During the one year warranty, renogy changed to two years warranty on all new units, and extended one year on everyone currently still in their one year warranty. I thought that was a pretty nice thing for the manufacturer to do.

Then during that second year I lost the Bluetooth. Renogy said I needed to send in both the scc and the dongle so they could figure out which unit they needed to replace. They replaced both. And the second lucky thing was that the new version of the scc supported lithium where when I bought it, it didn't.

But that took 10 business days, and we were full-timing. During that time I switched from two FLA batteries to two Battleborn lithium. And took the opportunity to switch to Victron because I could get everything in two days.

Later when I sold that RV I put the new renogy in, along with two new FLAs. I transferred the lithium and Victron to our next RV.

All in all, I'd say both renogy and Victron are good products. I did like that the Bluetooth is built into the Victron scc rather than using a dongle, but both work. Soon after I added a Victron battery monitor (BMV-712) which also has built-in Bluetooth and I can see it all in the one app.

I think price is probably the determining factor.

[Glenn Meredith]

I have a Renogy 40 with Bluetooth. It reads the battery voltage wrong compared to a Fluke calibration meter. It’s .2 to .3 volts high which means the controller stops boost charge too soon. There is no external calibration for this which is a simple multiplayer in the software. I talk to Renogy and they were no help.
My work around is the User mode and set all the variable with an offset. Oh yea I’m on my second Bluetooth module.

[IrishSettler]

I’ve had the Renogy 40 amp for three years with two 160 watt flexible solar panels. I am very pleased with both. I run a 750 watt inverter constantly and it’s very convenient to be able to check with my blue tooth.

[Forester2]

The relatively small price differences aren't really a factor when you're considering you're a long ways from home and your lights, fridge, water etc. are dependent on the system working. Dependibility is ahuge factor.

[Seaninnj]

I actually mounted my Victron controller on the wall in the bedroom and I thought it would bug me at first but honestly it doesn’t bother me at all. That being said, I have Renogy and Victron products and while Renogy is OK the Vicrron is far superior in build in software quality. If I were replacing a solar charge controller, I would definitely pick the Victron.

[Forester2]

Did you buy the extra $30 wire trim piece the sell for the Victron or just live with it?

[Mikec557]

Just an FYI. I mounted my Victron MPPT SCC in the pass-thru and monitored it with my cellphone by Bluetooth. Ditto the battery monitor. No gages nor holes in the interior of the RV....

Except, my prior installation of the Renogy. I did cut a hole in the wall and flush mounted that. At the time I thought that was the right thing to do. Now I'd never cut a hole to mount any kind of gage. It's Bluetooth apps on my cellphone for me.

Just my 2-cents.

[Noblewk]

Originally Posted by ARoamer

I can't comment on the Renogy controllers, I have never owned one, but I do have a Victron Smartsolar MPPT 100/50 which has so far worked very well. My Victron's circuit board components are potted in a epoxy resin so any component replacement is not possible if any repairs are needed. If it fails, no options other than replace it.

To meet the IP67 standard they do epoxy seal the components. Many of the items are for marine use.

[thenovaks]

Be aware that my Renogy mppt controller would not work with my 2 100AH Battleborn LiFePO4 batteries. It took Renogy several months to determine this. Renogy support was in frequent contact with me about my issue, but it did take a while to finally get an answer. To Renogy's credit, they eventually refunded the cost of my purchase.
The purpose of this post is if you go with Renogy, be sure to have full return rights and fully test the unit right away, just in case there is a situation similar to mine.
I am trying out the Victron unit now since it was recommended by Battleborn.
Whatever you go with, check to be sure there is good support after the purchase.

[Seaninnj]

Originally Posted by Forester2

Did you buy the extra $30 wire trim piece the sell for the Victron or just live with it?

I went ahead and bought that extra trim plate cover kit. I’m glad I did. It finishes it off very nicely. Made my installation a lot easier because I was able to mount it in the spot that already had wires dropped for a solar charge controller. Instead of going with one that was flush mounted, I went with a much better Victron that was mounted on the wall. I’m glad I went that way.

[01tundra]

I've had one Renogy PWM controller and it worked OK, but I think it's safe to say that I'm pretty much a Victron person now.

I like having all of the equipment communicating on the Victron VE.Smart network via Bluetooth.

[PlayersZ28]

I run a Rover 40 and their 3000w inverter. I have a BT01 module but I don't use it. Renogy has been great for me but there are some who are drinking blue koolaid and can't look at other products. They're the ones that say "friends don't let friends buy Renogy" LOL

My system is 560Ah of custom Li with a couple of Pi's and some ESP modules monitoring things.

I also have the voltage mismatch issue and discussed it with their support a number of years ago. I just adjust the settings to suit what my DMM shows. I charge my Li packs to 13.75v anyway so I'm not using the built-in settings

[Forester2]

Has anyone else heard about Renogy having problems with Battleborn batteries?