Bateria Power 10A controller
Bateria Power 10A controller:
I ran across this controller when hunting for a small, good performing (MPPT with buck regulation) controller
that had a good display. (those two properties seem to be "mutually exclusive" for some reason?) This one is
listed as MPPT and not PWM, so I was hoping it fit the bill. Unfortunately, reviews are saying that it runs
hot (suggesting it's PWM and not buck regulating) and there's also a couple reviews that state the solar
conversion is below what you'd expect for MPPT. The seller confirmed it's buck and not PWM, but I tend to
believe the reviews over what a seller says, especially if it's a general products store. I'm trying to decide
if I want to get one to try, since it's likely I'll be throwing my money away.
They're also claiming "100% efficiency" with their MPPT. And most of their product pictures (including the
exploded view and the videos) are CGI, which lowers my confidence in the accuracy of the listing. I don't
see a large buck inductor (or even large mosfets for the PWM or buck) in the exploded view either.
I gave it a quick test and it seems to work fine. It takes several seconds for tracking to start after solar
power is connected, and it tracks a bit slower than some other controllers I've tested in the past, but it's
definitely doing it. Efficiency is good too, so it must have a decent buck regulator in the case, though it
is pretty light. THe case is entirely plastic, with no vents for cooling though. I did feel it warm up a
little bit after some time, but nothing too noticeable. Others commented it got hot, maybe they were running
it for longer under a heavier load? Changing battery chemistry requires holding the button to get the battery
indicator to blink, then pressing it to change the setting, and holding it again to save the new selection.
It doesn't have a "lead acid" or "flooded lead acid" setting, just "GEL", "AGM", and "LiFePO4". Gel seemed to
have the closest voltages so I went with that. It seemed to want to stay in bulk charge though (14.2v) and I
didn't see it ever shift down to float charge mode, I assume it'll do that eventually.
I've never seen a picture of the back of the unit online, I need to take a picture of mine I guess. That's
where the battery types chart is. Also, the strain reliefs were a little bit twisted up on the sides, not
sure if that'll be an issue or not. It's got SAE connectors, and ships with SAE pigtails but no gender changer,
so you may be connecting "red to black" on one or both sides, depending on your polarity. Again, be very careful
when wiring up SAE connectors due to the strong possibility of getting the polarity wrong.
