Morningstar Prostar 30A PWM Solar Charge Controller w/ Meter (PS-30M) - Solar Panel Regulator, Supports 12V/24V LA/Lithium Batteries, LVD/Lighting Ctrl, HazLoc Rated, Low Noise - Designed in The USA

I am loving this thing so far. My previous controller was a 30A Sunforce solar controller. It was garbage compared to this thing.My application: To control a 160w 2 panel array on my RV/ travel trailer. I have this hooked up with 2 6V Deep cycle golf cart batteries in series to make a large 12V deep cycle.Install: I used standard 10g wire (about 6 feet) from my panels to a junction where it goes to 6g wire (about 25 feet). I think 6g is a bit overkill, but would rather that than lose power over the long run. I have the 6g into the solar side of the controller with a 30A fuse on the positive side. The then have 6g wire going from the battery side (fused on the + cable) going straight to the battery. It is about a 5 foot run. I have the controller and fuses mounted to a panel under a couch on the front wall of my RV. It was the closest I could get to my batteries.Performance: Well, I have had this mounted for about 2 months now. I keep my trailer in storage (outside). It has kept my batteries topped off without boiling off much water at all. I frequently check the batteries and they have not really needed any water since I have put this unit into service. We have had 3 camping trips so far since installing this unit. First was 6 days, dry camping. Second was 8 days, dry camping. Third was 4 days, dry camping. On all trips we have used the pump, lights, furnace, water heater, and radio. We never really tried to conserve energy. Just used everything as needed. And never once did my batteries drop below 12.3V. This thing kept them charged and topped off without a problem. We never had to use a generator, except to use the microwave once and for a couple other times to use a 110 outlet. I also have an inverter (200w) that we charged cameras, phones, computers all off the battery. I was very surprised and so happy that this thing performed so well.The only bad thing I have to say about this unit I guess would be the small display. It a bit of a pain for me to see the display, but thats not really a con of the unit. Its more from where I mounted it. Also, I used tinned 6 gauge marine wire. It says that it can take up to 6 gauge wire. A few of the connections on the controller itself were rather tight and the 6 gauge wire barely fit. It took some finesse to get the wires into there without having to shave a few strands of the wire.This is a great little unit for RV use. I highly recommend if you want a controller to keep you topped off while boon docking or dry camping.

Works as advertised - here are some notes that may be helpful -- This is easy to install and operates completely automatically. The terminals can handle 8AWG wire.- We bought the model without a meter and instead use a pair of these AODE® LCD Digital 60V/100A Watt Meter Battery Balance Power Voltage Checker Analyzer to see what is happening on the solar and load sides. They work well.- 30 amps may sound like a lot and it is at 110VAC, but not so much at 12VDC - so this only supports 360 watts on either side - load or solar. Plan accordingly.- You may be trying to figure out whether to buy a MPPT controller or a PWM controller like this one; MPPT squeezes out more efficiency from your panels, while PWM charging is better for the life of your batteries (so I have read). So a controller like this one is perfect for the part time cabin where you drain the batteries during a weekend and they charge up during the week. Frankly, when panels have a 20 year life and batteries only 5 (or less), to me it makes the most sense to prioritize your batteries over adding an extra panel or two and stick with a PWM controller.- Our small cabin has 4x206 amp-hour golf cart batteries and 200 watts of solar using a pair of these: RENOGY 100 Watt 100w Monocrystalline Photovoltaic PV Solar Panel Module 12V Battery Charging. On a sunny day that will return our batteries to fully charged/floating by mid afternoon.- That same small cabin (670 square foot) will take this controller to a 28 amp peak current - when the pump, fridge, lights, stereo, cell signal amplifier and hot water heater are all running at the same time.- There are a lot of cheap controllers out there that we pondered using - but the mainstream companies are Morningstar, Blue Sky and a couple others - we went with Morningstar to be safe. I initially wanted Blue Sky, as that is the brand that is used in 10th Mountain Division ski huts in Colorado, but they are more focused on MPPT and are a bit more expensive.

This is the second controller I use on my 240W solar installation. I started off with a Chinese unit that goes by many brands, e.g. SainSonic Solar Regulator 12-15A 12/24V, Remote Meter LCD Display It was really flaky and my installation stopped producing juice a couple times for no logical reason, so I decided it was time to upgrade controllers. I had bought a Morningstar controller for another installation 10 years ago and it never missed a beat since so I decided to order this unit. It delivered, my installation now runs like a Swiss watch.Just looking at build quality you know this is a serious product. If you look at the back you see the aluminum heat sink, generously dimensioned to handle the rated 30AMP load. The control panel is clearly and neatly labeled, and features easy to understand LEDs to tell you of all conditions. It also features a battery selection switch, so you can optimize the controller for gel batteries and the like. You can also connect two extra sense leads to the battery to get a more accurate reading; in my case the battery leads are very short (about 2 feet) so it wasn't necessary.If you happen to live abroad like me this is an easy buy. The seller shipped it to me in Uruguay using AmazonGlobalEligible. It only took a few days to get there and clear customs.