MidNite Solar CLASSIC 150 MPPT Charge Controller

A total workhorse! I've used it for years and it works fine!

Compare all the big companies out there and "Midnight Solar" not only sells the most powerful 48 - 72 volt charge controller.They also make some of the most unique features found in a Wi-Fi enabled charge controller.It data logs everything for 4 straight months, is ridiculously efficient. Has every safety a security feature on the market, including a few unique to it's chip set. Plus it's the only unit more powerful than Australia's and it has features exclusive to Midnight Solar's products. If you really want to be impressed, do a Google search on every currently available charge controller in it's power range. Then compare their features in both program-ability and data logging. Imagine coming back from a drive to find that your charge controller didn't catch a voltage irregularity and your batteries were damaged by the 5 kilowatt current it hammered them with....Or in this units case, you set up all the levels and safety margins yourself. What's more you can check on the units current status from your Droid any time as well as anything it's data logged that your filters have flagged time stamped and up for analysis. It's an awesome unit and It's got a great warranty too. This is a lot like the Solar World panels in terms of being time tested for well over a decade and still at the top of the Leader Boards. ^_^

I'm hesitant to put 5 stars because I've only had this thing working a couple of weeks. So far so good. This is the 3rd solar controller I've had on this system, but the first Midnite solar. The first just stopped working. No indication why. They had very little documentation and what they had was poorly translated. Midnite solar has been 5 stars better just for all the documentation. Hook up was no more difficult than any other. Programming took a bit more time. Mostly because I am bad about following step by step and will jump ahead. So far my batteries are fully charged by late afternoon. I only have about 1/2 the panels this controller can handle. Eventually, I'll triple the solar input and add another Classic.

Extremely pleased with the charger. Strong metal body, visually appealing too. I first used it with a 12v inverter, now I am using it with a 48v and both worked like a charm. I have been without electricity for 88 days and counting thanks to hurricane María but with my small solar system and Rick, we have thrived.

This is the electrical item it sensitive it was ship without no packaging it bounced around in the box by the time I got it it was damage ... you need wrapping you can see the box is big the Item just bounced around ...

This product was very simple to install. I left everything on factory programming. There may be other things I can do to maximize and I am sure the answers are on the cd that was provided. I am still in the construction stage for my home and do not have the time. Even when it is on float or full and I put a load on it then it maximizes all it can possibly get from my panels. In full sun on float just a trickle is coming in then I add a load and I have seen based on that load it will start to draw in 200-1000 watts so the batteries stay full. For me it is doing exactly what I wanted. A worry free product to maximize my solar panels and batteries. I checked everywhere for this product including ebay and at that time I purchased it it was cheapest through Amazon.

Photos show this unit with another ~$700 in parts. If you buy this, you will be missing basic parts that you need to complete the installation. Why turn plug-and-play technology into such a headache?

I do like this controller for the fact that when paired with the Whiz Bang Jr it accurately charges batteries using ending amps while still being able to run loads! Have not found that option anywhere else so far. My main issues are that the firmware, software, and mobile app are so broken and poorly coded by obvious amateurs that it'll make you feel physically ill about how much you paid for it and question the legitimacy of the company entirely. Just navigating the menus on the built in display can reset all history and logs and the LAN connection has also been freezing up daily and requiring me to go to the physical device to enter LAN settings just to press "ok" to get it working again. Then there's the manual that is also a bit of insult to injury being just some printed and stapled pages that barely explain the more in depth customization options. Now onto function. At first I thought I might have a bad unit because in the morning and evening when there's between 1-2Amps coming in the device starts cycling between "Bulk" (charging) and "Resting" (not charging) and cycling a rather loud relay while doing so, customer service said that this behavior is normal... To me, this seems like a lot of unnecessary wear and tear on such a relay, also I've never had a charge controller use a mechanical relay (that I could hear at least) to stop/start charging. Finally, the device is not as "efficient" as it claims or others that I have used and for some reason I have lost around 1-2Amps output since putting it to work. It also gets warm enough to be concerning even under 15A output in a 77°F space, so I've placed a couple of small 24v fans over the screened "knockout" holes on the bottom that seem to help a lot at the cost of more lost efficiency... All in all though, like I said, I have not found another CC that will at least take care of my expensive batteries as well as this device does so I do recommend it and just add more panels to make up for the lost efficiency as I have.