Morningstar SunSaver 20A PWM Solar Charge Controller (SS-20L-24V) - Solar Panel Regulator for 24V Batteries, Four Stage Battery Charging, LVD, HazLoc Rated, Low Noise, 5 Year WTY - Designed in the USA

I own several of these 10 amp models and use them specifically for small applications. I've been running a 165 watt panel on a single deep cycle battery. For lights, 12/24v ice chest and inverter loads- charging phone, flash lights and tools. I can't say enough good about Morningstar and this little Sunsaver. Super simple and reliable. Set it and forget it. It has an excellent built in charging algorithm that you don't need to mess with and it is doing an excellent job of keeping my battery charged. All verified by amp and volt meter. Don't go with those cheap Chinese made $20 ones. They don't work well at all. Tried them. This far surpasses those by a mile. The Sunsaver works great for smaller needs and demands. Don't hesitate to get if this fits your parameters!BTW, I install lots of complicated larger RV and small cabin systems. I love the simplicity of these little units and I don't need to worry about them in the right application.

Worked absolutely perfect

This is a quality engineered piece of solar technology. I bought this to work with a 75w panel and a deep cycle battery to power the ARB fridge in my Wagoneer while out camping and exploring. The owners manual is very simple to understand, the product is nicely put together and appears very solid. I've set it up outside and it functions as intended. There is a nice feature of a LVD (low voltage disconnect) baked into the unit if you use the LOAD terminals (10a max on this one). So if you are powering say a water pump off your solar battery, it will turn the pump off at the cut off voltage (11.7v i think) and then reconnect it as the sun hits the panel in the AM. This will help your battery last a lot longer by not allowing the 12v load to draw it completely dead which cuts their useful life waaaay down. The unit will charge either flooded or AGM batteries with a simple jumper for configuration. There is 4 stage charging with equalization used on the flooded batteries every 28 days.Seriously, this piece of hardware is designed to be used in the most remote places by the oil/gas exploration industry on well monitoring equipment so I think it will work for anything a normal person would throw at it. Go buy a 75-100watt panel and a 100ah battery and have yourself a taste of independence from the wall socket. Imagine a small water feature in your backyard that turns on and off with the sun, or a light for that shed without running an extension cord....

My old SunSaver 6L charge controller died after many years of service and I purchased another unit to replace it. The SunSaver 6L is a good unit and clearly well made. The construction is top notch, the screw terminals are easy to use and reliable. There are a couple of status LEDs to provide information on the operation of the controller (input current present, low voltage disconnect operating, charging) which is helpful for a controller used in a remote location. My controller is mounted inside an outdoor enclosure and must be mounted vertically, which is not recommended for optimal cooing. Despite this abuse, the old unit lasted well over ten years before failing.The terminal lugs are plated and well labeled. The unit provides a simple jumper to convert from sealed batteries to flooded cell types.This is a solid, no nonsense controller and I would buy one again. Wait, I did buy one again.

The newest model has addressed the float point problem mentioned in this review. New Sunsaver Models have a float voltage of 13.7.July 31 2015. Sunsaver 10 and batteries still working. Batteries deserve a mention -2 Optima large yellows. Have also bought a morningstar mppt15, and added some panels. In my case the mppt did not show a huge difference, and i monitored it every day (digital watt meters on both systems) compared to the ss10.I am running both controllers in parallel into the same battery pack. IMHO a small system could be better upgraded ,by adding an other panel(s) and another ss controller instead the expense of the mppt. I'm now using a 110 volt freezer (run as a fridge). Freezer run by "Tiger Claw" pure sine wave inverter.May 19 , 2013 update. Same panels, same batteries, same charger. All is well. Fridge died , but controller is still doing the job.If you battery(s) are worth more than $25 this is probably the best cheapest controller. If you buy a cheap controller, you need to check what is happening with a volt meter. The cheap ebay controllers i tested are not good.2 years ago-This is an update after 5 months of constant use in Baja california. I run a 12volt refer and the lights to a small house.Testing with a watt meter:Watt meter between charger and battery. my panels( 3- 20 year old 50 watt panels) had at least a peak wattage of 130 (9.5 amps) watt on a sunny day, and hit 200 watts on some partly cloudy days. So the unit was pushed to the max, and held up well. Wattage to a fully charged battery was 5-8 watts. There was no heat coming from the unit. Would up my rating 5 stars. Therefore the following review should be changed in spots, but I'll leave it for now.How Morningstar Sunsaver ss-10 works and the potential flaw.Assuming temperature 25 degrees C: the controller will put a voltage of 14.4v into the battery. With no load on the system, and sun, a voltmeter will always read 14.4v no matter what state of charge the battery is in. This is just what my battery type wants- constant voltage. So far great.But when the battery is fully charged , the float voltage does not go down to around 13.7v. The float voltage is 14.4v. After 2 days of charging, an analog amp meter shows zero current going into the battery. however my 0-25a meter is accurate at best to + - 1 amp. So maybe a float voltage of 14.4v is ok? Provided the current is very low. My batteries (expensive) call for a float votage of 13.2v to 13.7v. I'll know more when I get a digital amp meter.I can't find any specs from Morningstar on how much current is going into a fully charged battery.It's just sort of dissapointing that I spent the extra money for a name brand, and may have ended up with an inferior product. If I had known the float voltage was 14.4v, I would not have purchased. Especially with no specs on current at the float voltage. If I hadn't modified the mounting holes , I would return it. Now I'm left with the problem of finding out the current myself, and then babysitting the thing so my batteries don't overcharge.The temperature sensor works well.Correction. I started out with an 85% charged battery. I do not know what the initial charging battery voltage would be if I had started out with a more discharged battery. Probably would depend on % battery charge and output of solar panels. Float voltage still 14.4v.Update. I bought a 10 amp controller that looks identical to the HQRP 10a. Was not purchased from amazon. Was 20 bones delivered.That controller is way way worse than the sunsaver. It starts the day on a fully charged battery and enters an equilization phase. Battery voltage is brought up to16 plus volts then shut off until voltage goes down to 14.4v. Then the full power of the panels ( 6 amps in my case)is put into the battery until voltage goes to 16 plus again. This went on for an hour until I pulled its plug. Next day same thing. I'm not sure what kind of battery likes this treatment. Not gel and not my AGM. Would be ok for an old car battery you don't care about. So for under 60 bucks the morningstar may be as good as you can get.I've put a switch on the morningstar and can lower the float voltage to 14.1v. I think I can live with that. Or maybe go back to the nc25a I was using.I have no use for the load contols on these controllers. I'm not lighting a street lamp. My main use is running a fridge/freezer, that shuts down when batteries are below 12 volts. I would be happy if the manufacture left out the load feature and just spent the savings to make a charger that correctly charged the battery.