Side by Side Comparison of: VicTec vs Renogy vs Unisolar

Quite a few of these cheap Charge Controllers out there. This is the model I love the best. Gives me all the information I am looking for. Batt voltage, Panel voltage, and amps going in. I bought a couple of the other ones that didn't have the amps or panel voltage. For a small solar setup, and if your not looking for a MPPT controller, this is the way to go. 30amps goes a long way, and even longer if you step up to a 24 volt system which this supports

I am totally impressed by this cheap charge controller. I really like that the display shows the charging amps as well as the battery voltage very clearly. Right now it keeps an 18Ah battery topped up from a 30W solar panel in cloudy Washington. I think I will get another one for my boat. Highly recommend this unit for the price. Only complaint is that I wish it could flush mount to a panel, instead of sticking out from the mounting base flange like it does, but oh well.

It may be a little early to comment on the longevity (only owned for 2 months), but so far this controller works great. The LCD screen is an excellent addition and the info that you get with just a push of a button is perfect. I tried several other brands which all failed in a short time (4 to 6 weeks), so far this one has outlasted them all. Plus, with USB port you can charge your phone directly from the controller. The designers / engineers really did their home work. Excellent design, excellent product, excellent price.

Working as expected. The good reviews helped me make this purchase (thanks to reviewers for all the details). My one complaint: it is difficult (if not impossible) to insert 8 AWG wiring into controller. It's been noted before so take heed of the warnings. I switched to 10 AWG with no problems.

This thing is awesome for the price. Installed it on top of a battery box with a 110ah battery inside for portable power while camping. This is a huge step up from my 10a Sunforce, and I like having the LCD screen. Very cool to see the incoming voltage and amperage, while also monitoring how much power your devices are drawing if you connect your 12v socket/whatever to the controller.

With the battery pack, I had already installed some waterproof Blue Sea 12v sockets and typically used those for phone charging. These work fine on several phones I tested, and my LG G3 didn't even complain about slow charging like it does with anything <1.8 amps. I'm not sure why I thought these were solar fed (like a Goal Zero Nomad 7), but they continue to work even with the panel disconnected.

The instructions suggest mounting the unit on a metal surface, and it did get a little warm during my several hour partial-sun test with a 100w Renogy panel. It has fins or grooves in the bottom to promote air flow. I may address that in the Spring or at least monitor it thoroughly. The screw terminals feel high quality and tightened very well. I think you'll be limited to 8 gauge wire, I have a combination going to this as I finalize testing (solar input wire pictured is thin from cheapo SAE connector when I briefly tested my 15w instapark panel) but everything is snug. Back light for the screen is also cool and appreciated, but the BULK / FLOAT / ETC. indicators are tiny and can be difficult to read. Still 5 stars.

I at first ordered 2 100W panels from a competitor, HQST, that seemingly has the exact same panels as these, but then I found out that these are the real thing! I hooked these guys up and immediately starting getting the wattages I should. I was getting at least 185w (not noon sun either) upon hookup. I couldn't be happier. I should have just gotten these from the get go, even though they are just a few dollars more. Definitely worth the money.

Works as advertised, and appears to be well constructed. No surprises.

I put 15 of these on the roof of my RV. I wired 5S(series) 3P(parallel) meaning 3 sets of 5 connected in series or "in a string" which gives me somewhere around 15 amps at 100 volts going into my charge controller. I bolted them to racks that I built out of unistrut or powerstrut which I used 3/8" lag bolts to bolt down to the roof and covered liberally with lap sealant.I utilized Victron equipment for the rest of the install and absolutely love the results.My system consists of the following main components:2 - Victron Multiplus 12/3000/120-50Victron Blue Solar charge controller MPPT 150/8515 - 100 watt Renogy solar panelsVictron Color control gxVictron BMV-702 battery monitor4 - 1000Ah LifePO4 Winston battery cells

Keeps my boats AUX battery charged. I installed on my boats aluminum roof. After a long day of using the stereo while bumpered with other boats, the battery has never died on me since installing this. Nothing worse then having your music die out on you miles from home. That is no longer an issue.I also got the wiring and mounting kit from amazon which I highly recommend.

I get about a 150 watts of output from the two panels on my scrap wood stands sitting on my apartment balcony facing South/ SouthWest form about 10:00 am to 3:00 pm on a sunny day

I own six of these and am planning on getting another two (the 2pcs deal). Make sure you get the Renogy Z brackets to mount these.PERFORMANCE:- I started with two, then four, and bought the 2 pcs set last spring/summer. Now, going to add another two.- Running as a 36v system (series-series-parallel) and works awesome. When I get the next two...will wire them 48v- During max sun last summer (with six panels) hit 30 amps, 430 watts (according to my Midnite Solar Kid SCC)- Pretty much the best "bang for your buck" on the market for building your arrayOTHER:- Mc4 connections are a great idea, but had to "shave" off the locks to pull apart. A watertight screw-in connection would be better- Delivery is fast and packaging excellent- Modified the Z brackets and expanded mounting holes on panels to accept Grade 5 1/2" bolts...much stronger- Included hardware for mounting Z brackets is adequate, but not up to my standards- Shooting for a 1KW in panels (10 panels) for my system. If I had to do it over again, I would have started with the Renogy 250 watt panelsBOTTOM LINE:- Great product, speedy delivery, great packaging, superior power output, Mc4 connections could be better designedUPDATE: 29 Jan 2015- Bought two more (eight panels total). Wired them up as a 48v system. Working GREAT! Even though my solar charge controller will only convert 30 amps, having more panels reduces losses during cloudy days and sunrise/sunset angles. With 8 panels, it should be able to produce over 40+ amps. Still going to get two more to have bragging rights of having "One KILOWATT of power". Yeh, got the solar bug. But it is so cool upgrading and seeing immediate improvement!UPDATE: 16 Mar 2015- Up to 10 panels (1 KW). Redid my whole solar power station setup. I converted my battery bank to 24v and purchased a pure sine wave inverter (Outback Power VFX 3524). I also had to buy a new Midnite Solar Classic 150 solar charge controller. Spent some money on this but, it is soon going to power circuits in my house! I am now able to increase my solar panel totals to 25 panels with the new equipment. The 10 panels I have now are wired for 60v (two strings of five). Higher voltage with the MPPT technology is awesome! Saw 750 watts the other day.UPDATE: 26 Mar 2015- Now have 12 Renogy 100-D panels wired for 72v. I also managed to score three Sunpower E20 435-watt panels. Total solar panel array wattage is now 2,500 watts. Inverter is wired into the house using a transfer panel. Got my first electric bill after all this new stuff. It was 50% less than last month!

Product is both inexpensive yet reliable. Good for small, portable systems and recharging tool batteries. Use caution when attaching panels with potential >24V, attach when low light conditions prevail. PV input must match battery bank; PV 24V charges Battery bank 24V.

Great just not for AGM.

I wrote an initial review that was less than positive. I have gone back through three times and checked everything. Cleaned up all my connections and put in on only one panel. I didn't want to believe it but all of a sudden the back light came on. I have two 30w panels and a 50w. For my needs it charges and runs tv and Internet during sunshine and I discharge at night while using 94w total. Not sure why but I am not sending it back now as with one panel it's working as intended. I think it shuts down if there is not enough power being provided by the panel or panels so beware as it might work fine you just need enough going to it. Good luck all.

I have a small scale solar setup in my garden. I have a single 100w panel and a 115Ah 12v battery. I use the controller in it's 24H power mode. I run about 2.5A worth of LED lighting (some on motion sensors, some on photo sensors). I also intermittently use fans, an inverter (to charge my 18v cordless tools) and a small water pump.

Some reviewers mentioned it gets hot. I have not found this to be the case. When running a constant load of 8A+ (in Mid FL during summer) it bearly gets above ambient air temperature (95F/35C). It's mounted to a support truss (wood) within my shed. Humidity of 80%+ has not caused any issues. Is NOT water proofed.

I didn't have any problems deciphering the instructions. Not the best, but the controller is pretty simple.

I was initially very hesitant on moving from a (non LCD) Renogy controller to this one. The Renogy did a good job, but it took a lot of external kit to properly monitor what was going on with load, charge cycle, etc. So I picked this up. So far, it is the best PWM controller I've purchased. It has all the functions I had been looking for with the exception of total Ah available for the battery... Something I can do without. I've also found the USB ports helpful... I can charge my phone and bluetooth speaker without tracking dirt all through the house.

If you are looking for a good, cost effective PWM controller with great reporting... This is it.

(I don't give 5 start ratings. This controller would have to make me a sandwich or something for that extra star. Sadly, it hasn't done so yet.)

So far this controller has delivered good results. My previous controllers only lasted about one year before problems arose. This one costs only half as much and time will tell how well it holds up. Charging modes seem to be of advanced industry standards and the functions are sufficient for controlling lights after dark. Low battery voltage protection is built in. Display lights up when buttons are pushed and read outs are large and clear. Array voltage is displayed, but not amperage. Battery charging amperage can be displayed and that is really all you need.
Simple, well built doing it's job.

Solar is a little out of my comfort zone, but I dove in anyway. I bought 2 of these panels and everything I needed and am delighted. The ONLY negative I have is that I'm only getting 89w out of one and 92w out of the other. That is close enough for what I need, but now at least what to expect going forward. I metered both in full sun, in Phx, AZ at about 1pm. I can run dozens (and do) of led lights and the stereo all night long. My computer is high end, and will suck the battery from full charge to virtually nothing (a 100ah Duracell deep cycle) in about 4-5 hours with nothing else on at night, but will run almost all day with the panels trying to help keep up. The same is true with a 40" TV. Don't even think about trying to run a saw or vacuum cleaner, there aren't enough amps (unless you understand series and parallel wiring, and have more panels hooked up!).

Bought 4, so far have 2 hooked up , the first morning after the sun at the unviewable horizon with my mppt and the ski just turning blue my batteries were receiving a charge

This is my second renogy solar panel and I have to say renogy produce some great products. Attached this to a 8mm goal zero adapter then connect it to a yetti 400 I can camp for weeks.

I've had the panel for 6 months. I find it very durable and efficient. I'm using it on my Goal Zero Yeti 1250. Works like a charm.

These are well built but they have change the dimensions. The new, I just bought, is narrower and longer then my old one.

I have two of these so far. I use them with my solar installation in my vehicle to set up in camp and power the coolers and ham radio equipment. They provide ample amperage and are built solid. I created a couple of simple stand up legs for them, and prop them up on the ground by my vehicle. They just plain work, and the build behind them seems good. So far, after over a year, I have no complaints.

This controller works as described but the charging parameters are NOT programmable. You will have to live with a maximum of 14.2 volts for bulk and absorption. The temperature compensation will adjust this accordingly however you are stuck with a baseline of 14.2v which I consider too low for my needs. I am using a 12v industrial (fork-lift) battery and would prefer to get it to at least 14.4 daily.

The EQU (equilibrium) mode doesn't work on any of my 2 controllers. The manual states that it's activated when the battery recov-
ers from over-discharge and fails to mention what that means. The seller, who is very responsive, says that 11v or less qualifies as over-discharge. So I decided to simulate this overnight, by lowering the voltage the controller sees, using 5 diodes in series that could easily be removed. After spending the whole night seeing well under 10v, both controllers never went into EQU the next day. They just charged normally up to 14.2v as usual. The manual shows the EQU mode as having a 14.4v cutoff and I hoped I could fool the controller into it. However this function simply does not work.

One of my units reads the battery voltage correctly but the other reads high by 0.1v. This means that it's real maximum voltage is only 14.1v and will not charge the battery fully. Great for AGM or gel but too little for plain old lead-acid. To summarize:

PROS:
- Decent quality construction
- Accepts 10ga marine wire in solid connectors
- Nice backlighted screen with lots of data
- Low standby power (could not even get a reading on my clamp-meter!)
- Doesn't get too hot with 20-23 amps
- Good USB ports that charge phones and tablets
- Lots of load powering options
- Nice tactile buttons
- Low price
- Responsive seller

CONS:
- NON-programmable charging parameters
- Low charging cutoff (14.1-14.2v)
- EQU doesn't work
- Inaccurate voltage reading on some units
- Positive ground
- Very limited viewing angle on screen
- Manual could be better

Finally, these units seem to be made for mostly controlling solar powered lights and other unattended devices which is why the charging voltage is kept low to minimize water consumption in the batteries. I have no doubt they work great for this. But if, like me, you're trying to get the most energy into your batteries and can add water regularly, you should look elsewhere.

I have been using it for a coupleof weeks now. It seems to work ok except the right down button sticks in the depressed position and must be pried up. The instructions lwave A LOT to be desired. Also does not appear to have any fusing so please plan on installing them at the supply yourself.

After a month the load reading shows0.0. Worked well until then

Could not figure out how to program the load switch. Instructions talk about a photocell controller, extra module? I am confused.

Seems like a well built unit and nothing loose or rattles in it. Although the instruction manual could be better. Like another reviewer is is gibberish and hard to understand.

Good price on the units wish they included mounting brackets at that price point. Nothing worse than receiving solar panels without mounting brackets.... now I have to order brackets and wait even longer.

Wonderful product produces power even on low light cloudy days.

good

So far, I've only gotten one panel put up and for some reason, it won't keep 4 batteries charged and all I'm basically using is 1 12v bulb in my trailer....May be the charge controller...not sure....

Quality is reasonable but they just do not seem to put out the rated output even on the clearest and sunniest days...

I've been running these for almost a year and while the output is still good i worry about what looks to be stress fractures in the panels. I'd be interested to see how another years goes.

I ordered one of these to keep my truck battery charged, I don't drive it much. It is supposed to have a float mode in which the battery voltage is stated as 13.8 volts. The one I got would not go into float. I E-mailed the vendor who promptly sent me a second one after I returned the first unit.
The second unit operated or mis-operated the same way. I E-mailed the vendor again and was told to take a photo of the unit which I did while it signified it was in the float mode at 14.2 volts. I then bought a Morning Star and it operates just fine and definitely goes into bulk at 14.2 volts and then float at 13.5 volts.
Using the ViTec unit would definitely charge the battery but keeping it at 14.2 volts continuously will lead to gassing and plate corrosion shorting the battery lifetime. All the unit really does is to charge the battery up to 14.2 volts and keeps it there indefinitely, bad performance. See attached photo showing the battery voltage during float mode.

I do not recommend this unit despite good support from the vendor.

I've had this controller for exactly one year. I had chosen this model because of the digital display. It has already ceased to function. I was using this to maintain the batteries on my camping trailer connected to a Renogy 100 Watt panel. It functioned well all year, but yesterday when I returned to my trailer I found my batteries dead and the LCD screen was not working. I checked the solar input and it was 22 volts and the output to the battery was next to nothing maybe .4 volts.
Luckily I still had my old controller so I installed that and its working.

I thought this was great, but recently I noticed it started detecting my LED light as a "short" load (blinking red LED) and now won't keep it on in any light mode. If I disconnect both PV and Battery, it'll reset and work for a while again, maybe a few days, maybe a few minutes.. but then the light modes just stop working again. Also my battery voltage is getting very low - I don't feel like it's charging fully anymore either. I'm looking to replace mine (after having it for less than 6 months) with a better unit altogether. Running a 50w panel, 8ah battery, 5w LED light on at night - nothing crazy.

The price is great and I enjoy having the LCD display, which clearly conveys current status and performance with easy to understand icons. There are numerous problems, however, including:

* The directions are almost unintelligible and offer such unhelpful troubleshooting tips as "Possible cause: Load is overcurrent. Solution: Check if the load is normal."

* The various status messages that one can cycle through are meaningless without a manual for reference. And even then I'm not sure someone would understand them without a degree in electrical engineering.

* The worst problem of all is that this controller emits a very loud, very high pitch wail 100% of the time, regardless of current conditions. I suspect that most/many people will not hear this screeching unless they are sensitive to pitches in the upper range. If you have sensitive ears (or love your dog), I recommend staying away from this unit. I'm looking for a replacement model after just two weeks of use.

Features and explanations are not clear in the pamphlet manual..., unit worked for a week then stopped float charging.

thery was no lead wire or mounting brckets to n stail it how do miountit try it in 2 the chages controyer

The panel I received was not as well built or packaged as the one I purchased a year ago. Also, because of the packaging deficiency, one of the corners was slightly damaged. Just the frame not the cells. Figured it wasn't worth the hassle to make a claim.

This is my second of these panels, first one I ordered a year and a half ago or so. They are identical, same listing on Amazon... but the new one arrived with a Renogy sticker embedded under the glass.Oh yea, and the glass of the second panel? Shattered in a trillion pieces. The shipping box was fine, immaculate even. A minute or two after the package was signed for I gently loaded it in my SUV 15 feet away and opened up the box to find it shattered. Wish I had done so before the delivery guy left.I love my existing panel, which you can see in the background of my picture. It has survived being strapped to roof racks and taken on expeditions, hung up on my shed, repositioned around my yard 100 times, etc... and the new one couldn't even take the heat or vibration of the delivery truck? Hoping this is a fluke, I will update my review if the company handles this matter appropriately. It certainly puts a damper on my plans this upcoming weekend though, so I've had to order another 100w by another manufacturer while this gets sorted out. Not impressed. I can't even find an area of impact on this panel, and again - the box was perfect.

I have four of these connected directly to a grid tie inverter and plugged into a wall socket. I can rarely get 200 watts out of the four 100 watt panels. It is usually in the 170 and 180 watt range. I put the inverter next to the panels to minimize the length of DC cable. I've adjusted the panels around to get the best aim at the sun in mid day and nothing improves the performance. My assessment of these panels is they are 50 watt panels. Before buying one of these panels you should understand that you will not get anything close to 100 watts of power out of it. Their performance as 50 watt panels has been good for a few months now tied to the grid. I expect they have produced 60 kw hours or so since I set the up. They are sturdy and the surface is easy to keep clean. I added a photo of the power output of the four solar panels and a photo of how the panels are arranged. I'm open to any suggestions as to why I'm getting such poor output from these panels.UPDATE:I found that one of the Renogy solar panels had a broken solder joint in the box at the top of the panel. I soldered it and it's working now but I don't think my solder joint is very good. I'm using it to charge a Goal Zero now. What this means is that I have been getting about 200 watts from three panels.instead of 4. Much better than I originally thought but low quality solar panels from Renogy.UPDATE:I received a comment from someone that these panels have performed very well for him. Let me clear it up that 1) I'm connected to a grid tie inverter so every watt the panels generate go straight to the grid. 2) I found a bad solder connection on one of the panels and repaired it. I checked a my grid tie inverter output last weekend on a sunny day and was getting 300 watts from 4 panels. Not too bad, I'm satisfied. I changed the title of the review to hopefully not confuse people on the current status.

Bought this panel as a test platform to become familiar with solar generation. Hooked it up about 25 feet through 10 gauge solar cable to a watt meter. Watt meter tells the watts, amps and voltage from the panel. Then pass it through a 10 amp MPPT Charge controller into a bank of 6 volt golf cart batteries wired for 12 volts for a total of 430 Ah.Live in Southern California and at noon the panel delivers 19 volts at .5 amps for about 10 watts.Have a message into the manufacturer to find out why that is the best this panel will deliver. Seems far short of the spec sheets stated optimum of 5 amps. If it delivered anywhere near the 5 amps shown it would in fact give you close to 100 watts ( V x A = W ) but as stated, the best my panel has delivered is 1/2 amp at high noon. If they can solve the problem or tell me what I'm doing wrong so that the poor output is my doing I'll revise this review.REVISION...Seems that these panels are temperature sensitive. Early mornings when the sun is still low but the temp. is around 60-70 degrees Fahrenheit, the panel will but out 18 volts at 1.5 amps. But towards the afternoon when the temps start to reach the 80's-90 degree mark, the panel continues to give 18-20 volts but at the previous stated .5 amps.NEW REVISION>>>>>After leaving multiple emails with the company that distributes these panels and not receiving a single response I'm downgrading it to two stars. The panels do put out power when in a cool state but lose amps as the heat up, thus decreasing the wattage output, but the poor customer service is a deal breaker.

I got this last summer to charge batteries at my fishing camp. It is supposed to produce 100 watts, but it falls far short of that even when the sun is shinning directly on it. I have another cheaper solar panel that is rated at 50 watts and it produces more wattage than this thing. It works, but not as advertised.

This worked great from July 2015 to July 2016 then in August 2016 it started melting wires. I found smoke coming out of my van and smelled burning wires. I found this was melting my wires and had to disconnect it before it started a fire.

I purchased it many months ago, connected it to my 120W panel but wasn't working. Unsure whether it was the panel or the controller, I only recently found the time to purchase a multimeter reader. Outcome:
1. Panel (Sunpower 120W is a beast at pumps out really solid numbers)
2. This controller is worthless. Not working, never has, and the culprit of why I have been able to offset my utilities bill/electricity consumption.

Don't buy it unless you can return it and get your money back. Given the time past and living in Singapore means that was stuffed with a crap product and it's sunken money. NOT RECOMMENDED

This charge controller worked well and we were very satisfied with it at first. However, after about 6 weeks it completely stopped putting any current through. Save your money and buy a slightly more expensive controller from a reputable brand the first time around. Wish we had done that.

Controller never worked right out of the box. Tested the panels with a meter and showed 19.5 volts, but controller never turned on. Tried reading the manual for possible solutions none given. Tried to find a way to contact LMS, nothing listed in the manual though it states in the manual to contact them with questions by "please contact us by contact ways included in the manual." None listed, contacted Amazon and will be returning this today for a refund.

Never worked correctly from the day it arrived. It took some time to get it all set up, go through a battery discharge, etc. The instruction manual is worthless. I submitted a couple of questions to the Amazon user community .. to find out what is normal behavior? By the time I figured out that the controller was not working correctly the 30 day return window had expired. So the VicTec goes to the junk bin, replaced it with a Tracer and am very happy with the Tracer.

Bought 6 panels but received 2.

Panel came with chips in pv material around conductive strips on several cells. Logically this reduces the amount of power it can produce.

Good panel but price is too high if one plans to build a large solar array. I purchased 10 panels and plan to buy more of something else the next time.

I ordered this solar panel in January but because of weather and a family emergency, installed it on 5/3/2016. The output voltage has stayed between 10 and 11 volts and weather has been from rain to full sun.. The battery voltage is 12V. I am using a MPPT Tracer 1210RN controller and the charge indicator light has never come on. The voltages indicated were taken at the charge controller terminals and polarity was correct. I now understand that I can not return this item and would appreciate any assistance in fixing this problem. I have installed solar panels on my two previous RV's and had zero problems. After seeing such good reviews on the Renogy solar panels I am surprised to have this problem.UPDATE: Removed the panel and found one of the diodes was installed backwards. Reversed the diode, which was held in by two screws, and now the panel is working at full power. I will add that Renogy Tec. Support was easy to contact and I was told the panel would be replaced if I couldn't repair it.Lesson learned: Test it before you install it. I did use quick disconnect mounts so it wasn't a huge problem.

Worst panels ever says its 100 watts only getting 50 watts out of them

I'm not even going to comment on the quality of these panels I received my panels today and as of the time of this posting anyway they're sending out frameless panels! I basically received what you would get if you didn't have an aluminum framing around the panel it's flimsy and seems like it would be easy to break. I've been mounting my panels with mounting hardware that won't work with us this is not what I ordered!