Side by Side Comparison of: WindyNation vs Renogy
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Rating info | ||
eComparisons Score | ||
eComparisons ScoreThe "Comparison Score" Is calculated based on the average number of times this item was compared with other items in this category by our users | 8 | 8.4 |
User Rating (Amazon) | ||
User Rating (Amazon) | ||
Five Star Reviews: | 74% Thank You Windy Nation. November 3, 2016 Thank you so much Windy Nation. Had questions relating to my system producing more amps than I was setup to handle.50 amps produced on 30 amp solar setup. You recommended split up panels into 2 (300 watt ) arrays and adding a second charge control. As well as self resetting 30 amp breakers. System install in a off grid tiny house. Working perfect now. Would definitely recommend and purchase from Windy Nation . Installs easy, has a small footprint and and seems to ... September 5, 2016 For the price, it is an extraordinary value! Installs easy, has a small footprint and and seems to work well. The manual is pretty bad, but with the answered questions on Amazon you have all you need to know. Wow Very good product July 20, 2016 unbelievable amount of features. Dusk to dawn feature via solar panel out put, day only, night only, timed or 24hr output to load. Led state of charge, load and continuity aids for trouble shooting your system an incredibly well designed quality unit. When your old you need every advantage you can get. Small Panel and QRP Radios June 19, 2016 This controller works well. I am using it with a small panel to charge 12 volt batteries to operate a QRP amateur radio. It works as advertised and setup is easy. I am going to give it a good workout during the ARRL Field Day during the last weekend of June. Good price an performance. May 6, 2016 Good price and the controller seems to do its job well. There seems to be more power available than with my old one. I am a bit wary of the terminal connectors though, they seem like they could get damaged easily with repeated use, though it is rare that I will unhook it. Be sure to connect the battery first, then the panels, and when disconnecting, disconnect the panels first, then the battery, as per instructions. Good product February 28, 2016 Works exactly as advertised! I currently only have one solar panel (15Amp) hooked to it. Maintains the battery charge. | 62% Adventurer September 19, 2017 Ilike it!! It's simple to use, gives me more info than I want every day but is there should I want it. I put it on my RV and now don't need a generator,gas and oil or noise - cool!!!!! Perfect along with Renogy 150W solar panel. November 29, 2016 Works perfect with my Renogy 150W solar panel keeping 12v cooler and auxiliary battery charged on my Jeep. I use this controller on my whitewater raft to handle ... December 12, 2015 I use this controller on my whitewater raft to handle the output of a Renogy 60w solar panel. I bought it for reliability and features, the excess capacity is just a bonus. No, its not waterproof. I mount it in a small pelican case dedicated to the use. This controller has worked flawlessly in less than optimal conditions. Works well as UPS for small electronics February 16, 2015 One sentence summary: this charge controller is cheap, simple and works well in my use case (which has nothing to do with solar).My use case for this controller is a bit atypical. I wanted a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) for some small electronics (Raspberry Pi, automatic cat feeder, modem/router, etc), but I didn't want to pay hundreds for the typical APC style UPS that came with an unknown inverter and unknown, potentially irreplaceable battery type. I wasn't sure if this device could be used as a UPS (that is, the battery would take up the load quick enough in the event of a power outage), so I just wanted to get something cheap to try it out. Turns out it does work, well.I paired this device with a 120W 12VDC AC/DC power supply. This power supply acts as the solar panel (I may actually use solar panels in the future, but for now I have an AC/DC power supply so that's what I'm using). I hooked up an old motorcycle battery that I had laying around as the battery bank. I hope to upgrade this to an actual AGM battery bank soon, but since my loads are so low this will last for all of the basic few second power outages that would reset my RPi or modem/router. Then to the load side I attached some DC voltage regulators to output the various voltages that I need (5VDC for the RPi, 4.5VDC for the cat feeder, various voltages for the router/modem).Overall this device functions well. I tested it with a 65w load and when the AC/DC power supply cuts out, the battery takes up operation in a quick enough time frame that my electronics don't shut off. There are lots of modes of operation, but I just use the manual one (6 I think?) because my devices need power 24/7. I can't say how well the battery charge functions because the motorcycle battery is pretty old and takes forever to charge, but the controller does charge it and maintain the charge well.So, all in all, this is a good little device. My use is a bit atypical (UPS), but I'm surprised and happy to learn that this little thing functions just fine for my use.EDIT: After having the system in use for a few days, I noticed the battery voltage was a bit low although the controller indicated it was "within range" (single green light). I did some research and learned that charge controllers will NOT step up a low input voltage to a higher voltage to charge the battery. The power supply I have caps out at about 12.99VDC so it looks like my battery will never attain full charge with this supply. I'm doing more research to determine a proper voltage for input supply. Controller worked flawlessly September 29, 2014 I purchased this controller along with a 50 watt panel with the intention of expanding panels at a later date.Used the combination on a recent back country camping trip to charge my camper batteries and everything worked flawlessly. I look forward to expanding my system in the future and enjoying the freedom of being off the grid.I found the controller easy to hook up and mount, and the status read-outs clear and very helpful. I would definitely recommend the Renogy system to anyone interested in quality well engineered SV equipment. I have two Renogy Charge Controllers & both are good. April 19, 2014 I've had this one for about a month. I have a smaller 10 Amp unit that I've been running for about 6 months. Both work great. I have this one connected to my Lance slide-in, on-Truck Camper with a 50 watt Solar Renogy panel on the top. IT"S AWESOME! I don't have to worry about draining my battery in the camper any more. Easy hook up and so far reliable. PWM is sufficient for what I'm doing. Renogy has great products. |
Four Star Reviews: | 9% Bare bones features, great price. It works. July 13, 2016 I've been using this for my small, 100 watt back yard solar set up for about a month now. So far, so good. It has worked consistently and kept my battery charged. The LED indications are fine... a little more information would be great, but I knew what I was getting. I'm planning on installing a reverse reading amp-hour meter to keep track of charge/discharge status. The enclosure is a tiny bit flimsy-feeling. The connections are ok, but definitely add some strain relief the wires after they come out of the controller. This is my first solar project, so I'm kind of making it up as I go. For the price, this inverter is fine. | 21% Flush mount design is great for RV. August 5, 2017 I love the flush mount fit for in my RV. I would have gave it 5 stars if it was back-lit. I dont know if any others are but I bought Renogy panels and connectors so I wanted to keep it all matched. And to repeat the flush mount is PERFECT for an RV. This solar controller works great with the 100-watt solar panel on my RV November 28, 2016 This solar controller works great with the 100-watt solar panel on my RV. I had to install it without the plastic case on the rear because it was being flush-mounted on a thin interior wall in the RV. Hopefully nothing inside the wall will cause a short. ... panels and 6 gauge wires and it is doing great! No it is not mppt but at this ... March 2, 2015 I am using it with 2 100 watt panels and 6 gauge wires and it is doing great! No it is not mppt but at this price only an idiot would even compare it to one! The product is good, but they are a bitch to connect July 29, 2014 The product is good, but they are a bitch to connect, as the fittings are difficult to get a wire on. Works fine, poor documentation June 6, 2014 Works well as an off-the-grid battery charger (I'm using it with the Renogy 50W Mono Panel). The display uses LED's to indicate charging status, plus a very poorly implemented digital display that only serves to indicate the status of a load timer--nothing at all to do with charging a battery. As best I can tell one can use a pair of terminals on the controller to power an external load (say night lighting for example) and the controller offers numerous options that determine when the load is powered. I think. Anyway, none of those options have anything at all to do with battery charging and the manual is almost inscrutable. A phone call to Renogy confirmed this: if you're simply using this to charge a battery just plug it in and ignore the "settings" instructions. |
Three Star Reviews: | 3% Good while it lasted -a couple days. September 23, 2016 I liked the layout for the connections and the display was easy to read. I use past tense here because after a couple of days it blew up and never worked again.In spite of the alleged protections I disconnected the load before disconnecting the panels and ...zip, dark, never to return. | 4% Works good but will leave you guessing about whats going on October 24, 2015 Works good but will leave you guessing about whats going on.Instruction are hard to make out. If I bought another one,it would have a volt and charging meter to take all the guess work out. decent for the price October 10, 2015 Go with a MPPT charge controller if you can afford it (80-100) harness much more energy You buy cheap you get cheap January 8, 2015 For what it is, it meets expectations but soon you'll want to upgrade to an MPPT device. Not as described March 31, 2014 I was planning to use this to turn on LED lights in my chicken coop 8 hours after dusk, then it would turn them off at dawn, which even the manual says it will do. Well, after fighting with it for a few days, I called Renogy. Turns out the factory no longer supports any other setting than dusk to dawn and manual on off. The tech was even surprised and a bit ticked that they didn't let support know. I like the company, but unfortunate circumstances. I will keep it as for the price it is a good charge controller. I'll use it with simple manual on/off. I'll just add a cheap 12v timer between the controller and the LED's. It may work out better. Who knows. |
Two Star Reviews: | 3% quick and dirty protection of batteries August 1, 2016 Danged good product for smaller arrays. A little confused by the float and balance charge cycles as I have yet to see either come into play, even though the manual shows such is programmed in.EDIT: just this week, something went wrong with this unit. It isn't even 6 months old. No changes in my install, just one day good charge, the next , nothing. I can't smell anything burnt, but I am not getting any charge out to my batteries. I am also not getting any warning beeps if I start removing cables. All the LEDS seem to function correctly, just no output, only drain. Double checked to make sure I hasn't lost a battery as well: all checked fine.This just proves to me "you get what you pay for" . I just ordered a MPPT unit at 6 times the cost and hope to be done with sudden failures. | 5% Worked fine for awhile, still sorta works October 21, 2015 The "Load" circuit stopped working. I left a load powered on for weeks without realizing it, and it drained my batteries to nothing. The batteries were replaced, but this unit now will not power anything under any setting on the "load" contacts. It still charges my batteries fine, and I just run the load directly off the battery (fused) so I haven't replaced it, but I am a little disappointed - only had it a few months. Not as information rich and comprehensive as expected. For ... May 26, 2015 Follow up to this previous post: The unit has now stopped working after a burning smell started coming from it. Smoke came from the solar panel input connection. I measured the voltage coming from the one PV panel, it was 20.16 V, I did not test the amount of Amps. I did plug in my Go Power! 30 Amp Digital Solar Controller ($123, I guess you get what you pay for) and it works just fine, with more load. Previous post: Not as information rich and comprehensive as expected. For example, what the battery charge level is, how much Amps is coming in from the solar panels, etc. Worked for a few months then I don't know... March 15, 2015 It just stopped working and my inverter shut off yesterday (as of this post).My first thought was the inverter was bad, but I tested all signals and it turns out the charge controller randomly decided to spit out 5~6 volts.I think I got a defective one. Everything worked great and I only use my LCD TV off 4 batteries at night.I tried to reset it myself. the manual on their website is not there anymore so I tried setting WORK MODE to almost all the options but it started spitting out 24 volts to the batteries. So I immediately unplugged the whole system and I guess I'll have to buy from another manufacturer.Sad, I bought the panels from Renogy too. No Sunshine Light November 16, 2014 This has issues, like why do you need a light indicating that the sun is Not shining? I'm using this on a small solar panel to keep my ATV battery charged. It's a small battery, and I don't need an indication light draining the battery every night! Here is hoping it works June 25, 2014 Unbelievable that this thing will accept and in most cases demands large size wire to be placed in the ports and yet requires a jewelers size screw driver to snug those up. I had to leave my 50 piece tradesman's kit and dig out my watchmakers kit just to tighten the posts. I am not sure how much I care how it works from now on since I dread having to service it. Good While it lasted October 30, 2013 It worked real good for a month but then it broke and wouldn't send power out to the lights. Will be replacing with a more expensive one I can rely on. Company's solar panels are awesome and work fine. The controller is the only problem |
One Star Reviews: | 11% The P30 failed after only a couple of months of ... November 2, 2016 The P30 failed after only a couple of months of operation, and cooked a couple of batteries (the battery cases were bulged and cracked from overcharging) -- I actually tried a second battery after the first one was destroyed, hoping my first battery was old or defective, but the charger destroyed the second battery too. I reported the problem to WindyNation, along with photos of the damaged batteries and of voltage readings of the PV panel, Battery, and Load. WindyNation promptly and at no charge replaced the defective charge controller, with the upgraded model (P30L). So far, the P30L has worked flawlessly. but no good without adding short #10 leads which I didn't have October 23, 2016 A 30 amp controller needs to accept 30 amp wiring, 8 ga for dc voltage of more than a foot or two. I bought this as an emergency backup unit and just went to install it, but no good without adding short #10 leads which I didn't have. Guessing the guts are probably the same light-weighting. Don't know how well it operates since I will use a replacement truly designed for 30 amp. Nonperforming Regulator August 24, 2016 This unit has limited space for input and output wiring. Also mine functioned for only one day. I can't recommend this inferior product. | 8% Didn't last 3 months, Would not hold wire, ... September 18, 2017 Didn't last 3 months, Would not hold wire, not sure how it happened but came back from our cabin to find it melted in the pos and neg panel terminals. Would definitely not buy one again! def not as described June 22, 2017 Very low quality not suitable for our projects, poor terminals and no CSA or UL certification cannot be used legally in domestic applications for solar systems withing USA or Canada or EU zone Float Voltage Should be 13.6 or Better for Lead Acid Batteries October 13, 2015 The first one had a float voltage of 12.8, so I sent it back, the second one had a float voltage of 13.25 and while testing to see what negative results this had on my system the 30 day return date slipped by so I'm stuck with a piece of junk. If your float voltage is not right you kill your batteries. Many people won't have the tech savvy to know it is killing their batteries via Sulfation. Terminals cheap and dysfunctional September 24, 2015 Im an electrician with a truck full of tools and loads of experience making terminations. This unit has VERY sticky terminals with cheap metal screw heads sized too small for a decent driver and too large/too much torque required for precision driver sets. My tip broke off without budging the terminal. R enology and buyers: see questions and answers regarding difficulty end users consistently have with these terminals. DO NOT BUY May 21, 2015 DO NOT BUY! Very cheaply made, wouldn't wven hold the wires inside. As soon as it came time to install and I realized it was broken the return policy had expired! If the seller replaces my broken one with a working one I will remove this review. |
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Pricing info | ||
Old Price | ||
Old Price | - | - |
Price | ||
Price | $17.99updated: Mar 18, 2020 | $49.99updated: Mar 14, 2020 from 5 sellers |
Features | ||
Answered Questions | ||
Answered Questions | ||
Article Number | ||
Article Number | 0617209854701 | 0799475028885 |
Binding | ||
Binding | - | Lawn & Patio |
Brand | ||
Brand | WindyNation | Renogy |
Currency | ||
Currency | - | USD |
Formatted Price | ||
Formatted Price | - | $29.99 |
Height | ||
Height | 157.5 in | 38.6 in |
Length | ||
Length | 226.4 in | 216.9 in |
Manufacturer | ||
Manufacturer | WindyNation | Renogy |
Model | ||
Model | CHC-1224-30 | Ctrl-PWM30 |
MPN | ||
MPN | CHC-1224-30 | CTRL-PWM30 |
Number of Parts | ||
Number of Parts | CHC-1224-30 | CTRL-PWM30 |
Product Group | ||
Product Group | Lawn & Patio | Lawn & Patio |
Product Type | ||
Product Type | OUTDOOR_LIVING | OUTDOOR_LIVING |
Publisher | ||
Publisher | WindyNation | Renogy |
Quantity | ||
Quantity | - | 1 |
Reviews | ||
Reviews | ||
Score | ||
Score | 9.6 | 8.6 |
Size | ||
Size | - | 30A |
Studio | ||
Studio | WindyNation | Renogy |
Weight | ||
Weight | 1.4 oz | 1.1 oz |
Width | ||
Width | 49.2 in | 147.2 in |
Feature | ||
Feature | Protects batteries from overcharge and discharge. Maximizes solar power production Handles up to 30 amps of array current. Keeps 12 or 24 volt batteries properly charged. Electronic protections: overvoltage, reverse polarity, over current, excessive temperature and short circuit protected LED's on the face of the charge controller indicate solar panel,battery, and load status 12 volt batteries are maintained in a fully charged state. Works on lead acid batteries including AGM and flooded. | Easy to use and cool to look at. Renogy 30A PWM solar controller protects your battery from overcharge and discharge Our high quality product handles up to 30 amps of array current and up to 450 watts of solar power It comes with LED indicator showing when solar is charging the battery and when the system is over voltage Maintains 12/24 volt batteries in a fully charged state and gives free protection to your solar panels and batteries Renogy 30A PWM solar controller is designed with a microcontroller for automatic lighting control functions |
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