Renogy Solar Charge Controller Rover 40A 12V24V Auto Parameter DC Input MPPT Charge Controllers for Solar Panels Adjustable LCD for Gel Sealed Flooded Lithium Battery

This seems to be doing its job, i have had it nearly a year now. I have had a heck of a time setting up the safe shut down though. So i am not sure what to do with that just yet but i might get around to it soo. If i do then i can update my review once I get that sorted out! We have two complete gaming computer setups on this one and it is flawless!

I have gone through 3 different MPPT controllers and this is the first to actually do everything it stated. Installation couldn't have been easier. I like the mounting brackets, they make mounting way easy. The controls although not all that obvious are easy to get used to. A straight right pointing arrow does not scream "Enter". Setting up the battery type and the load mode was super simple. So far so good. If things change I will edit. (NOTE: The Tech Support and Weather proof, I cannot comment on as I have not used the support or had "Weather" issue that would effect the controller) I had an opportunity to reach out the Tech support/customer service. I was attempting to register my warranty, However when I hit submit I was informed that the SKU/Product number was not found. I went thru the list and sure enough it was not there. According to support, I did not need to register my warranty since I bought it from Amazon and that I should just keep the Amazon information.

Great replacement for the PWM controller that came with our Renogy Solar kit. Initially we had the Renogy PWM 30 AMP controller and it was an entry level controller in all respects. The previous controller was limited to a 12 volt battery source had 2 lead pairs, one for solar panel connection and the other for the battery side connection. Any load connected to the battery array had to be connected directly to the batteries and was not governed by the controller. Also you had to rely on LED indicator lights To determine when the controller was in charge mode versus float mode. Adequate for an entry level controller but not great. Now lets talk about this controller. First, this controller is capable of 12 or 24 volt wiring installations. 24 volt DC is superior to 12 volt DC because it cuts the Amperage draw in half on the DC end. A 1.2 Amp TV running on AC/120 volts will require 12 Amps on the 12v-DC end to meet the same 140 Watt requirement. A 24 volt DC setup will reduce the amperage requirement down to 6 amps on DC, which means your DC wiring gauge doesn’t have to be as robust when supporting a 24 volt application. Secondly, the LCD display is great and is a must for a solar charge controller. It’s not enough to know that the solar cells are charging the battery, you may also want to know how “fast” they are charging the battery and whether or not the panels should be angled to reach optimized charge rate. The LCD screen also provides a percentage estimate of battery remaining in addition to the amps that are being supplied by the panels, along with a running amp-hour accumulation of charge provided the panels over a period of time and current battery voltage. Third, it has a pair of positive/negative load leads that permit connecting appliance loads up to 20 Amps DC. It’s not necessary to use the load leads for connecting the devices that run off the battery, but the added advantage of using them is that your battery array is protected from over-consumption, as the leads shut off usage on the battery once it reaches a certain level of discharge in order to protect the battery array. I’ve only used the new controller once, but the instructions were easy to follow and I made a laminated copy of the LED and Menu options as a quick reference guide that will go along with the kit on camping trips. Currently the array powers my 400 Watt (4x100W) kit and 2 VMAX 125ah batteries wired in parallel, but I am seriously thinking of doubling the panel array and adding 2 more batteries in a series/parallel configuration to take advantage of the 24 volt capabilities of this controller. Quick Note on the 100 Watt Renogy panels: When I measured the charge current of the 4 x 100 watt panels connected in Parallel I noted an 18.5 amp charge rate on the new controller or ~4.6 amps per panel. That seemed low to me given that 400 watts/12v is around 33.3 amps, or 8.33 amps per panel. In discussions with Renogy support I found out that the 100 Watts is calculated at 17.9 volts * 5.7 amps, where they use the maximum charge voltage by each of the panels as basis for the calculation. Just something to be aware of when you are reading sub-5 amps per panel charge rate on your controller. This new controller works as advertised, was relatively inexpensive for what it does, and I may update the review again in 12 months after running it a few more times for a consistency check.

This works well to charge LiFePO batteries - but you have to change the settings. The default "Li" (Lithium) setting doesn't do it. I don't know what logic it applies in the "Li" setting, but my LiFePO batteries went dead. Once dead, the controller would not apply any current to recharge them. I had to change the battery type to "USE". The "USE" setting allows you to set the battery charging parameters - Equalizing voltage (which you can't shut off, but doesn't apply to LiFePO batteries), Boost voltage, Floating charging voltage, over-discharge return voltage, Over-discharge voltage - to your LiFePO battery's specs. Once done, they charged very quickly and stayed that way. LiFePO batteries typically have a built-in BMS unlike Lithium Ion batteries. Also, the manual that comes with the unit is nowhere near as detailed as the one that you can download from here (or Renogy's site). What's included in the box is pretty much a quick-start guide that doesn't get into detailed settings.

One huge problem. Renogy has a password system. I purchased the bluetooth module to go along with my system. Finally, after I don't know how many times having to enter my password over the last 2.5 years, the phone app will not take my P.W. and I cannot get a new one. Essentially, im shut out of my own system using Bluetooth. The big question is, of course, why on earth do I need a password? It's ridiculous. I'll never buy Renogy products again.

Initially, I bought a Rover 30 for my solar panels back in 2022. It failed after 6 months. Renogy would not honor the warranty because they said the charge controller for my wind generator voided it, even though there was nothing in the warranty language that prohibited it. After 1.5 years with an unbranded hybrid MPPT that could take wind, I decided to take the wind offline, add two more panels. The Rover 40 seemed to make sense in that application. I hoped that this time the Renogy, which does well in converting high voltage low amp current from the panels to 24V/high amp charging current, would serve its purpose well. For the first couple weeks, it did very well. But now about once a day, I have to take off, reposition, and re-connect the battery cables. It work fine for a while, and then stop charging. Then I am running straight off the batteries until they run down. Seems the battery cables will not stay connected despite my best efforts. I've noticed in different reviews, others have also had issues with their terminals. One person complained that the screw stripped out, which suggests to me they were trying the get a good, lasting connection. I don't think this problem is unique to me. Since I am still within 30 days and since I had poor experience with their customer service previously, I'm not taking any chances. I've orderd a Vectron to replace this, and as soon as it arrives this thing is going back into the box and back to Amazon. No more Renogy products for me. I'm done with them.

This thing works great. I use it to charge my batteries for my garden lights and I really like it. I had an issue with it and Renogy support was great at helping me resolve it. I bought another and I can't wait to set it up for my next project.

Meets all specifications, MPPT tracking and voltage down conversion from PV module voltage to battery voltage conversion works well. Efficient, at least 90% of PV module power goes to the battery (note: cheaper "PWM" chargers burn off excess module voltage, wasting this power, instead of converting it). Pre-programmed Lithium battery charge settings work fine. Screw terminals are easy to use and make secure connections. I mounted this unit to the outside of a Group 24 battery box, which I use with a 100W module and a 100Ah LiTime battery for power in remote locations; the combination works very well. Big, easy to read display. Menus and buttons are intuitive and easy to learn and use. Well made. Easy to mount. Includes temperature sensor probe for battery temperature compensation. Good value, I would recommend it and would buy it again.