Renogy Rover 40 Amp 12V/24V DC Input MPPT Solar Charge Controller Auto Parameter Adjustable LCD Display Solar Panel Regulator fit for Gel Sealed Flooded and Lithium Battery

Upgraded from a PWN, and the difference is crazy! We get so much more out of our solar panels now. The charge controller is much larger than the equivalent PWN, but so worth it.

I upgraded from a Rover 20A Li to an 40A and installed this yesterday to replaced the Rover 20 that had gone bad. I was awed by the low price ($140) and jumped on it. It’s built like a tank. I highly recommend you read thoroughly the instructions before installing any wires! You can ruin it if you do it out of sequence.The screws for tightening down the wires are small so I don’t recommend using the Phillips option. I had better luck using the flat tip screwdriver. I highly recommend the Bluetooth module BT-2 sold separately. You can monitor the status on your smartphone as well as change the settings.

Working great so far and it's been over a year.

Received and installed unit as per instructions. I have 4 x 100w Renogy panels in parallel feeding system. This Rover replaces the former Wanderer charge controller.Wired it up and started it in morning and let it run all day as I practiced scrolling through menu and comparing it to my calibrated Fluke meter and other hardwired meters for bench testing.Later that evening wanted to mount it more securely and also formally ground the unit. Good grounding is of course basis of all good electrical install devices, etc. Had studied the reviews and comments on this controller and don't felt like there was ever any definitive grounding literature?Regardless, I seen what was obviously a factory grounding point on the back of the metal cooling fins and frame of the device (pic attached)...prepped a #10 vs green for grounding and got an electrical arc at moment of attachment to grounding bus.Checked my 30a fuse and it blew as expected. Replaced, and started diagnosing.The threaded and tapped machine screw and hole give clear continuity between the screw point (the FRAME) ....they present right on 14v dc where the system voltage is now...The 14v volt reading is consistent with the 14v reading on the bat+ terminal. I can confirm that the frame appears to be energized with the battery voltage vs the input of dc from the of array (20+ v) at moment...and there is continuity between bat+ and the screw with a simple continuity check....The metal body appears to be powder coated or heat enameled painted or some such application that effectively insulates it?Another simple continuity check along the body of the device yields nothing even when directly contacted by probe tips....again...the products inherent electrical insulation is the paint?Is this a defective device perhaps or....I just feel it was designed this way by intent? Is there some rationale or explanation?The reviews and website literature and resources seem vague and contradictory and dated.Is it possible to get some contemporary info on grounding schematics for installers?Fortunately the device is sitting on an insulated platform (on top of plastic battery covers...ie; insulated electrically...as per included pic...). Trying to get some feedback on the matter and maybe seller in particular and other users can confirm?It has obvious potential to be shock hazard.In process to contact seller for refund/exchange. The only other overt flaw I found is when wiping dust from LCD screen it has traces and remnants of....like Etch a Sketch tracks on screen for a moment then disappear? Perhaps a more rigid material or simple glass sacrificial lens would protect the delicate digital screen from simple routine dust removal? Seemed a cheaper component compared to the rest of the unit overall. Functions perfect as per literature as far as I can tell. Just suspect as a grounding hazard...In progress to communicate with Renogy customer service.....UPDATE: renogy replace the unit and sent me a new one I installed it and it works perfectly now that I have had this unit in for a few months I am very satisfied and impressed with it it's simple and easy to interface with and seems to work perfectly as far as I can tell I've bought a few renogy kits and products the last couple years panels inverters charge controllers and had very good luck with their information and customer service I would give this product 5 stars but except the initial Hassle and having to replace the first one but renogy made good on it so highly recommend this charge controller...

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.