I have an SC-2030 and TM-2030 for the past 3 years. I have 4 AGMs. I went with Bogart because, as they said above, they do "amp-hrs counting to determine endpoints ". I would also suggest to Bogart that they provide signals from the TM/SC that can be used to shut off loads when the battery gets too low. I would also suggest they add the ability to update the firmware. A method of firmware update is essential for any product that has firmware.
I left the power on in the winter and dragged down my AGMs to 10%. Now, when they are at 100% and the sun is shining, the voltage will cycle from 27 to 33 volts over the course of many seconds. Bogart replied that this is caused by sulfation in the batteries and there is not much they can do to fix it. I think this means that the SCC sees the voltage at 27 and increases that to the proper float value, then the battery responds by slowly ramping up it's voltage. The SCC shuts off at the target voltage, but the battery cruises past the target on to 33+ with some sort of momentum. My Victron multiplus compact 24/2000 does not like that excess voltage and shuts off. Bogart offered an upgrade to the firmware, but I would have to mail it to them and pay.
I am replacing the TM and SC 2030s and the batteries with
http://www.electrodacus.com/ and the Xuba 280ah LiFePo4 cells. It feels like Dacien at Electrodacus is virtually the same as the people at Bogart. Both are excellent at responding to emails. Both seem to be providing products that they created for themselves. Both prefer PWM type controllers, although my understanding from Dacien is that his solar controller DSSR20 is not really PWM or MPPT. It is essentially sends the panel straight to the LiFePo4 cells, but will respond to the main controller. I am not an expert, so I cannot confirm that his solution is excellent, but it makes sense. LiFePo4 charging is much simpler than lead acid, and thus the SC-2030 logic is unneeded.
I am sure that I can use the SC-2030 to charge the Li batteries, but I still need a balancer, and Electrodacus provdes that, so I'm going to sell the bogart stuff.
I am not an expert on MPPT vs PWM, but the PWM controller is cheaper, and does not need a large heat sink. Those are 2 factors that mean that in order to justify MPPT, you have to prove that 1) it is worth the money, and 2) that large heat sink is somehow not throwing away solar energy. Both of those are high hurdles to prove. In my mind the only benefit to MPPT is that you can have a high voltage coming off the panels, and thus cheaper wires, and that all depends on your physical layout.
The Electrodacus solution makes the BMS a monitor and controller. The current does not go through it. This seems to be a darn good choice. It sends signals to the loads and to the chargers to shut off when necessary. I like that approach because the BMS is simpler. It does not need amp specific components. My new setup will properly shut off loads when the battery is drained.
In both cases, they are rather poor at remote monitoring. When I bought mine, there was no remote access. Bogart is now offering the WiFi module and that looks good. Electrodacus also has a WiFi module, but his implementation makes the WiFi an access point. It cannot be a client on your existing wifi. I emailed Dacien about this and he explained why; he just used the default ESP20 firmware. He he feels that I, a pro software developer, should be able to update the firmware on the WiFi module to be a client. I plan to make that solution available to Dacien or others depending on what I discover. Both Bogart and Electrodacus have a default physical user interface and offer wifi/browser as an option. This is backwards. If I was them, I would reverse this. I would make the base system have no physical user interface. It would be WiFi only. Then maybe offer a physical user interface as an option. I don't really see the point of bluetooth. It is limited in range. Wifi is cheap and probably already in your build area. I mean if you don't have wifi, then how are you reading this? Without too much trouble that info can be put onto the internet for remote access.
In short, I feel that Electrodacus is the Bogart for LiFePo4. Real humans, real responsive, well thought out solutions, and not expensive.
any help is very welcome
