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My negative experience with my solar charger Epever Tracer10415AN and a warning for using it with Lithium Battery

I gained no insight into what was causing my issue - did you?

If anyone thinks they’ve got a reliable and repeatable reset / reconnect sequence that starts an Epever AN SCC off correctly in a way that is is responsive to all user settings, it would be great to document that somewhere.

But my guess is that even Epever themselves may not understand causes these ‘ghosts’ in their AN-Series products (and hence may not know how they can reliably be avoided).
Will has videos explaining connecting and disconnecting. Really informative videos.
 
Whew! I'm planning on a 4x200W system and recently stumbled on the Epever TRIRON 4215N 40A Solar Controller.
Per all my readings on the Triron, a 24V series/parallel panel config appears to fill my dreams.
Per the Amazon product seller's page, the Triron definitely supports LiFePo4 batts. I was planning on 3x100Ah ExpertPower lithiums.

Apparently this is not the case, a pipe dream that can turn into a nightmare.

My new search is now leaning toward the OUTBACK FLEXMax 60A. I'm not into China bashing, but having dealt with Amazon, middle-man distributers, et all, I figure the Outback at twice the cost is insurance against frustration, down time, and lost wages.

Thanks to all for your replies to this post, your opinions matter... onward and upward.
 
I have the EPEVER Tracer 4215BN, which does not include the "Li" in the list of usable chemistries. It has "user" and I was expecting to be able to program it for my 24v 280ah LiFePo4 battery. Should I be looking to purchase a different SCC?
 
I have the EPEVER Tracer 4215BN, which does not include the "Li" in the list of usable chemistries. It has "user" and I was expecting to be able to program it for my 24v 280ah LiFePo4 battery. Should I be looking to purchase a different SCC?
You can set the user settings for lithium charging. If you scroll down the manual in the attached link if give you a list of the settings to use.
EPEver manual with Lithium settings

Any controller that has user settings that are able to be modified to these parameters is suitable.

Tim
 
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You can set the user settings for lithium charging. If you scroll down the manual in the attached link if give you a list of the settings to use.
EPEver manual with Lithium settings

Any controller that has user settings that are able to be modified to these parameters is suitable.

Tim
That is not the correct model. If you read through this comment thread, you notice that EPEVER told the guy that started this post, that if his model did not say it supported Lithium chemistry, it was not supported under the warranty. The model that I have is the EPEVER Tracer 4215BN, and it does not say anywhere that it supports Lithium chemistry. Here is a link to the correct manual. I'd rather spend more money and get one that's going to work than figure out its not while I'm off-grid.
 
I had an epever die on me too. Fortunately I got a 3rd party protection plan & they replaced it with a bit more out of pocket to get another. Epever is notorious for dying for no apparent reason but I decided to by so called Cadillac Victrons & damned if I've had more problems with them as bad as epever. I don't think anyone is making a quality charger anymore. Anybody having good service from another brand?
 
That is not the correct model. If you read through this comment thread, you notice that EPEVER told the guy that started this post, that if his model did not say it supported Lithium chemistry, it was not supported under the warranty. The model that I have is the EPEVER Tracer 4215BN, and it does not say anywhere that it supports Lithium chemistry. Here is a link to the correct manual. I'd rather spend more money and get one that's going to work than figure out its not while I'm off-grid.
The manual I showed you also does not have a dedicated setting for lithium batteries, this is because there are numerous types of lithium batteries which require different charge rates. Instead you have to choose the user setting and nominate the values listed under the correct lithium type. The main issue is the equalisation charge which because you cant turn it off it is set to become a regular absorption cycle.

Yes, they now say that the charger is lithium compatible but that is just marketing and to say that the charger failed because it was used on a lithium battery is totally incorrect and simply a way to get out of warranty. Take a good search and you will find the answers.

In the end if you don’t feel comfortable changing the settings under the user profile then that is your decision and I am not going to go against what you feel comfortable with. I’m just explaining to you and the OP that where you have a user profile in which you are able to change the settings then you can set it up to control lithium batteries.

Good luck in what ever you decide to do.

The manual I attached was just to show you the user setting profile for a lithium battery.

Tim
 
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The manual I showed you also does not have a dedicated setting for lithium batteries, this is because there are numerous types of lithium batteries which require different charge rates. Instead you have to choose the user setting and nominate the values listed under the correct lithium type. The main issue is the equalisation charge which because you cant turn it off it is set to become a regular absorption cycle.

Yes, they now say that the charger is lithium compatible but that is just marketing and to say that the charger failed because it was used on a lithium battery is totally incorrect and simply a way to get out of warranty. Take a good search and you will find the answers.

In the end if you don’t feel comfortable changing the settings under the user profile then that is your decision and I am not going to go against what you feel comfortable with. I’m just explaining to you and the OP that where you have a user profile in which you are able to change the settings then you can set it up to control lithium batteries.

Good luck in what ever you decide to do.

The manual I attached was just to show you the user setting profile for a lithium battery.

Tim
The manual you posted does have setting for LifePo4.

I don't have a problem changing the user settings as long as it will work properly.

I can see that they may want to get out of a warranty by saying that, but what if there was something that is different between their SCCs that allows some to charge lithium correctly, and others not.

What are you referring to when you say, "The main issue is the equalization charge which because you cant turn it off it is set to become a regular absorption cycle."?
 
The manual you posted does have setting for LifePo4.

I don't have a problem changing the user settings as long as it will work properly.

I can see that they may want to get out of a warranty by saying that, but what if there was something that is different between their SCCs that allows some to charge lithium correctly, and others not.

What are you referring to when you say, "The main issue is the equalization charge which because you cant turn it off it is set to become a regular absorption cycle."?
Lithium batteries do not require equalisation but under the user profile it is unable to be turned off so it is set to 14.6 or lower so it becomes like part of the absorption cycle.

At the bottom set absorption time to 0 mins.
Tim
 
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I brought this charger Evpever Tracer 10415AN 12v,24v,48v 100amps solar charge controller, $412 w/ taxes, from a seller called Y-Solar on amazon back in May 2019 and after a year, I finally got my system set up and running in May this year. It was powering my 48v lithium ion battery bank and an AIM 5000watt 48v pure swine inverter. It was running great with no trouble until I decided to take my system offline so I can do some cleaning, and add a plexiglass door to the cabinet where I housed my system. I turned on my system accordingly, breaker to the battery first than breaker to the panel, inverter off.
Nothing. The charger would not turn on. Just blank.
I tested the terminals and there are adequate power from both the battery and solar. The 100amp fuse is good. I opened up the machine (seller requested pictures), nothing is loose or any visible signs of damage. I have a M50 attached to the charger and that is off also so it's not a broken LCD. All the wires are tight.
View attachment 26192View attachment 26193View attachment 26194View attachment 26195View attachment 26196View attachment 26197
On the amazon listing, the seller stated that the product is warranty for 2 years. So I contacted the seller about my issues, I sent them pictures and videos about the broken product. Hoping I send them the defective item and they send me a working one.
I was wrong.
First of all, the seller emphasized the fact that the charger doesn't support lithium ion battery. So I emailed the manufacture, at first that said
"
Hi,
Thank you for contacting us.
Yes, lithium battery is supported.
Have a nice day,
EPEVER Support

"
After I send the rebuttal to the seller, out of the blue, I got a follow up from Epever Support a few days later...
"
Tracer10145AN manufactured in the second half year of 2019 supports Lithium battery, products manufactured earlier do not support lithium battery. The quickest way to check whether the product received supports lithium battery or not is to check the label sticker that sticks on the product.
Texts "12V/24V/36V/48V" on the label means it does not support lithium battery.
Texts "12V/24V/36V/48V/Li" on the label means it supports lithium battery.
When I received your email, I thought you had not purchased the Tracer10415AN yet.
Have a nice day,
EPEVER Support

"
I had the charger set up as "user", I manually put in all the parameters correctly and it was working perfectly for months. I believe the solar charger was working fine with the lithium battery bank but the manufacturer claims mine doesn't supports lithium. The seller also send me an email echo what the manufacture said and saying this ....
"
Sorry I can't replace a new one to you. I provide you with 3 plans, see which one you can accept.
This product has 2 years of free repair service, you can choose to return to the factory for repair, but you need to pay for the return shipping. The time is about 30-45 days.
The second option is that after you send the product to our overseas warehouse address (shipping is paid), we will refund you $100.
The third option is that after you send the product to our overseas warehouse address (shipping is paid by yourself), pay an additional $200 to us, and we will send you a new 10415AN controller (this is an upgraded version that supports lithium batteries)

"
So to get the free repair, it seems like in any case, you will need to ship it to china and pay for the return shipping which can cost hundreds and on top 30-45 days for you to get it back! The other 2 options are just as ridiculous. Since its broken and just sitting at my house taking up space, fine, I decided to go with option 3. I asked for the address and if they can give me an invoice or receipt for this transaction. They replied:
"
I'm very sorry, we can only reissue 10415AN to you after resend the 10415 and 200 US dollars. (MT50 and No need to send other accessories)
You can receive the goods as soon as possible by sending them as soon as possible. There are still a few units in stock in the United States, otherwise we will have to wait for the next batch of shipping.
Overseas warehouse address:
Guxinghua GuXingHua
6215 NE 92nd Dr
C/O TPD112
Portland, Oregon, 97253
US
503-894-8090
Please send us the shipping certificate and tracking number after shipping.
We are very sorry that there is no invoice for this transaction.

"
I googled the address they gave me and it's for a company called USZCN INTERNATIONAL LOGISTICS and these are the reviews for this place:
-"These people hacked my amazon account somehow and ordered an Apple Pencil. I saw I’m not the first person they did this to. Use your own money."
-"like others have said, they hacked my amazon acct to ship an apple pencil to themselves. oddly though, they did not use one of my cards. it is some random visa but they used my name as the 'name on card' so i'm very confused."
... and 9 other reviews claiming their Amazon acct got hacked by them.
Also they will not provide me with an invoice.
I also thought of the scenario of what happens if the "newer" lithium one is defective? Am I going to have to ship it to china to get it fix?
For $460 on a higher specs solar charger, I thought I would get a better product and customer service. Not in this case.
I decided to take my losses and ordered a 60A MPPT Solar Charge Controller DC 12V24V48V Auto Battery Regulator PV 150V Input MPPT Charge Controller for Lithium, Sealed, Gel, and Flooded Batteries by OneSolar for $178, deliever in 2 days, plus if it broke within a year, Im just going to have Amazon deal with it.
Hopefully this post helps. Thanks for reading.

If anyone have any idea what could be the problem with my Tracer and troubleshoot it. Please let me know. Thank you.
Did you ever find out the issue ?
Do you still have the unit.. I do electronics work.. maybe i could check it out for you..
You just pay the shipping..If i can't fix it,,, no charge.. If i can, i'll tell you 1st..
I like a challenge.
 
This is what I believe toasted your epever. A charger with no lithium support or 1 with support but using it in user mode will fry it. As most know the correct hook up procedure is to 1st hook up the batteries then the panels. For whatever reason, a non lithium charger requires an active load of some kind to regulate the dc to dc circuit. With no load present it appears that causes the dc to dc circuit to run out of control. So the danger with lithiums is when they're charged, the bms disconnects the battery & you have no load to regulate the dc circuit. Lithium support chargers apparently at least simulate a load to prevent the dc circuit runaway but using a lithium supported charger may still fry if you use it in user mode which might bypass the protection. Chargers are the most fragile part of a system & won't take many mishaps if errors are made.
My suggestion would be to go with Growatt chargers in the future, they're cheaper than epevers with a better reputation. I switched to them after 4 of my victrons failed. Victron is junk at a rolls royce price. Their built like tanks reputation has apparently gone to the dogs.
 
This is what I believe toasted your epever. A charger with no lithium support or 1 with support but using it in user mode will fry it. As most know the correct hook up procedure is to 1st hook up the batteries then the panels. For whatever reason, a non lithium charger requires an active load of some kind to regulate the dc to dc circuit. With no load present it appears that causes the dc to dc circuit to run out of control. So the danger with lithiums is when they're charged, the bms disconnects the battery & you have no load to regulate the dc circuit. Lithium support chargers apparently at least simulate a load to prevent the dc circuit runaway but using a lithium supported charger may still fry if you use it in user mode which might bypass the protection. Chargers are the most fragile part of a system & won't take many mishaps if errors are made.
My suggestion would be to go with Growatt chargers in the future, they're cheaper than epevers with a better reputation. I switched to them after 4 of my victrons failed. Victron is junk at a rolls royce price. Their built like tanks reputation has apparently gone to the dogs.
Thanks for sharing this info, as I’m about to hookup the same setup mentioned in this post. It seems like I could set the bms over voltage shutoff to be higher than the charger voltage shutoff to prevent the scenario you’re talking about in your post. With the charger configured to shut off at a lower voltage than the bms, the bms will never have the opportunity to disconnect and chase the charge to not have a load attached. What do you think?
 
I Did the same thing once . I thought i fried the controller. Took all wires off and shorted the terminals on the controller to discharge any internal charge. left it that way for 20 minutes. Connected battery's and it came to life.Connected the battery's and has been fine ever since.
 
I have 2 units, both with 14s3P battery banks, each string has it's own BMS..I have the BMS just 0.1v higher than the set User voltage on the CC
and my voltage is set at 4.1vpc. None of the BMS's have ever cut off yet. everything has been smooth so far..in the beginning i was checking things hourly, then after a while, daily, then weekly, now i just check things about once a month or whenever.. and no issues so far.
User mode is totally usable for lithium, you just have to make sure you set things right..
I wanted 4.1VPC, So I added 4.1 x 14 (48V system ) to get my max voltage charge. and I wanted 3.1vpc as my lowest.
You don't ever wanna charge to max or min. voltage. That just shortens the life of the batteries, Stay in the comfort zone and they'll last way longer.
Right now, i have more solar than batteries, So I am on the hunt for more..
Only issue i have right now, Is one unit has lost Communications, Supposedly a new com board is on the way..
If that doesn't fix it, they said they would send me another unit.. Warranty is up in july..Grrrrr
 
I brought this charger Evpever Tracer 10415AN 12v,24v,48v 100amps solar charge controller, $412 w/ taxes, from a seller called Y-Solar on amazon back in May 2019 and after a year, I finally got my system set up and running in May this year. It was powering my 48v lithium ion battery bank and an AIM 5000watt 48v pure swine inverter. It was running great with no trouble until I decided to take my system offline so I can do some cleaning, and add a plexiglass door to the cabinet where I housed my system. I turned on my system accordingly, breaker to the battery first than breaker to the panel, inverter off.
Nothing. The charger would not turn on. Just blank.
I tested the terminals and there are adequate power from both the battery and solar. The 100amp fuse is good. I opened up the machine (seller requested pictures), nothing is loose or any visible signs of damage. I have a M50 attached to the charger and that is off also so it's not a broken LCD. All the wires are tight.
View attachment 26192View attachment 26193View attachment 26194View attachment 26195View attachment 26196View attachment 26197
On the amazon listing, the seller stated that the product is warranty for 2 years. So I contacted the seller about my issues, I sent them pictures and videos about the broken product. Hoping I send them the defective item and they send me a working one.
I was wrong.
First of all, the seller emphasized the fact that the charger doesn't support lithium ion battery. So I emailed the manufacture, at first that said
"
Hi,
Thank you for contacting us.
Yes, lithium battery is supported.
Have a nice day,
EPEVER Support

"
After I send the rebuttal to the seller, out of the blue, I got a follow up from Epever Support a few days later...
"
Tracer10145AN manufactured in the second half year of 2019 supports Lithium battery, products manufactured earlier do not support lithium battery. The quickest way to check whether the product received supports lithium battery or not is to check the label sticker that sticks on the product.
Texts "12V/24V/36V/48V" on the label means it does not support lithium battery.
Texts "12V/24V/36V/48V/Li" on the label means it supports lithium battery.
When I received your email, I thought you had not purchased the Tracer10415AN yet.
Have a nice day,
EPEVER Support

"
I had the charger set up as "user", I manually put in all the parameters correctly and it was working perfectly for months. I believe the solar charger was working fine with the lithium battery bank but the manufacturer claims mine doesn't supports lithium. The seller also send me an email echo what the manufacture said and saying this ....
"
Sorry I can't replace a new one to you. I provide you with 3 plans, see which one you can accept.
This product has 2 years of free repair service, you can choose to return to the factory for repair, but you need to pay for the return shipping. The time is about 30-45 days.
The second option is that after you send the product to our overseas warehouse address (shipping is paid), we will refund you $100.
The third option is that after you send the product to our overseas warehouse address (shipping is paid by yourself), pay an additional $200 to us, and we will send you a new 10415AN controller (this is an upgraded version that supports lithium batteries)

"
So to get the free repair, it seems like in any case, you will need to ship it to china and pay for the return shipping which can cost hundreds and on top 30-45 days for you to get it back! The other 2 options are just as ridiculous. Since its broken and just sitting at my house taking up space, fine, I decided to go with option 3. I asked for the address and if they can give me an invoice or receipt for this transaction. They replied:
"
I'm very sorry, we can only reissue 10415AN to you after resend the 10415 and 200 US dollars. (MT50 and No need to send other accessories)
You can receive the goods as soon as possible by sending them as soon as possible. There are still a few units in stock in the United States, otherwise we will have to wait for the next batch of shipping.
Overseas warehouse address:
Guxinghua GuXingHua
6215 NE 92nd Dr
C/O TPD112
Portland, Oregon, 97253
US
503-894-8090
Please send us the shipping certificate and tracking number after shipping.
We are very sorry that there is no invoice for this transaction.

"
I googled the address they gave me and it's for a company called USZCN INTERNATIONAL LOGISTICS and these are the reviews for this place:
-"These people hacked my amazon account somehow and ordered an Apple Pencil. I saw I’m not the first person they did this to. Use your own money."
-"like others have said, they hacked my amazon acct to ship an apple pencil to themselves. oddly though, they did not use one of my cards. it is some random visa but they used my name as the 'name on card' so i'm very confused."
... and 9 other reviews claiming their Amazon acct got hacked by them.
Also they will not provide me with an invoice.
I also thought of the scenario of what happens if the "newer" lithium one is defective? Am I going to have to ship it to china to get it fix?
For $460 on a higher specs solar charger, I thought I would get a better product and customer service. Not in this case.
I decided to take my losses and ordered a 60A MPPT Solar Charge Controller DC 12V24V48V Auto Battery Regulator PV 150V Input MPPT Charge Controller for Lithium, Sealed, Gel, and Flooded Batteries by OneSolar for $178, deliever in 2 days, plus if it broke within a year, Im just going to have Amazon deal with it.
Hopefully this post helps. Thanks for reading.

If anyone have any idea what could be the problem with my Tracer and troubleshoot it. Please let me know. Thank you.
I have similar problems they sent me 60 amp one it never worked tried to return it . They wanted pictures so sent them pictures of battery plugged in and nothing happening . So after 8 months they sent me a 40bn. And that one shows voltage of 12.8 but as soon as I plug in solar it goes to 14.5 and doesn't charge but battery is still at 12.8 now I have 2 junk controller . And there is no warranty they say 2: years but there not even a 2 minutes warranty but I have bought many epever for people and me and they work great
 
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