PowMr are still ripoff, beware.

[DestroyFX]

Hi, unfortunately on the top right is a PWM controller (UC3845). The microcontroller has a serial bus and apparently an ISP interface for programming, but it seems hopeless to identify the microcontroller.
My PowMr M60-PRO works perfectly fine as long as it is in MPPT mode (Mode 4), but once it has switched to Mode 7, it does not return to MPPT mode, but rather lets the battery run down. I've tried all battery settings, all behave the same way. I think it's a software problem. I bought it directly from the manufacturer, but no response so far.

The only way to properly know, would be to know what software it run.
I expect PowMr to run older MakeSkyBlue firmware.

The old 60A unit is a copy of a very old makeskyblue unit, running v113 firmware.
The new PowMr 60A Pro seam to be a copy of newer makeskyblue, very similar internal to v119 version but I did not look at v117 internal. The makeskyblue v117 unit did had issue getting stuck at mode 7 so it's possible it's running that.

For what I know, you can upgrade it to v118. aliexpress.com/i/4000011273671.html
But I would not do that if you are not sure it is actually running makeskyblue v117 firmware as you can easily brick the device.

 

[WoodySolarVan]

Just to add some noise... I have the Epever 60 and PowMr 30. Both have ran flawlessly for 2 years. In my research over the years most of these controllers from whatever brand seem to be similar to others (some cosmetic changes but the guts are the same.). All of them are using a licensed IP with whatever branding changes they require.


My point is that the bashing of a brand by erroneously stating it's a knock off of some other brand is pure misinformation.


The IP Holder is Magic Series...about five other brands use it for their controller models... Just FYi

 

[DestroyFX]

Just to add some noise... I have the Epever 60 and PowMr 30. Both have ran flawlessly for 2 years. In my research over the years most of these controllers from whatever brand seem to be similar to others (some cosmetic changes but the guts are the same.). All of them are using a licensed IP with whatever branding changes they require.


My point is that the bashing of a brand by erroneously stating it's a knock off of some other brand is pure misinformation.


The IP Holder is Magic Series...about five other brands use it for their controller models... Just FYi

Yeah, that's a possibility. More and more I have the impression that PowMr buy outdated MakeSkyBlue surplus they won't sell anyway and rebadge them. For specifically the solar controller, they follow MakeSkyBlue in tech by about 2 years. With mean that if you buy PowMr, you're about two years late in design update and fix compared to makeskyblue.

They can also buy the right to produce outdated unit I guess, I mean, If I was a charge controller manufacturer and someone wanted to buy my old tech I knew was bugged and would rebadge it so my name would not be in there product, I would probably say yes.

PowMr unit come with the same box and wrapper than makeskyblue unit. beside being older design they follow the same everything else. Definitively from the same factory

Note that MakeSkyBlue say PowMr is a ripoff of there product. But it could be a way to protect themselves from lawsuit because faulty unit.

I can't say for Epever.

 

[Nobodybusiness]

That's great for you younger folk, but some of us are old (I'm 68) and on fixed incomes, and are trying to put just a simple (but not as simple as PWM or lead-acid batteries) system, in my case, in a camper shell on my '97 S10, just to run a couple LCD strips, charge a couple devices and the battery.

150-watt panel; 30A mppt charger. Cheap one to try out ($40 from China) and if it fails me, I'll use it for a rifle target, and get a SRNE charger. SRNE makes good stuff. Re-branded many times but retaining the SRNE look and feel.

Younger by what standards?
We are almost the same age.

I’m sorry you are in a fixed income with no other investment but the rule still stands.

Buy quality and pay once.

Solar isn’t cheaper than grid in most places in the US or what you already have.

You want to run some LED lights then get some extra FLA batteries and put them In the camper.
Charge with the alternator and a Victron Dc to DC charger and be done.

 

[Mattb4]

...

Buy quality and pay once.

...

I rather pay 1/2 or 1/4 and buy 2-3 times if needed. Quality is not directly correlated with cost. Plus which a expensive high quality item gives me zero use if I can not afford it.

Look for bargains. A dollar extra you spend for perceived "quality" is a dollar less you can spend on other things.

 

[stienman]

Well, I've used two of the older units for several months without issue, and I have two of the newer units in boxes ready to install as a replacement for the MPPT controllers inside my Growatt SPF, one of which doesn't appear to be functioning correctly.

The two older units are installed in a metal box (and all my equipment is installed on a wall with cement backer board) so I'm not concerned about fire.

I haven't heard any bad news about ruining batteries, which is my big concern - does anyone have evidence of these units overcharging, or failure modes that short the panels to the batteries?

Beyond that, I'm only running 1800W through each one, so just shy of 40A. It sounds like that's a reasonable load for these.

 

[ericfx1984]

Well, I've used two of the older units for several months without issue, and I have two of the newer units in boxes ready to install as a replacement for the MPPT controllers inside my Growatt SPF, one of which doesn't appear to be functioning correctly.

The two older units are installed in a metal box (and all my equipment is installed on a wall with cement backer board) so I'm not concerned about fire.

I haven't heard any bad news about ruining batteries, which is my big concern - does anyone have evidence of these units overcharging, or failure modes that short the panels to the batteries?

Beyond that, I'm only running 1800W through each one, so just shy of 40A. It sounds like that's a reasonable load for these.

I would not be too concerned about overcharging... truth is that the BMS on a decent battery will take care of that

 

[ericfx1984]

Yeah, that's a possibility. More and more I have the impression that PowMr buy outdated MakeSkyBlue surplus they won't sell anyway and rebadge them. For specifically the solar controller, they follow MakeSkyBlue in tech by about 2 years. With mean that if you buy PowMr, you're about two years late in design update and fix compared to makeskyblue.

They can also buy the right to produce outdated unit I guess, I mean, If I was a charge controller manufacturer and someone wanted to buy my old tech I knew was bugged and would rebadge it so my name would not be in there product, I would probably say yes.

PowMr unit come with the same box and wrapper than makeskyblue unit. beside being older design they follow the same everything else. Definitively from the same factory

Note that MakeSkyBlue say PowMr is a ripoff of there product. But it could be a way to protect themselves from lawsuit because faulty unit.

I can't say for Epever.

My experience with PowMR and EPever is night and day different

PowMR runs hot and cannot handle large voltage mismatches between the battery and solar panel array, limited to around 50 or 60v into a 12v battery... all the PowMR units I tested ran so hot that the heatsinks could not be touched, even the buttons were uncomfortably hot... 2 of the units had internal screws just rattling around inside them... easy to fix, but crazy that it happened on 2 units. I still use PowMR on cheapie builds... Hell I have a 20 amp mppt unit in my shed to float a couple FLAs, and I installed one in a local couple's tear drop camper(huge improvement over their 10 amp PWM controller

EPEver on the other hand runs cool and just works... I have one of their 40 amp mppts and I have processed close to 700 kwh through it so far... additionally I have 3 of their 60 amp units, each has produced close to 400 kwh... all runs cool and flawless even when taking more than 100v of PV and working it down to 4s lifepo4... they cost more, but they just work... they certainly dont have the same bells and whistles as my Victron gear... BUT I can but 2 of them and the Bluetooth add ons for less than one victron...

 

[Nobodybusiness]

Quality is not directly correlated with cost.

Almost every time quality cost more.

I’m not talking about “perceived quality “ but true quality.


You go ahead and replace your components 3-4 times while the powers out.

 

[Mattb4]

Almost every time quality cost more.

I’m not talking about “perceived quality “ but true quality.


You go ahead and replace your components 3-4 times while the powers out.

True quality is a tricky thing. Does a Rolex give a better quality of time than a Timex? Does a Mercedes get you to town better than a Chevy? If something works to accomplish the task that is often good enough quality.

Spares are always nifty. And when they are inexpensive even better.

Edit: As a personal use case example. My cheap import microwave oven bought on special from Walmart 12 years ago failed a few days back after almost daily use the whole time. It happened when I was having a gourmet dinner of Hungry Man fried chicken. Luckily a couple years back I had an opportunity to pick up a dirt cheap microwave off of Amazon and had it stashed in a back room. So I unplugged the failed microwave and plugged in the new. My dinner was saved. All because of cheap crap.

 

[Sverige]

My PowMr M60-PRO works perfectly fine as long as it is in MPPT mode (Mode 4), but once it has switched to Mode 7, it does not return to MPPT mode, but rather lets the battery run down. I've tried all battery settings, all behave the same way. I think it's a software problem. I bought it directly from the manufacturer, but no response so far.

Is there a way to reliably identify when this unit has entered mode 7 (apart from human eyeballs looking at the display?). I’m just thinking since it’s so easily resolved (by shutting off then reconnecting the PV input), if there were a telltale sign such as a status pin on the PCB which goes to high or low state when switching to mode 7, then a simple off board resetting circuit could be added, to drop out and reconnect the PV input so you’re back in mode 4?

Alternatively is there a change in the voltage at the PV input which can be sensed via a potential divider / comparator circuit to give the reset signal for switching a SSR off to interrupt the PV input connection ?

 

[Frank in Thailand]

Is there a way to reliably identify when this unit has entered mode 7 (apart from human eyeballs looking at the display?). I’m just thinking since it’s so easily resolved (by shutting off then reconnecting the PV input), if there were a telltale sign such as a status pin on the PCB which goes to high or low state when switching to mode 7, then a simple off board resetting circuit could be added, to drop out and reconnect the PV input so you’re back in mode 4?

Alternatively is there a change in the voltage at the PV input which can be sensed via a potential divider / comparator circuit to give the reset signal for switching a SSR off to interrupt the PV input connection ?

Several different options there.

It's not to hard to use a shunt to measure output.
your problem sis that when it drops, the MPPT needs to "reset" by shortly disconnecting the PV.
Tricky part is that a cloud will make it drop also, but that doesn't have to be an issue.
It seems like there is a "buffer overflow" problems that happens after ??? time but (usually) not within an hour (or 2, 3 5?)
Arduino or similar can reset a DC contactor for a minute (or??) and don't reset again for X hours.

At PV side the amperage is usually low, under 20A
DC contactor (not a car starter contactor!) isn't expensive and they consume about 10 watts.
The arduino can switch them off at night if you like.

How often does it occur?

There are cheap DC timers who can simply disconnect contactor for a minute every x hours.
Nothing to measure, just PV loss of the minute its disconnected and the time it needs to reboot / recalibrate / do MTTP stuff

Sometimes the simple solution works best.

Like i have a 5G router to get some reasonable internet speeds out here (middle of nowhere), 8 KM from antenna..
I've tried several options that supposed to boost... Nope, not really.
This China 5G router wasn't cheap $315, compared to the known brands... +1000... it's cheap.
yet it "locks up"after 12-15 hours...
Simple power socket timer 2 times a day...
Better then paying +$1000


(Part of the problem is the ISP, who simply doesn't provide enough for all the users.
Monday night it's great, Saturday evening.. even Netflix, youtube and tiktok buffering....)

Waiting for Starlink to become available in Thailand!
For now the reboot trick will do just fine

 

[Sverige]

Several different options there.

It's not to hard to use a shunt to measure output.
your problem sis that when it drops, the MPPT needs to "reset" by shortly disconnecting the PV.
Tricky part is that a cloud will make it drop also, but that doesn't have to be an issue.
It seems like there is a "buffer overflow" problems that happens after ??? time but (usually) not within an hour (or 2, 3 5?)
Arduino or similar can reset a DC contactor for a minute (or??) and don't reset again for X hours.

At PV side the amperage is usually low, under 20A
DC contactor (not a car starter contactor!) isn't expensive and they consume about 10 watts.
The arduino can switch them off at night if you like.

How often does it occur?

There are cheap DC timers who can simply disconnect contactor for a minute every x hours.
Nothing to measure, just PV loss of the minute its disconnected and the time it needs to reboot / recalibrate / do MTTP stuff

Sometimes the simple solution works best.

Like i have a 5G router to get some reasonable internet speeds out here (middle of nowhere), 8 KM from antenna..
I've tried several options that supposed to boost... Nope, not really.
This China 5G router wasn't cheap $315, compared to the known brands... +1000... it's cheap.
yet it "locks up"after 12-15 hours...
Simple power socket timer 2 times a day...
Better then paying +$1000


(Part of the problem is the ISP, who simply doesn't provide enough for all the users.
Monday night it's great, Saturday evening.. even Netflix, youtube and tiktok buffering....)

Waiting for Starlink to become available in Thailand!
For now the reboot trick will do just fine

Thanks. I did think about a simple timer disconnect, but would prefer the elegance of an automatic detection circuit, since this is not a time based issue where it happens at predicable intervals, but rather something which seems to occur after a big dip in illumination.

I don’t think I would be using a car contactor with 10W consumption when I could use a solid state relay with milliwatts consumption! In fact I already have this within my system (BMS uses it to drop PV input from charge controller at 100% SOC), so it’s just the control logic I need to add.

I’ll make some observations of how the controller behaves and what the PV voltage level is when the issue occurs, then take it from there. If I come up with anything potentially useful to others I’ll update the thread.

 

[golfreak12]

To each his own in life , BUT……I am amazed reading the countless problems , over and over and over people seem to have dealing with these offshore companys , getting scammed , getting poor products and poor customer service , ( if any at all) . Why do people keep doing this..? In this age of online Amazon prime, Walmart , Costco and many others right here in America and in their city, why.?
With all the ease of return ,customer benefits ,price match guaranty’s and everything else we have right here ,why would anyone put them selves through this self induced product anxiety.

One can’t make new money ,if one is chasing old money…

buy good , buy once , live happy.
jus saying,
jim..

I totally agree.
I see people being burned by bad products and still don't know why.
I mean if you're buying from Aliexpress and such then you have no recourses.
I only buy stuff that I can return, mostly Amazon.
But stuff that has "FREE" returns that is shipped by Amazon. Don't buy products that are shipped from the 3d party.
The only thing I bought from 3rd party are Lifepo4 batteries as Amazon do not ship these.
Everything else were shipped from Amazon and I'm able to return for FREE and credited back to my account within 2 hrs.
SRNE scc, worked great kept. HQST scc, BT sucked, returned. Sunwhale(Helios clone) 30a scc, really bad, returned.
I am now on another Helios clone the MS4840N and if that runs smoothly in the 30 days, I'll keep or else it's going back too.
BTW, everyone should watch this video. Most informative. Explains why China can offer FREE shipping.

I've never bought anything directly from Aliexpress, TEMU, Wish and the likes. It's Amazon with FREE returns for me.

 

[bigbank]

Does any one have a solution for discovering what the buttons are for on the PowMr ? I wrote to them via ebay and they said they would send me the instructions (I already have this and it is just trash with no real information), but I would need to give them my email address. I did so and the message was returned from ebay that it was not allowed to send email addresses via ebay.
Really sick to death of this trash but it appears to be working sometimes and so can't bring myself to set it on a large rock and film the process as I smash it into tiny pieces. Then return those pieces in a bag with no stamps on it and no sender address. I did that to the German propaganda machine ZDF and WDR criminal teams and it got through - so I presume they had to pay and had a bit of a run around to deal with it.
Surely there is ONE reliable controller which can deliver under 2kW of power, ideally with computer connection for monitoring what is going on!

 

[Frank in Thailand]

A way to work around ebay limitations is to write the email address on a paper, take a picture of it and attach that to the message in the ebay system.

 

[bigbank]

A way to work around ebay limitations is to write the email address on a paper, take a picture of it and attach that to the message in the ebay system.

Thanks Frank, stuck with a macbook with zero inputs (such as SD card) except for the USB C power for the past 8 years I can't get images into the mac without a lot of fiddling around. I thought mac was supposed to make life easier. But it doesn't recognise the wifi of the Panasonic camera....
I haven't yet tried the simpler form of just writing the full stop as dot. But I doubt that even if they do send me something, that it will be any different to what I have and include the basic functions written in a form which can be understood! When ordering from ebay it is even a major task trying to find articles that have been bought so that more can be ordered. All hidden in not just one menu but an array of menus of unimportant things that are never needed.
Hope Thailand is warmer than Europe - I am wondering if a permanent move to Thailand would make my life more interesting. If Europe goes up in a bang then Thailand is at least in a better position for sunbathing ;-)

 

[pablo131]

A way to work around ebay limitations is to write the email address on a paper, take a picture of it and attach that to the message in the ebay system.

also, if the ebay seller is a business seller, go to any of their listed items, scroll to the bottom and the contact details should be there.

 

[Frank in Thailand]

Thanks Frank, stuck with a macbook with zero inputs (such as SD card) except for the USB C power for the past 8 years I can't get images into the mac without a lot of fiddling around. I thought mac was supposed to make life easier. But it doesn't recognise the wifi of the Panasonic camera....
I haven't yet tried the simpler form of just writing the full stop as dot. But I doubt that even if they do send me something, that it will be any different to what I have and include the basic functions written in a form which can be understood! When ordering from ebay it is even a major task trying to find articles that have been bought so that more can be ordered. All hidden in not just one menu but an array of menus of unimportant things that are never needed.
Hope Thailand is warmer than Europe - I am wondering if a permanent move to Thailand would make my life more interesting. If Europe goes up in a bang then Thailand is at least in a better position for sunbathing ;-)

Hahaha...
Thailand Indeed is an adventure.

Only advice on this, get a tourist visa (90 days) and travel around, live like a local
Rent, don't buy. Stay in 3 or 4 places outside the tourist areas and see if you still like it then.
this advice goes for any county, even your own if you plan on relocating.

Thai are transactional. Loyalty is "different". Part of their culture.
it's OK as long as you are aware of it.
Many relationships are transactional, Thais are just more direct about it ?

Relationship... Never invest more then you are willing and able to leave behind.
You won't be talking much with you if you leave.

and yes, I've been monitoring the news in Europe (original from Netherlands), feels like a powder keg, just waiting for someone to light the match.

In that perspective, SE Asia is a good (safe) place to be.
Buddhism is really tolerant, religion, orientation, skin colour.. doesn't matter much.
( Unless you are Thai, more light is better and ladyboys are popular/ funny)
(Stereotyping)

You can walk around in any large city at night in Thailand without having to be afraid you will be robbed.
Obviously things happen, nothing compared to the mayor cities in Europe or north and south America.

 

[Ampster]

Thai are transactional. Loyalty is "different". Part of their culture.
it's OK as long as you are aware of it.
Many relationships are transactional, Thais are just more direct about it

Interesting insight. I am married to a Chinese woman and was involved in a project to start an International School in Korea. My eperience is that those cultures are more relationship centered, perhaps because of the influence of Confucianism. A good read to gain insight into the differences between Eastern and Western thought is the book titled, "The Geography of Thought", by Richard E. Nisbett.