Review & opinion: Morningstar TS 45 PWM vs Victron Blue Solar PWM

[Chispas]

I bought a second hand TriStar TS 45 for €70, mostly as a backup for our main system but also for a possible expansion on our yurt system, one that's up & running about 6 months of the year. The yurt has a propane fridge & a tiny 12 V system that's powers 4 LED bulbs & charges phones, we would like to retire the propane sometime in the future. We have a SureSine for our cabin system & I'm aware of Morningstars legendary reliability, so I grabbed this when it came up.
The initial difference is the size & weight, the Victron is 375 G & the TS 45 is 1.69 KG. Then there's price new, Victron €45 & Morningstar €220. So what do you get for your extra money with Morningstar apart from the reliability & build quality ? Versatility & data connection is the short answer, the TS 45 has a tonne of different configurations via the dip switches & connecting to a PC gives you the ability to use custom settings, for LFP batteries, for example.
The post about cheaping out on a charge controller got me thinking & next thing im buying a second hand TS 45 so thanks to Frugal Devonian fro his post.
I still think that PWM controllers have a place in simple systems, especially small 12 or 24 V ones with few panels.

 

[yabert]

I still think that PWM controllers have a place in simple systems, especially small 12 or 24 V ones with few panels.

At the prices of the low amps Victron Smart solar MPPT with their nice app to see data, PWM controller seem dead to me.

 

[Glock24]

MPPT charge controllers have come down in price considerably. I see no reason to get a PWM SCC instead of an MPPT SCC.

As for Morningstar I can say they work great. I've had a TS-MPPT-60 working for 6 years without a single problem. I recently installed more panels and a second TS-MPPT-60 and both are maxed out and they don't overheat or derate even though we are in the hottest season of the year.

I have no experience with Victron SCCs but from what I've read they tend to run hot and derate the output because of that.

 

[Chispas]

At the prices of the low amps Victron Smart solar MPPT with their nice app to see data, PWM controller seem dead to me.

That’s a fair point but a second hand TriStar at this money is a viable alternative in terms of not derateing & being much more robust.A app isn’t essential in smaller systems IMO.In my case, the temporary yurt system doesn’t warrant the expense of a Morningstar MPPT but for €70 euros vs €230 for a Victron 150/45 I’ll go with the Morningstar

 

[Glock24]

If you want to use a PWM SCC then the panel's voltage should not be too high from that of the battery or you'll lose a lot of energy.

 

[pollenface]

I had the victron blue solar 48v pwm, it lasted 7 months before faulting and giving the batteries 68v for 1.5days before i noticed. (Recorded max battery voltage was 68v)

I like Victron mppts, but do not recommend their blue solar 48v pwm unit.