SB3024iL

A very good company. A very good product (for small to midsize solar installs). And since this is my 2nd add-on controller, a very good system to employ for my solar needs on my RV... To top it off, Blue Sky Energy sets the industry standard for customer service and backing their products quality and technical service!!! I have delt with Morningstar previously, and they don't hold a candle to BSE--when I called MStar, they told me they would need to charge me to answer any technical related questions/issues...that killed that relationship in a hurry!!!

It works well. Pretty much nothing else to say. Installing this is not trivial, you need to understand how and why things are done and follow the manual exactly. It isn't hard IF you know something about 12 volt systems and electronics. Another review says a couple of things that are NOT TRUE. * The unit is designed with a standard interior steel electrical box. Not "cheap", just not weatherproof. * Even in a boat or RV it _still_ needs to have the case grounded. If you don't understand how/why this is you should have it installed by a professional. * The box has standard panel knockouts for wiring. You NEED to use conduit, or cable clamps like _the manual says_. If you don't know this, you should have it installed by a professional. * Look at the manual online at Blue Sky's website. If you do not understand every part of it, have it installed by a professional. * If you need to use 4AWG wire from your panels they will work just fine. * If you have a problem with the program chip you CAN replace it yourself. Blue Sky will send you an upgrade for free. It takes two minutes.

I needed to increase the power (doubling the number of panels) of an existing solar system, which used this controller. After looking around on my own, I kicked various ideas around with the tech support folks, and simply ordered a second one. They helped me connect the two together to double the power of the system. The original controller has been hard at work for almost three years. This was more cost effective than junking the original system and getting a larger controller.

It is easy to see that this controller was designed to be inexpensive to manufacturer and put together but not to be easy to install or service. The front panel comes off but it all makes it possible to connect the wires into the terminals or change the DIP switch settings. If you need any items serviced the entire box needs to be disconnected and sent back to Blue Sky Energy. The terminals will accept 4ga wiring which is one reason I selected this model as lower capacity controllers take 10ga or smaller wires. The 4ga works for the battery leads but the position of the access hole for the panel leads makes it impossible to use anything greater than 8ga wires and it is still very difficult to get them to make the required 90 degree bend. There is no designed in mechanical stress relief for the small shunt cable or the temp sensor cable or the data cable to the IPNremote, so the installer is left to figure out some sort of solution. If you get a 3024 controller with the V3.30 chip inside you should return it to the dealer as there is bad code in this version and the chip cannot be replaced without removing a silver label that states that its removal voids the warranty. These are not designed for outside use as the box has no weather proofing. If used in an RV there is the problem with the case design for using wiring 8ga or larger. Not a problem if you use panels wired in series and keep the voltage as high as possible but definitely a problem with 12v (17-20 Voc) panels wired in parallel. This unit has a negative ground connector and is shown on the user manual but it is only for a non-RV installation and should be ignored otherwise. I used it to provide strain relief for the shunt and data cable wires. A plus is that if the outputs to the battery are switched there is fused protection so the controller boards electronics are not going to be damaged as with the otherwise similar Rogue 3024. Blue Sky Energy does provide excellent technical support if you should have a problem with their controllers.

Purchased new but used. Missing parts.