CPK-2420 Cheap MPPT Solar Charge Controller First Look

It's leap day and we've got some decent sun shining down on the solar shed. So it's time for a look at a solar charge controller!
❗️These links are affiliated and I may earn a small commission if you purchase❗️
UEIUA CPK-2420 MPPT Solar Charge Controller: ebay.to/2wjWpa4
EPEver Tracer AN MPPT Solar Charge Controller: s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_dVR...
Vici VC99 Multimeter: ebay.us/DIXZBP
Uni-T AC/DC Clamp Meter: ebay.us/3rUKcv
ANENG AN8002 Multimeter: www.banggood.com/custlink/3mv...
Subscribe on Library: lbry.tv/$/invite/@AdamWelchUK:b
#MPPT #Solar #Charge #Controller

[@j.vincent3625]

Thank you, thank you for your excellent keen eye tech reviews. 🤖.

[@rorymax8233]

Thank you Adam, very helpful review 👍

[@utuberlars]

Thanks for Testing this, best regards from Germany.

[@GreatPinkHippo]

Thanks for the video, probably order one to replace my LS1024B.

[@thomaslam9888]

After watching your review , I brought a 40a version and I thought for the the money ,it is a fair mppt controller ,thank you for your detail review.

[@steved4429]

Thomas, I don't want to upset you but I would not try and feed too much into your unit. I bought the 40A version and it didn't work out of the box, to be fair the seller was very good and I got an almost full refund without having to send back so I opened it up to see if the fuse had gone. The board inside says 2420 and it looks the same as the one in the video. Just to warn you, hopefully I got a lemon and yours is OK.

[@DadventurestubeB]

​@@steved4429 I am returning the 40A version right now. Thanks to this video I was able to identify right away that there was only 1 inductor screwed through the back of the heat sink. The seller, "growlight09"on eBay, has taken a full 3 business days to communicate, by only responding every 24 hrs, even when I've replied within 10 minutes. The seller has asked for photos, which I sent, including the 20A current displayed on the screen, and still insists it is a 40A unit. I asked if they have any true 40A versions to replace it with; the seller will not respond to that. Finally, the seller asked me to test it again and send a video for their tech support and then said since I won't test again and send a video, it's definitely a 40A model and I'm wrong. I confirmed the board is the CPK-2420, with a 30A fuse and 1 inductor. It is clearly the 20A model and as this 9 months after your comment, I fear they are not even making a true 40A model, but labeling it as such (currently Model CPK-X4 for 40A and X2 for 20A).

[@whitefields5595]

Adam, as comments below, taking it apart first to check feasibility is best for these reviews!

[@JakubChalupnik]

Damn, second... :) Anyway, as a lucky coincidence, I finished my first real solar setup earlier today and I took a lot of inspiration from your videos. Thanks for that!

[@AdamWelchUK]

Great to hear. I hope it gives you many hours of service. Cheers.

[@JakubChalupnik]

@@AdamWelchUK I am sure I will, thanks! There's one thing I am not quite sure about, and perhaps you could explain it in your videos. My Tracer manual shows that some devices are connected to battery terminals, while others are connected to LOAD terminals. My impression is that LOAD is the same as battery terminals and the only difference is that the charger can control it (turn on or off based on time of the day). Is that correct?

[@Paul-gz5dp]

@@JakubChalupnik Load is so that when the voltage is low enough to damage the batteries it is "Suppose to" disconnect the load to protect the batteries from over discharge. I don' know with this one if it is wired straight through or if it is switched, but maybe Adam could tell us if it has low voltage cut off.

[@RaithUK]

Seems like a nice little MPPT, another interesting video.. i love the fact you check these items out like by opening them up.. alot of the KZbin reviews are just plug it in it works woohoo lol you actually take a look inside check it at-least looks right and then check out how it functions... one thing i would be interested to find out mate is what is the actual standby current compared to the stated one. Cheers, Keep it up!

[@Paul-gz5dp]

True MPPT would measure the voltage and current on input and output, then adjust for maximum power at input without exceeding the rated current of input or output simple programmable controller that has analog inputs can do this. I can easily design such, but it is cheaper for me to buy if I can see what is inside things.

[@stevemcgowan3017]

This mppt tested by Adam doesn’t seem to be charging battery’ well it shows solar charge but battery only goes up to about 12.8 v .the china man off eBay is not responding so I’m using an epever mppt now .that goes over 14v battery charge

[@stevemcgowan3017]

I’ve checked fuse inside and all is well there

[@jimthvac100]

They do sell some tiny MPPT charge controllers based on the BQ24650's that draw very little quiescent current on Aliexpress. So there are low power inexpensive MPPT options besides PWM.

[@royspeakman1157]

Brilliant !

[@aramb]

Just purchased this unit at end of October 2020, as an upgrade for the PWM controller I've been using. It appears to be similar to yours internally, but the model number is now CPK-X2 (rather than 20). The PV voltage seems rather low (15.1) while charging a 12V, 20AH AGM battery, but still pushing just over an amp into the battery (need to verify this with an external ammeter). Also, the menus are slightly different (big surprise), claiming it to be the 40A model (????). It's like charger roulette sometimes! Thanks for all the informative videos! Look forward to knowing whether you make anything of the RS422 interface - I'd be interested in logging charge data to a computer, as this is really just a demonstration system for learning about solar.

[@Carecovski1]

Hi, Adam. Thanks for the awesome tips you give me, a baby in the pv world. What kind of inverter can I use with this controller?

[@KillaBitz]

My 60a version lasted less than 6 months and even when it was new the temperature was well out (sometimes -30c) I had 2x300w in parallel at 37v ish. It still seems to be on and reads the panel voltage fine but no power is produced. I've bought a epever to replace it as it was only controlling 2 panels.

[@Paul-gz5dp]

The cheapest ones that I would use are all metal and have a fan in them and it looks much as a cheap power supply for a 3d printer with a LCD screen added to it. Such as ebay item 152615165788 rated at 60a.

[@HD-SP1DERMAN]

Hello Adam. Did you ever figure out the com port wiring to see whether it works with any other accessories or PC?

[@samwhitehead8945]

Would love to see you review a Fangpusun D series controller (only available directly from them I believe)

[@martinwinfield2935]

Thanks for a really informative and useful video. I to have just bought the same item the enclosed instruction manual is rubbish very poor translation, but the unit appears to be working in MPPT mode like yours.

[@KillaBitz]

Keep it below 15v or it'll die

[@MegaCyrik]

Very informative video. Thank you. Stupid question, its max voc was 100vdc. Is that solely based on the 100vdc caps? Could it use 150voc if you add one more 100vdc cap in serie?

[@adamliz8172]

Hello Thank you for detailed video and testing on this MPPT solar charge controller as i only have a cheap PWM one in my camper van running off a 200w single panel and been looking to upgrade to MPPT for a while but didnt want to pay the premium price of name brands for basically same thing, so i ordered one online, but they only had a 40amp version anyway i went ahead item arrived in just over a week which i was surprised with whats going on with coronavirus right now! Anyway everything is identical to yours apart from model number on product and manual On close inspection the model number sticker ontop of this charger and manual lists mine as a CPK-X4 which is listed in manual as 40amp version anyway i sat this evening infront of this video and i took back off to expose pcbs and yes looks identical to the one in your video including dates of pcbs.... but i do have a but here! My CPK-X4 40amp version has the same 30amp fuse as yours.... hmmmmmm ! so story here is dont pay extra money for CPK-X4 over the CPK-X2 which is listed as 20A as basically there all 20Amp versions relabeled! According to manual they also do a CPK-X6 60AMP and CPK-X8 80 amp versions?... so who knows if they are also only 20amp versions? Anyway for my setup this 20amp version still plenty enough for my camper. Thanks once again Adam, cheers from Adam :-)

[@mickellis8747]

What about the squashed inductor wire?

[@joestubbs3138]

Adam - am using your excellent MPPT break-down info to decide which Controller to go for Q... while connected to caravan site power is there a conflict between the caravan normal 230V charger and the Solar Panel Charger/Controller or do you switch off the Solar charger when on site power/grid ....joe

[@popcoingaming5086]

Hi Adam. I'd like to know your thoughts on the esmart3 MPPT charge controller? Thanks

[@chrmit01]

Thanks for the great review Adam. Seems to be the only one on KZbin as far as I can see. Looks like the product line has been updated already. After watching this teardown & test I ordered the 30A version. Received it today and the model I got was the CPK-X4, the 4 referring to 40A. The controller is identical on the surface but I've not opened it so can't speak to the internals. In the very small instruction leaflet that came with it the range now includes 20A, 40A, 60A & 80A versions. All state 100V max PV. I Can confirm though that they are still genuinely MPPT controllers. On a very overcast day it took no more than 2 minutes to swap from my PWM controller to this one and the amps going to the battery jumped from 1.4 from the PWM to 3.5 with this one. If anyone has any questions relating to the unit or manual I'll answer if I can.

[@AdamWelchUK]

Great to hear you’re getting good results with it. Cheers Chris

[@chrmit01]

Oh well, I stand corrected. It performed amicably for about a month before giving up the ghost. All it does now is show the voltage being generated by the panels and voltage of the batteries. It no longer tracks the MPP or sends anything to the battery bank. I've opened it up and the blade fuse is in tack and no obvious signs of anything being physically damaged or burnt out. I've had to go back to using a PWM controller while I wait for a 40A EPEVER AN to be delivered. It's almost painful seeing the low numbers on the PWM by comparison lol. On the plus side, I probably wouldn't have dipped my toe in the waters of MPPT controllers without having this inexpensive one to take a punt on so no regrets, it's been an education.

[@refmaintenance6243]

Hi, thanks for the information, I to have the cpx x4 40amp, the unit is reading my voltage for my pv which is around 34v, I've wired a load to it and works fine so does the both USB but its not charging my batterys, on the screen I'm getting zero amps and the flashing arrow indicating charge from the pv to the battery is just staying on its not flashing anymore, please can you tell me what's wrong with it and what components need replacing, any info would be much appreciated, thanks

[@athletica2636]

@@refmaintenance6243 have you fixed it?

[@subhobroto]

Thank you. Good to see a buck mppt controller at this price point. My concerns is the reliability and ability to repair. Is the buck controller smps pretty hackable? Could we easily replace the main controller with a stm32 or esp32 and control the buck converter that way? Or is it an all in one

[@KillaBitz]

My unit died in under 3 months.

[@m4tthubbert]

I wonder if the protocol is the same, but pins are switched. If so, making your own cable with the strands moved might make it work with something like the MT50? That said, if it's got different chips to the Tracer, I'd expect it to behave differently and possibly store data in completely different registers.

[@g7mks383]

Thanks for the video, I brought the exact same model. I did check inside like you to see if it was MPPT and found the same as you. I connected it up and no output this was straight out of the box. I have tried several different battery's of different states of charge and nothing. The output symbol on the display says it should be on but nothing. My eBay supplier has mysteriously disappeared. Beware.

[@simplethings3730]

Amperage was pretty high for it to be doing an equalization charge.

[@lixnnibblez3193]

I was just wondering if there was a way to program this to work with LifePO4 batteries ?

[@jasonbrown467]

could i connect a jinko jkm365m-72-v? i think its open circuit voltage is 48v and max amps is 15, they claim its a 385 watt panel, damn thing is the the size of a sheet of ply wood. i dont yet know how to interpret anything else

[@caroman6761]

Does the charger allow to setup max. current for chatging batteries?

[@trevorlyons4652]

Hi, I bought an 80A version that looks identical, and your "first look" has given me some faith in this item. However, here is nothing to say that it is 80A, and it appears identical to to one you inspected. I haven't opened the back, as I am reluctant to void the warranty. Also, (1) it comes with a temperature sensor, presumably for the battery bank. The instruction are silent on this. Any ideas, please, on where to put the sensor? (2) The diagram in the instructions suggest that there is an "MP15" remote control that connects via the RS-485 port. Any idea where these might be sourced? Cheers.

[@Luke-san]

Looks like something to follow up on. For that price it seems really working well. I do see that 1 wire to the inductor seems to have been crushed (seems flattened). Any idea on how this could have happened?

[@AdamWelchUK]

Well spotted! Yeah it seems to have been trapped between the electrolytic cap and the screen pcb. I noticed in the second internal shot but cut it out because the video was getting a bit long.

[@gihanlasita]

nice review. is it support Li-ion charging?

[@abdullahshiekh4687]

Thanks so much for the video I'm really need this information I'm wondering about the temperature terminal how we can connectend to battery I hope to answer my question thank you Abdullah from Yemen

[@AdamWelchUK]

Well I’d imagine you could stick it to one of your batteries with some tape.

[@fit2fly]

Hello Adam, I watched all your reviews on (cheap) MPPT- chargers (all great!). My question, what is the best one in your opinion?

[@macelius]

Best of the budget ones, that is. :). Comparing the guts the Tracer seems superior, but tempted to try the 80A version for the same price as the Tracer 40..

[@electronic7979]

Nice item

[@stevegeorge1666]

Hi how do you change the type off battery your using on this controler ,instructions are not good no proper manual came with it ..

[@stevemcgowan3017]

hi adam.i have same controller as u but its not charging battery,any ideas?have 49volts going in from ebike battery and just 12.7v on battery output on mppt battery terminals.fuse ok in controller

[@shy120478]

Hi. I’ve bought the 40A version, but i cant get it to charge properly, it only charges 1,7A in full sunlight. I’ve got two 200W panels in series. There are just three settings that i can find, PC SOC, LOAD SOC and BATT SOC. What are theese settings? They all show Volts that can be changed. If you could help med I would be wery greatfull, I have Googled the model CPK-X4 40A modell, but I find nothing and the manual is pretty pore. Thanx from Norway, Tom

[@markbryant7411]

Hey Adam, I noticed there was no temperature connection on the board for the probe? Also, have you charged your batteries to full with this charger, It would be nice to know if it has a good high voltage battery protection? Some of these cheap chargers I've seen the voltage go over 16vdc. Thanks from AUS!

[@AdamWelchUK]

The external temperature sensor connects through the barrel jack next to the solar connections. As for charging... I need to do further investigations to the com port - if I can get that running then I can get it to log stats - which will allow me to look closely at how well it charges a battery. Cheers.

[@peterdkay]

What is the efficiency? (battery power/solar power)

[@veganstrongbro4874]

thank you

[@twojevideo4008]

if you use a simple step dwon converter from panel 36V to 24V baterry you dont need mppt, working very good and i have potenciometr regulation cc cv

[@petergoestohollywood382]

if you use two, you can actively track mpp by hand or fix a circuit to it which regulates the firsts bucks voltage accordingly to mpp.

[@182mcg1]

Hi i will ask about charging voltage need to be adjustable it is have that one

[@marbles05]

How many watts of PV do you have on the shed roof?

[@terryforster9275]

Hi Adam long shot but one of your very early vids you had a volt meter in your shed showing panel output , how is it wired up please

[@AdamWelchUK]

It was a two wire meter if I remember correctly, so it was simply wired straight to the solar panel input on the solar charge controller.

[@franco5065]

Hi Adam, I appreciate this is now an old review but the bottom line is, are they repairable? I bought two of these and both failed after a month or so a few days apart. They just stopped charging. Can they be repaired?? Thanks Chris

[@uweri_3851]

Hi Adam, do you believe that for communication eBox-WIFI-01 eBox-BLE-01MT50 remote could be used ? Hope we get new stuff about these solar charger.

[@AdamWelchUK]

From the manual of the UEIUA the pin out is different to the EPEver lines. It also runs on 3.3v not 5v like the EPEver. It’ll be a standard comms protocol though, I’ll just need to see if I can work out which one and commands to trigger a response!

[@ChazzCoombes]

thanks for your video, i have just ordered a 30amp one of these. Its only for the garage so didnt want anything massive and this one seem to be a good size and still has usb on the board great video and will do for my little garage power rig with 100w solar panel and 120ah deep cycle battery.

[@ThanosSustainable]

What about battery settings? Would it be possible to plug this controller in a lithium battery system, by setting custom battery limits and disabling equalization?

[@AdamWelchUK]

I need to find out what can be done over the com port. The answer to your question is ‘hopefully’ but the listing or the manual isn’t very helpful in this regard.

[@ThanosSustainable]

Adam Welch nice. Keep us up to date then. However, even if you manage to control the unit through the com port, I don’t think that will be something for the average joe, due to the lack of an intuitive interface.

[@gene4390]

Does this charge controller have easy settings for adjusting charge, float, and stop voltage, etc? Looking for a cheap charge controller that will treat a tolerance picky Gel battery nicely and not kill the battery over time? A hobby project. I'm wanting to power a Raspberry Pi, modem, and router entirely off solar/battery at my home. I heard Gels last longer if you don't screw up their voltage and they are not much more than AGM (lithium to expensive). I only have so much money so looking for low cost ways. But aren't so low cost will kill an expensive battery!

[@AdamWelchUK]

You may be able to tell from the video but I’m not 100% sure about this charge controller. If you are investing heavily in batteries, I’d consider going for something with a bit more history and knowledge behind it. This is a new kid to the block.

[@virusinc]

I bought the exact model few months ago and it only worked about 5 weeks. It no longer charges the Lead Acid battery and it's just a USB phone charger now. Switched to EPEver and never had a problem again

[@KillaBitz]

Same

[@jeffescortlx]

Would be fun to do a tear down to see what failed.

[@virusinc]

@@jeffescortlx Already opened it but couldn't find anything burnt or dry joints

[@dubdub423]

Did you find how to repair ? i've the same problem

[@virusinc]

@@dubdub423 Unfortunately No. It was under warranty and had to return without tampering

[@runningwithscissors7715]

have the same controller 30a...lasted 6 months. (24v 110watts system)

[@dubdub423]

I've 2 charger like this, and both, don't charge anymore, I had changed the four K80A08K3 and the MBR 30100CT, but still not working, And now the input voltage is 13V compare to 40V before. Adam, or someone else, did you know which component can cause the charge problem ? thx

[@dubdub423]

Any idea ?

[@martinbird7994]

Just purchased two of these at £35.00 each, they work fine but I am unable to access the battery type selection menu on either of then so can't change any battery voltage settings, perhaps you could check this on your review unit ?

[@andrewwhittaker6622]

Same issue on the 40a model The manual doesn't really say Pressed the buttons every which way but sunday And only the load settings are changeable no battery type shows up Had any luck?

[@WereCatf]

The eBay-listing says this would work with the Epever MT50 RS485-thingamabob, so it should also use the same pinout on the RJ45-connector as well. In all likelihood, all the options an Epever-charger supports are also available here and that means support for lithium-based/custom batteries as well.

[@AdamWelchUK]

From my look at the rj45 pin out this won’t work with EPEver kit. The manual also states it also runs on 3.3 volts where as the MT50 from EPEver works on 5v.

[@WereCatf]

@@AdamWelchUK Well, either the manual or the eBay-listing is wrong. Or hell, you never know with these Chinese clones and even both may be wrong!

[@RobsSynths]

I got one of these,. Also got the mt50 and it didn’t work. Was just random noise on lcd. Thought it was faulty mt50. i had voltage coming through panel but no amps going to battery, even though it showed battery volts. I wonder if in need to factory reset somehow. No idea how to access the inside settings.

[@russthibault8800]

Looks like one of the wires going to the inductor has been crushed against the LCD pcb ?

[@Paul-gz5dp]

Not unusual I've seen similar in many products and this is why I take things apart and check before plugging them into anything.

[@Tore_Lund]

@@Paul-gz5dp Not just that; having long wires to the inductor, close to other parts in the box and mounting the inductor with a bolt and aluminium bracket, all degrades the Q factor and adds to losses. Proper design would have 2-3% lost in the coil, this absolute horrendous. If I had one of those charge controllers, I would solder the coil directly on the PCB and support it with zip ties and chaulk, even if i had to make a cutout in the facia for it to fit!

[@Paul-gz5dp]

@@Tore_Lund Yes and not only that covering it cuts down on cooling. Therefore the amount of current. Some of the others have multiple inductors for the same task and mounted to the board.

[@olufsenkontakt9228]

Dear Adam, i bought 5 pieces of CPK-X8 (80A) and 4 pieces of CPK-X4 (40A) controller and all the charging failed after 1-2 weeks in production. Shows 00A charge. Do you know the cause of the cancellation? Do you have the address of the factory that produces them to contact them? I have great damage and problems with users.

[@DadventurestubeB]

I am returning the 40A version right now. Thanks to this video I was able to identify right away that there was only 1 inductor screwed through the back of the heat sink. The seller, "growlight09"on eBay, has taken a full 3 business days to communicate, by only responding every 24 hrs, even when I've replied within 10 minutes. The seller has asked for photos, which I sent, including the 20A current displayed on the screen, and still insists it is a 40A unit. I asked if they have any true 40A versions to replace it with; the seller will not respond to that. Finally, the seller asked me to test it again and send a video for their tech support and then said since I won't test again and send a video, it's definitely a 40A model and I'm wrong. I confirmed the board is the CPK-2420, with a 30A fuse and 1 inductor. It is clearly the 20A model and as this is 9 months after a comment of exactly the same, I fear they are not even making a true 40A model, but labeling it as such (currently Model CPK-X4 for 40A and X2 for 20A).

[@stevemcgowan3017]

hi adam are you answering questions i wonder.?

[@refmaintenance6243]

Hi Adam, great video, love getting reviews from you, I bought the 40a version and like the other poor guys mine has stopped working, everything works except it won't charge my battery, theres voltage coming in from my pv on the lcd but no amps to charge the battery, any advice on what components need replacing, cheers Adam and keep making great vids, looking forward to seeing them, Martin

[@AdamWelchUK]

I’m sorry to hear that. It sounds like something in the mosfet driver has gone. If it was the mosfet its self they usually fail closed. I did caveat the video saying I’ve had trouble with this company before - I hope they’ve not done it again. Sorry.

[@miihaiitamihai1574]

Hi,did you fix it?I got the same problem

[@DadventurestubeB]

@@miihaiitamihai1574 I am returning the 40A version right now. Thanks to this video I was able to identify right away that there was only 1 inductor screwed through the back of the heat sink. The seller, "growlight09"on eBay, has taken a full 3 business days to communicate, by only responding every 24 hrs, even when I've replied within 10 minutes. The seller has asked for photos, which I sent, including the 20A current displayed on the screen, and still insists it is a 40A unit. I asked if they have any true 40A versions to replace it with; the seller will not respond to that. Finally, the seller asked me to test it again and send a video for their tech support and then said since I won't test again and send a video, it's definitely a 40A model and I'm wrong. I confirmed the board is the CPK-2420, with a 30A fuse and 1 inductor. It is clearly the 20A model and as this 9 months after your comment, I fear they are not even making a true 40A model, but labeling it as such (currently Model CPK-X4 for 40A and X2 for 20A). If you can open it and confirm, it might be helpful to leave feedback on the seller's store, in the case that yours is also not a true 40A.

[@miihaiitamihai1574]

@@DadventurestubeB yes,that's true.now I've seen that's a 20A mppt and making the false statement it makes us to overload it and kill it overtime...I've lost 18£ this time because they refunded 40£.hope no one will get into this.thanks for your reply.

[@johnnodge4327]

That looks promising Adam. Nice video production too. Does it just do Pb batteries, or does it do other chemistries too?

[@AdamWelchUK]

Acording to the listing it’s just Lead - sealed, agm and flooded. The manual doesn’t go any further. Although if you can modify parameters via RS485...

[@Paul-gz5dp]

@@AdamWelchUK If you can change the voltage then other kinds of batteries can be used. Lead is usually 2.33 or 2.35 per cell to charge and other batteries need adjusted accordingly. Higher the charging voltage shorter the life of the battery though.

[@fratermus5502]

@@Paul-gz5dp people are so lost without a preset that says "Li". :-\

[@Paul-gz5dp]

@@fratermus5502 Also there are many choices with lithium batteries. Not all of them are 4.2 volt and because of this and the need to monitor the temperature it is often not included.

[@techs5564]

you must try the Indian brand ""Smarten prime plus"

[@charlieoscar09]

Thankyou for the video Adam would also be interested to see if you can communicate with it.

[@AdamWelchUK]

Roger that CharlieOscar

[@charlieoscar09]

@@AdamWelchUK 😁

[@tonysolar284]

Time to rig up a Raspberry Pi or Arduino to the rj45 jack and connect via serial rs232 to grab live data.

[@undaya]

why not jump fuse out?

[@JonnyWaldes]

Shew! I purchased similar one but was worried I got scammed for a pwm, which are only $3.

[@johnjensen9522]

I have one and it works fine with lead acid. No manual was included so I have yet to figure out how to change battery type. I can see 'Battery type' on the dim screen but can't get it selected. Anyone done this? Can anyone share a manual? lol, thanks for that review Adam!

[@stevegeorge1666]

Did you find out how to change the battery type?

[@maxim15g]

Hi i have a same controller and its working but not load. Can you help me out. Thanks max

[@miihaiitamihai1574]

Did you fix it?I got the same problem

[@undaya]

why not take that inductor outside the unit?

[@dcruz125]

Weres the best place to start a solar set up any ideas

[@ursodermatt8809]

there are million of videos on youtube. get into it!

[@ChazzCoombes]

Hi Adam, I brought this MPPT controller, worked ok for a few days, now its not charging the battery like it use to. I also got a MT50 as the advert for this this Mppt state it will work with MPPT and it don't. Shame as its seems nice and tidy bit of kit, the seller won't even respond to my messages

[@AdamWelchUK]

Oh no. That’s bad news. I said in the video that my fingers have been burnt by this company before. I’m sorry yours has failed. I think the lcd is the mt5 isn’t it? The MT50 is an EPEver product. Hope the seller does right by you.

[@ChazzCoombes]

@@AdamWelchUK cheers for the reply, i will buy the EPEver 20A controller now cost £80 but im sure it will be worth it. I use mine in my garage with a 100watt panel and 120ah deep cycle battery to power led lights and a radio and 300 watt invertor to charge tools when im working on cars

[@SignOffsGuy]

Inspired by your video here, I purchased one of these on eBay in early March. I was sent the 40-amp version. It performed beautifully for about three weeks before for some reason it had stopped charging completely. Has anyone else who bought this controller had this issue and is there any solution?

[@michaelnorris2368]

Yes, mine has stop charging my battery, I am looking to buy an epever now. Save your money and buy a branded MPPT charge controller, I've wasted £40 on this it lasted about 2 months.

[@VaughanHumphries]

Yep, bought one back in February. It displays the panel voltage, but no power is produced. Battery reads as

[@tw2049]

I have the 80-amp model. It stopped charging as well after a few months of use with all internals looking fine. I haven't found a solution yet but from reading the comments here, I think the best option will be to take it on the chin and purchase a new reputable brand controller

[@DadventurestubeB]

I am returning the 40A version right now. Thanks to this video I was able to identify right away that there was only 1 inductor screwed through the back of the heat sink. The seller, "growlight09"on eBay, has taken a full 3 business days to communicate, by only responding every 24 hrs, even when I've replied within 10 minutes. The seller has asked for photos, which I sent, including the 20A current displayed on the screen, and still insists it is a 40A unit. I asked if they have any true 40A versions to replace it with; the seller will not respond to that. Finally, the seller asked me to test it again and send a video for their tech support and then said since I won't test again and send a video, it's definitely a 40A model and I'm wrong. I confirmed the board is the CPK-2420, with a 30A fuse and 1 inductor. It is clearly the 20A model and as this is 9 months after a comment of exactly the same, I fear they are not even making a true 40A model, but labeling it as such (currently Model CPK-X4 for 40A and X2 for 20A). If you can open and confirm, it might be helpful to leave feedback on the seller's store.

[@Sylvan_dB]

I don't think that is a color LCD. Is there any single location on the screen which actually displays in different colors at different times? It looks more like a white LCD with color filter applied to make different areas appear in different colors.

[@AdamWelchUK]

That’s a good shout. I think you’re right. Cheers

[@TecSanento]

Is any of these settings suited for lithium iron phosphate batteries or 18650 lithium nickle cobalt cells

[@BeezyKing99]

No, get yourself a proper charger for your 18650 project.

[@TecSanento]

@@BeezyKing99 yes but it needs to be a solar charge controller and wich one is considerd proper? a epever ?

[@pulesjet]

No mentions of LiIon or LiFePo4 charging compatibility ? Edited. After reading more comments I see your on to it. Waiting. I may just end up buying another Epever 4225BN ? There only about twice this price. LOL

[@KillaBitz]

But the are way tougher. Had the bigger version of this thing die when one of my PWM's decided to raise my batterys to 15v. (Not sure at what voltage it died) I have a Epever's on the same system it's still fine and once went to 16v since (the day I discovered witch controller was killing things) (The thing killed 2 inverters to)(i might have to do a video that)

[@akramkunbher7804]

Dear it is v good I have need this but how I parches I am from Pakistan How cost

[@stevenl4422]

did you ever play with the com port on this charge controller adam?

[@AdamWelchUK]

Not yet - I ordered a super cheap logic analyser to see if it would help me but it hasn’t turned up yet. I still plan to look at that though.

[@stevenl4422]

@@AdamWelchUK I just ordered one myself as well, it was the 80a one however with all of the attachments they offer, i do have some ep ever tracers currently as well, and will compare the two on the attachments , hoping to play with them a bit to be able to make my logs work on the cpk/tft ones

[@mikemead2315]

The real question will be if it is a better value then the good value EPEver Tracer, or Eco-Worthy.

[@RWBHere]

At 7:00 you made no mention of the crushed and almost punctured insulation on the inductor wire. Thanks for a nice review of a decent charge controller, Adam. Let's hope that they don't do the dirty on customers again, by changing the design to something inferior.

[@AdamWelchUK]

Yeah sorry. I did mention it in one clip but edited it out for time. A few people have mentioned it so clearly I should have left it in. One edit too far! It was trapped between a cap and the lcd pcb. Cheers

[@RWBHere]

@@AdamWelchUK Thanks for the clarification, Adam. It's still an excellent review. Let's now wait and see what the retail versions are like.

[@surplusdoctor]

I bought one of these in 40 amp and I CAN NOT find info about if this will charge lithium Iron batteries. will this charge them or is this a lead acid only?

[@user-ov6tk8tw2q]

Just make sure you have bms on your lithium batts and it will not care what voltage is coming from MPPT.

[@user-ov6tk8tw2q]

Just make sure you have bms on your lithium batts and it will not care what voltage is coming from MPPT.

[@surplusdoctor]

@@user-ov6tk8tw2q what type battery would you set it to? sealed? AGM? Flooded?? there is no Lithium to select on this unit

[@javieruriel]

The temperature sensor what’s that for?

[@lookoutleo]

its to monitor batteries so they wont charged to fast when they are hot or faster when cold

[@lezbriddon]

great video again, but only 9 out of 10, for lack of input current metering.... :p 😋

[@Paul-gz5dp]

How can it be LPPT without measuring the input current? it could go through a hall sensor or a shunt resistor both ways are rather low cost.

[@montaguemonro565]

Hi Adam, why series?

[@ursodermatt8809]

because the PV voltage might not be high enough

[@WazzyCabbage]

Hey Adam, are you still using this charger ?? Is it still working if so ?? Mine seems to hold my battery at 11.7 v ,,,arghhhhh

[@itsBombu]

did you fix?

[@WazzyCabbage]

@@itsBombu not had a look at it yet , got lesiure battery on charger ,once a week for 8hrs ,just so weather doesn't kill it pal.

[@catalinl5435]

If u dont measure the Amps from the solar pannel how do you know it's mppt? If u get 10 A 33v in and 10 A 13 v out, u got a big voltage regulator with 50% efficiency. Good test :))

[@AdamWelchUK]

In your example things would get very hot, very quickly. That’s 200 watts you’ve magically wasted.

[@catalinl5435]

@@AdamWelchUK It's not an example. It's a conclusion. U dont show all the necessry info. The purpose of mppt is higher efficiency. Most of the cheap mppt reg. are less efficient than pwm cause they need verry specific conditions to be efficient. If u buy a100 $ mppt and get 10 % more power than the 10$pwm you had, it will never recover the money diference on a small solar system.

[@catalinl5435]

@@AdamWelchUK we cant see the temp.in your video...so great explanation .We all measure efficiency in cold /hot/verry hot :)

[@xanataph]

Is it common +ve or common -ve controller?

[@AdamWelchUK]

I completely forgot to check that! It’s common positive. Thanks Xan.

[@stanleytolle416]

You need to check the protections that are claimed. It claims reverse connection, over voltage and others. Wouldn't make sense to test these claims?

[@stanleytolle416]

@pneumatictrousersa KZbinr did that to a Audew li jumper before he used it. He even started a disconnected diesel tractor. Convinced me to buy the thing. Always like to see somebody do the stupid before I do it. I am sure I would figure out how to do all stupids with a charge controller too.

[@stanleytolle416]

@pneumatictrousers so don't start with a $3000 controller. Best to start with those $10 units. But one has trouble learning on those units because even if you hook them up right they will not work.

[@user-tj5nk7lb8l]

cpk not available

[@stevemcgowan3017]

i have bought one of these cps-2420 ppt on your review adam its for my sister and brother in law as they have a bonsai business they are trying to get started.neil has done bonsai for many years.i helped install the controller they had a cheap pwm but with the loads on it it blew.with a 250watt panel now they can run their chargers and lights an small tv sometimes for now.they are not allowed to trade from the land at moment as a wicked neighbour reported them .how can anyone one get started in business!!!.they do use Facebook also.so anyway their land is off grid.and they have small solar panels on greenhouse roof running the under mat heater for the tree seedlings.profile.php

[@raisagorbachov]

Hmm... eBay wants about $85 for that charge controller. I paid about the same for my (as yet not installed) Renology MPPT conroller.

[@Mark1024MAK]

Listings I looked at are around $57 -> $68 range...

[@AdamWelchUK]

I paid £37 delivered. That’s a fair bit cheaper than the EPEver - but I would recommend the tracers over this, that lcd is so much better for a start! I’ve run my EPEver for a few years now. I can’t say that for this UEIUA ‘clone’.

[@raisagorbachov]

@@Mark1024MAK I only had a quick look since I already have several charge controllers and no intention of buying another unless one craps out.

[@renkahot]

You didnt do Amperage diference comparisin from solar imput and battery output! if they the same- then this not MPPT!

[@liliakai]

I feel like I'm watching a british sports program.

[@stevemcgowan3017]

I bought this off eBay for sisters bonsai nursery land /.I it didn't last long and it doesn't charge batteries.chinaman went quiet off eBay so had buy epever mppt.i got a renogy in my camper van thats good.3 parallel 30 watts on roof

[@ghlawrence2000]

Curious, but your Ebay link no longer links to any valid results...........

[@uber7317]

Was this sponsored? O_o What is input power, what is output power?!

[@DadventurestubeB]

I am returning the 40A version right now. Thanks to this video I was able to identify right away that there was only 1 inductor screwed through the back of the heat sink. The seller, "growlight09"on eBay, has taken a full 3 business days to communicate, by only responding every 24 hrs, even when I've replied within 10 minutes. The seller has asked for photos, which I sent, including the 20A current displayed on the screen, and still insists it is a 40A unit. I asked if they have any true 40A versions to replace it with; the seller will not respond to that. Finally, the seller asked me to test it again and send a video for their tech support and then said since I won't test again and send a video, it's definitely a 40A model and I'm wrong. I confirmed the board is the CPK-2420, with a 30A fuse and 1 inductor. It is clearly the 20A model and as this is 9 months after a comment of exactly the same, I fear they are not even making a true 40A model, but labeling it as such (currently Model CPK-X4 for 40A and X2 for 20A).

[@burnzy56469]

No lithium setting 😭😭

[@olinlagonse9646]

is there an inexpensive controller that can sit between the battery and this charge controller to properly charge lithium and other chemistry packs?

[@fratermus5502]

@@olinlagonse9646 If this is an epsolar clone you can just config the setpoints to something sane. Vabs to the recommended charging voltage with minimal absorption, Vfloat to 13.8v or something. Turn off EQ.

[@olinlagonse9646]

@@fratermus5502 thanks. I just ordered the monitor where I can configure.

[@timsvids5983]

It looks like an epever/epsolar clone. I switched to epever about a year ago. No problems with epever, don’t know if I’d trust a clone.

[@timsvids5983]

pneumatictrousers no haven’t found anything better for the price. I run 2x 40 amp on a 12 volt system and 2x 60 amp on a 48 volt system. I don’t think I’d do a clone even if they were cheaper. My only gripe is the service if I want to ask a question. I’ve never received an answer from epsolar service but I’ve found my answers elsewhere every time.

[@AceBlaggard]

As a Brit I really appreciate a no nonsense review from a fellow Brit. Yank vids are OK but generally padded out with BS or sponsored by the stuff they're 'reviewing'.

[@ZephodBeeblebrox]

Yikes. Aliexpress. Good luck if a seller rips you off on aliexpress. Their claim system is biassed AGAINST the buyer. I'm trying to claim because they sent me a 10W solar panel instead of a 20W. The claim system asks me to give them information but gives no way of providing that information. I'm having to resort to contacting the bank!

[@pulesjet]

EpEver Clone. Even the PCB looks EpEverish ? LOL I have a Epever 4215BN. Most happy with it. Not your normal Chines Electronics Build. Actually reflects QUALITY . Firmware is a bit ruff to use but more then usable.