EPSolar LandStar PWM Solar Charge Controller Review - 12v Solar Shed

I picked up this EPSolar LandStar LS1024B 10 Amp PWM charge controller mainly because I wanted to see if the MODBUS protocol was implemented in the same way as my Tracer 2210A MPPT charge controller ( • MPPT Charge Controller... ).
Despite what I state in this video this controller is common positive. Sorry for the error.
❗️These links are affiliated and I may earn a small commission if you purchase❗️
This item is available on Ebay: goo.gl/h4R1Ha
Using my home made cheap RS485 cable ( • EPSolar Solar Station ... ) I hook it up to EPSolar's Solar Station Monitor software to see what I can see. It can also be used to change the battery charging profile.
❗️These links are affiliated and I may earn a small commission if you purchase❗️
RS485 to USB Adapter goo.gl/8hnKtI
Grab the EPEver Solar Station Monitor software on the EPSolar website: admw.uk/iM
EPSolar Remote Temperature Sensor: goo.gl/NNA2bb
Please like, share, subscribe and comment. It really does help my channel. Thanks for watching!
#Solar #ChargeController #Review #PWM

[@alexandregadret]

Awesome review! Thank You. Best technical solar controller review I have ever seen. Keep up the good work!

[@AdamWelchUK]

Very kind of you. Thank you.

[@Mosolarfan]

I have always thought that these low end chargers were low value because they give little to no real system feed back, this and your mppt video have changed my view of these 2 products. thanks for sharing, I'm running a midnite solar "kid" controller now

[@AdamWelchUK]

+The Left Hand Midnite kit is still in a different league to the a EPSolar charge controllers, but the Chinese manufacturers like to emulate the big brands and pile 'em high and sell 'em cheap. Definitely room in the market for both.

[@fklappers]

Thank you Adam, good video and excelent comments. I had two questions and they were managed in the comments. I will have a look in your videos.

[@AdamWelchUK]

+Francisco Klapper Most kind - glad to be of assistance.

[@stewartrobertson6108]

Thanks for the reply I must have a faulty as no lights come on thank you

[@farmsidney]

Adam, I was very happy to see this video. I understand that manufacturer started using the Modbus protocol on all your boots. Now what made me happiest was to see that ScadaBR installed on your computer. I am passionate about this project and use it for various things. Let's put it to work quickly integrated with the controller. I have the memory map of other devices of the same brand. put your computer on the Internet and gives me the IP of the machine that can configure. Let's play a lot. My name is Sidney and bike in Brazil.

[@Realistis]

thanks, didn't know about portapow. I'd like a more powerful than 5A

[@notyoung]

I have a LS1024B on order strictly for experimenting. In addition to the 1600 watts of assorted panels I use with the solar generator, I have some smaller panels (20 watts) that would be useful for keeping the motley collection of AGM and flooded batteries (5 to 65AH) charged - even the 6-year-old battery pulled from my truck this year would serve in a pinch if fully charged and it can certainly be used to jumpstart a vehicle or the riding mower ;-) I ordered an inexpensive (under $5US, delivered) "PWM" controller from Ali Express and it's not even PWM - just switching (no surprise). While it offers a way to "set" parameters, the "settings" are just for display as it takes the battery to 14.7 volts regardless of the battery type selected (float, sealed, gel - manual lists voltages from 14.2 to 14.6 depending on type) and the display only shows a maximum of 14.4 volts. Disconnecting and reconnecting battery and solar didn't make a difference. You have no idea what that controller is actually doing unless you have volt and amp meters you can test with. If you had a 50 watt panel on a 200AH flooded battery and you checked the water levels frequently, it might not destroy the battery :-( So much for the "bargain" controllers - it even has two USB ports...

[@Brendan-sz9xp]

Hi Adam can you give me some advice please.so new to solar panel setups but won’t to put on on my caravan.i have purchased a kit off eBay 150w panel same controller as in your video and the mt 50 monitor my question is I have purchased a lead with 10amp fuse inline for battery side but do I need to fuse the panel to the controller.my thought was to use mc4 Connections just in case I needed to isolate connection from solar panel to control unit cheers

[@yegeric]

Great video. Are these suitable for use with a 2 battery setup? Or do you need 2 of these, one for each battery? I have two 100Ah sealed batteries and plan to add 80-100 watts of solar.

[@bjornsjoling3841]

Can you set the paramaters with the mt50 in the same manner as a tracer a? If so, what a sweet little unit!

[@happyjive2235]

Hello Adam , I have one of these in my tourer also 10amp, I also have the MT50, currently have a 100w PV and a 95ah battery, I'm thinking of adding another 85ah battery for when we go off grid. Will the charge controller be ok with this ? Thanks

[@moralmoral8904]

okay i check its micro controller what topology used for pwm with out mppt its used boos converter voltage mode or current mode regulated state of charge battery

[@dumindujayasinghe]

Can we use any 47k ntc thermistor for battery temperature measurement

[@dumindujayasinghe]

Can you measure the temperature sensor ohms. Then it can be diy

[@trevorbyron8181]

I have mp3750 version and my phone won't charge when I plug it in USB port...usb port not working?

[@johancoetzee7079]

I connected the charge controller with a MT50 but it shows RPP Break. Do you perhaps know what this failure notice means?

[@mikekitson3517]

hi Adam, thank you for your video. i am a new comer to solar so i found this video quite enlightening. just one question do they include the 25amp fuse on this controller to protect against battery short circuit (ie as an alternative to an external inline fuse on the positive lead of the battery?) thanks for your time

[@AdamWelchUK]

Cheers Mike. The fuse is a last line of defense really in case some of the other protections don't work (or work fast enough) - so a short circuit would be an example. I always suggest you have an external fuse rated at the maximum current rating for the controller (or less if you don't expect to use it to it's full capacity). They're easier to change than an internal one and you can more easily see if they are blown or not.

[@CrankyCoder]

I just ordered the same controller to replace my "dumb" one that came in a kit that has 0 configuration

[@zogworth]

Adam, Sorry to pester you with inane questions. I followed your lead (hah) with the cat 5 cable and the serial to usb converter but it only works pretty sporadically. Often I get port is in use by other program or just complete failure to connect and a ticker tape of failure at the bottom where the program logs what its doing. I've made sure all the serial settings match up. Weirdly though it doesn't go at 9600 like most things but a much higher speed, I wonder if this might be part of the problem. Thanks

[@AdamWelchUK]

There's a few things to check. Firstly the driver, are you running the right one for the CH340? Perhaps check the settings in the driver - I didn't need to change anything but perhaps there is something amiss? Finally it might be worth trying to ground the two devices together. It would need you to solder a wire to the negative connection on the usb port. Having both systems sharing a ground might make communication more reliable. The communication is set on the tracer at 115200 - this is normal. I hope something here does the trick for you.

[@zogworth]

It should be the right driver, but I will reinstall anyway, it can't hurt! 115200 is what its at, i'm used to much older bits of kit I suppose. Old CNC machinery can't hope to achieve such heady speeds! Will bust out the soldering iron and wire in the ground to see if that helps. Cheers

[@stewartrobertson6108]

Hi I have just fitted a solar panel to my van can you tell me when I have connected every thing up does the lights on the unit light up as I am not getting any lights coming on thanks

[@AdamWelchUK]

Yes - you should get a green led illuminated when you connect the battery (assuming the voltage is reasonable) and another green led once the solar is connected (and there is some sun).

[@dokiljahat8895]

How to set the 1024 type ?

[@williamglencross9359]

Can anyone clarify a point. He mentions that the controller must be carrying out an equalization charge, but the app says a boost charge is being carried out. I thought an equalization charge was to remove 'plaques' from the battery plates periodically, and a boost charge came between bulk and float. In this context does equalization and boost charge mean the same thing?

[@AdamWelchUK]

If you’ve chosen the flooded or sealed battery type once a month the charge controller does do a equalization charge which is typically a couple of hundred millivolts above the normal boost charge. Boost being the term that EPEver use, many people would say bulk. So it does boost then float for most of the month and an equalization then float one day a month. Page 17 of this manual shows the default levels set in all EPEver charge controllers - www.epsolarpv.com/upload/cert/file/1811/Tracer-AN-SMS-EL-V1.0.pdf What’s also interesting to note is that boost and equalization charges are timed - normally they are for a 120 minute period.

[@fklappers]

Adam, let me ask you one question. How it looks in the installation that the Charge controller is positive grounding?

[@AdamWelchUK]

Hello Francisco. Yes, most of EPSolars charge controllers use common positive design. It's easier and probably cheaper to switch the negative side.

[@charlieoscar09]

Thanks for the review Adam...Someone mentioned other software have you tried any to get any other software to work with this system also which data cable do i need...thanks

[@AdamWelchUK]

+charlieoscar09 I built my own cable using a standard (and very cheap) USB to RS485 adapter. Have a look in my past videos. There are a few bits of software from EPSolar - but solar station monitor is define you the most advance. Other MODBUS software should interact with the controller - but you need to know all the register addresses. I have an ongoing project to interact with these controllers a bit more - but I've found it slow going.

[@charlieoscar09]

Thanks Adam

[@moralmoral8904]

thank you Adam, good video . I had questions what is charging controller circuit topology pwm baised on microcotroller or ardinuo

[@AdamWelchUK]

This uses an ST microcontroller if I remember correctly.

[@moralmoral8904]

its micro controller

[@markthorley7148]

Hi Pal, I am a complete novice so apologies if this is obvious but I have o e of these in my T6 camper. Do both the lights on the top left flash ( to indicate charging ). Also when I switch it off via the top right button the red light goes out but the green lights continue to flash? I expected it to completely power down

[@AdamWelchUK]

The solar LED illuminates when there is sun on the panel. The battery LED slowly flashing green means that the battery is over it’s target voltage - is your campers battery connected to another charger or an engines alternator perhaps? Check out section seven of this manual for more info… www.epsolarpv.com/upload/file/1811/LS-B-SMS-EL-V2.5.pdf

[@markthorley7148]

@@AdamWelchUK Hi, the vehicle has dc to dc charger due to the vehicles smart alternator but unsure if I am honest if the solar is connected to the alternator directly.

[@bangkokhomes]

Good Video Adam. I guess there would be an app for the Mac thanks. Mikebkk

[@AdamWelchUK]

+Bangkok Homes Not that I'm aware of I'm afraid. EPSolar only list Windows software.

[@olinlagonse9646]

Tried ordering EPSolar items from Amazon. Won't ship to Hawaii. Seems like this items is the same and it ships to Hawaii. "MISOL Epsolar Solar regulator 10A 12V 24V solar charge controller 50V LS1024B." If you are having issues with EPSolar and shipping maybe MISOL would also work for you.

[@larrygonce1637]

Thanks for the review Adam...can the float, equalize voltages and duration, be adjusted via PC software? Cant find this info on their website. If you ever do another video on this, I would really like to see just what parameters can be set....Larry

[@AdamWelchUK]

+LARRY GONCE Hi Larry. Yes all the battery voltage can be manually set. The boost and equalize times can be adjusted from 30 minutes to 180 minutes (if memory serves) independently of each other. I'll try and take a screen shot tomorrow for you when I'm back at my PC. If I forget, give me a nudge.

[@larrygonce1637]

Thanks Adam...that's good to know. I think I will order one of these. I'm going for the 20A or 30A version, as I'm at about 10A in PV right now. If you could put an eBay link to those from Sure, I will use it, if that gives you some credit. Thanks for the com cct as well...Larry

[@AdamWelchUK]

Hi Larry - Screen shot of the battery parameter setting screen. A fair bit to play with here... admw.uk/jq

[@larrygonce1637]

Much thanks Adam

[@Bobby-lv2kr]

thanks for the video, Isn't it strange that for 10amp charger they have not installed any heatsink?

[@AdamWelchUK]

The metal back is a heat sink. Not a very chunky one, but that’s where the mosfets sit to dissipate heat.

[@roll20011]

Can you change the parameters? Set up for 18650 4s

[@AdamWelchUK]

You can yes but you’ll need a cable and a pc, the Bluetooth or WiFi adapter and a mobile (or pc) or one of the few home brew solutions to change the charging parameters.

[@John-gm8ty]

A EP solar rep told me a while ago that they are soon releasing a bluetooth adapter to allow wireless monitoring. hasn't materialized yet, but, hopefully soon.

[@AdamWelchUK]

+John Douglas Interesting. Thanks for the info.

[@John-gm8ty]

well, what do you know. a wifi unit www.aliexpress.com/item/WIFI-Box-Mobile-Phone-APP-use-for-EP-Tracer-Solar-Controller-Communication-eBox-WIFI-01/32714184306.html?spm=2114.01010208.3.65.QvjHDX&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_3_10065_10068_10084_10083_10080_10082_10081_10060_10061_10062_10056_10055_10037_10054_10059_10032_10099_10078_10079_10077_427_10103_10073_10102_10096_10052_10050_10051,searchweb201603_9&btsid=b975b031-0b20-457e-8925-ed7bb31a7fde

[@AdamWelchUK]

+John Douglas Yeah, I looked at it a couple of months ago in two videos... kzbin.info/www/bejne/n3esmnd3rJaFaa8

[@John-gm8ty]

Ahh I remember now, heh. I'm a twit :F they really should just start building it into the units. and release a firmware update for the BN series fixing the slow tracking and dicky DOD level.

[@AdamWelchUK]

+John Douglas I suspect they'll keep the models quite bare to hit the price point. The additional functionality isn't for everyone and those that want it will likely pay for the accessory (which aren't too expensive either).

[@ytu52973]

Adam, at 2:39 you say it is common negative, but specs say positive grounding. Which is correct?

[@AdamWelchUK]

+Y Gator I'm sorry - I'll need to double check. Leave that with me and I'll make a note if I am wrong and reply to your comment.

[@AdamWelchUK]

+Y Gator So sorry - In the narration I made a mistake. This is a common positive charge controller. The two mosfets on the right are in the classic back to back configuration of an EPSolar common neg charge controller design. Thanks for pointing this out.

[@ytu52973]

+Adam Welch Thanks for confirming. I only found out as after watching your video I went to check on prices and found a review on Amazon giving it 2 stars because it had positive ground and that was a deal breaker for them. I then found the manual and saw it in there as well.

[@AdamWelchUK]

+Y Gator Yes. I must have been confused looking from the back of the pcb. Thanks for asking - I hate to give incorrect information.

[@ahaveland]

It's a pity that there are so few options for solar charging LiPo batteries - I made a 48V LiPo battery pack for my ebike using ten 6S 5Ah batteries (5P 2S), with a couple of 120W portable panels I made using sunpower cells on 12 A3 sized foamboard sheets, but only have a standard 300W LiPo charger that will accept 10-28V DC input, and only balance charge up to 6S. I know it can control current draw because it slowly ramps up at the beginning of the charge, but it will try to deliver the set current regardless... Interesting though - it'll do up to 12A @ 25V output, and if I plug 2 panels in parallel into it, I can watch the current rise to go through MPP and then fall off... Then I set the charge current to just below the max that it displayed, and restart the charge, hoping that it'll stay on the upper side of the 'knee', around 18V. However, if a cloud comes along, the voltage falls and the charger responds by trying to take more current, and the voltage drops, so it tries to take more current etc.. then falls into a hole at 10V and stays there! The charger is great, but it would only take a firmware upgrade to make it solar panel aware and do MPPT. However, what I really want is something I can use on the go, and balance charge and top up 48V 12 cells depth at around 20-30A, and nothing seems to exist, except perhaps in Tesla's R&D dept! The battery is 1.4kWh and could help power a home through a power cut as well as propel 100kg 100km at 50kmh! Making a high power MPPT lipo charger would be an interesting project - I have an Arduino nano and a dozen or so mosfets and a few scrap computer PSUs. I'm hopeful something could be made out of these for next to nothing!

[@AdamWelchUK]

+Andy Lee Robinson LiPo solar chargers are fairly thin on the ground. Some people use lead acid solar chargers and adjust voltages to suit, but you'd need to use an external BMS to protect each cell. Electrodacus makes the nicest looking lithium solar charge controller. I'd have one if I used LiPo or LiFe batteries for sure.

[@ahaveland]

Yes, he's certainly spent a lot of time on it and made a great system, but he made it to solve his own particular needs which don't necessarily reflect what others are looking for! I suspect if he was into RC modelling and drone technology he would have designed something that would include that rapidly growing sector, which can also cross fertilize developments in home and EV battery tech. He only goes up to 8S balancing, but I'd like at least 12 or even 24 or more for 96V systems for larger EVs. My particular pack can charge at 50A, discharge at 250A and deliver 12.5kW and remain within spec, and I could just add more cells for more power or capacity, and switch between ebike or home use... My current chargers will balance up to six cells - it's not a big issue to manually reconfigure and charge in two sessions, but would be nice to have the flexibility to be able to charge while online. With the transition to solar ramping up quickly, I can see market opportunities for high power flexible multichemistry variable-cell BMSs, so I'll keep researching and experimenting! Cheers!

[@AdamWelchUK]

+Andy Lee Robinson Sorry I couldn't remember which battery configurations the Electrodacus supported. You've got quite a big system (by my standards anyway) and it sounds like you've invested quite a lot of time in it. I agree that manufacturers will need to start developing new products for the new hybrid and off grid homes not to mention the cars and bikes.

[@ahaveland]

I look forward to that future! I took these pics two days ago topping up the battery in the middle of nowhere (not that it really needed it!) facebook.com/AndyLeeRobinson/posts/10156909141670117 I had a canvas saddle made for the pack, 5 batteries per side and it works really well. I guess I should do a video on it! However, with no protection against punctures in an accident, it's not something I'd recommend for the public!

[@AdamWelchUK]

+Andy Lee Robinson Nice job. I like the idea of charging up your bike whilst you eat your sandwich and admire the view! It'd be interesting to see your video.

[@ptr1968]

Hi Adam, What about durability, is it still working fine?

[@AdamWelchUK]

This isn’t my every day charger but yes it still works - as do all my EPSolar/EPEver solar charge controllers.

[@charlieoscar09]

Just ordered one Adam do you think the 25a fuse is too high ?

[@AdamWelchUK]

+charlieoscar09 I'm guessing it's there so they can add it's protection as a feature, but if they put a 10 or 15 amp fuse in, it might blow unnecessarily - and as its not exactly a user serviceable part it makes sense to put a decent value fuse in there. Honestly I'd usually suggest external fuses on permanent installs on the battery and the load. These you could change yourself if needed.

[@charlieoscar09]

+Adam Welch Yes willl do thanks

[@AdamWelchUK]

+charlieoscar09 In reply to your message (which I can't reply to as I'm on my mobile sadly) this is a uk seller of the USB to RS485 adapter... www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/252291474974

[@jjstiff]

Here is the spec so that you may make your own modbus controller EPSolar B Series Controller Protocol v2.4, provided by EPSolar in Oct 2016 because I asked. They said I could share it with you. They did not provide a link that I was hoping via their website, which would be better for all. It is nice that they include the pictures of EPEVER software with associated addresses. They appear correct, but I have not verified everything. I would go with this document first. drive.google.com/open?id=0B2_wlF-c-wF4VHE5cFpEdkROOW8 Here is modbus protocol spec v1.1b for reference www.modbus.org/docs/Modbus_Application_Protocol_V1_1b.pdf Here is sample C# code for modbus via Visual Studio. But with the first doc I suspect you will be able to make an interface for any linux as well. www.codeproject.com/Articles/20929/Simple-Modbus-Protocol-in-C-NET

[@AdamWelchUK]

+jjstiff Hello. I'm unable to look at this is any detail today as I only have my phone as access. From your description however it sounds like a really useful set of documents. Thank you. I'll reply back again once I've been able to view it correctly.