Morningstar Tristar 60A PWM Solar Charge Controller (TS-60) - Solar Panel Regulator for 12/24/36/48V LA/Li Batteries, Load/Diversion Control, Data/Comms, FCC Comp. 5 Year WTY - Designed in The USA

UPDATE 08/20/2017:This Morningstar TS-45 TriStar charge controller has been operating nonstop since its installation in late December of 2016 - logging over 5000 hours of uninterrupted use. It has worked flawlessly. My battery bank has been kept at a consistent charge, ready for the periodic power outages we have here on the island. The software that allows it to communicate to the computer is easy to use, and full of important diagnostic and statistical information. An all around excellent piece of professional quality equipment. Absolutely recommended!UPDATE 12/13: The best solution to the serial cable problem was actually pretty simple: a male to female *internal* serial extension/jumper cable. (See pic below) I ordered this here on Amazon as well, and the sticker with product data is in the pic. It's just small enough to allow for the cover to be completely closed and screwed down while the serial cable remains connected, allowing the Serial-to-USB to be connected on its other end, fed through one of the conduit ports, and out to the computer for monitoring.***************I only just received this today, so it hasn't been installed yet. I did, however, quickly wire it up in place of my existing controller to verify that it was working.My first impression is that it's extremely well built, with a nice powder-coated metal case, heavy metal heat sink, and industrial quality connectors on the board inside.Once connected, I tried connecting the serial port to my computer via a generic DB9 serial-to-usb cable which I ordered (Thank you, James H.) along with the TS-45. I opened up Morningstar's MSView program, searched for device, and...Nothing.**NOTE: Install drivers for serial DB9 to USB before expecting connection between computer and controller. In Windows, Device Manager will show a flag if drivers need to be installed. (Who knew cables needed drivers?!? LOL)Once I installed the drivers for the cable, MSView instantly recognized my TS-45 on the other end, and within a few clicks, had some preliminary data about my system.Awesome! One of the main reasons why I wanted this Morningstar controller.NOTE: The serial connector on the board is in a snug spot between the heat sink and the LEDs. I had to shave down the plastic casing of the plug on my cable to get it to fit properly inside. And there's no way there's enough space with it plugged in to put the cover of the controller back on because the standard plug is too tall. A little serial jumper/extension plug might need to be bought/made to rectify this - shouldn't be expensive or hard, and should allow for a permanent connection to the cable inside the case with the cover installed. I will post a pic of the solution to this once I figure it out myself. (SEE UPDATE ABOVE AND PIC)The 60 page instruction manual, which is also available as a PDF download on their website, is very well written and explains setup/features/settings in good detail.It'll probably be a few days before it's completely wired-up and installed, so I'll update my review when it's all set up. But as of right now, everything looks to be top-notch.

This is an outstanding charge controller. Installation was clearly laid out in the owners manual with factory default charge programs that cover most battery charge point voltages. The programs are easily set using small DIP switches. If you prefer to have a custom solar charging program (ie bulk chargeing voltage of 15.0 volts with a float of 13.4 volts) you can download Morningstar's PC software and manually input the charging points.There are 3 different colored LED's on the front of the unit that let you know how your system is performing. The LEDS will tell you the status of your battery bank charge, the stage of charging process (bulk, PWM, Float and equalization), and whether or not the batteries are discharging. You will need to refer to the owners manual the first couple of times to decipher the lights, but easy once you know what you are looking for. Additionally, the LED lights will flash different colors to indicate different faults.Lastly, if LEDs are too complicated or frustrating for the owner, Morningstar makes a LCD display that will tell you the same things the LED's will, just in a digital readout. I have not personally used it, but it is nice to know if I want a remote digital display hanging inside my cabin, I can do that instead of trudging through the rain to the garage to see how the system is performing.This is the second charge controller I have used for my off grid cabin, and am extremely pleased. My previous charge controller (Xantrex C60) failed within a week and customer service was horrible. Xantrex was made in China, and the quality showed. The Morningstar is made in Taiwan and it is hands down built better and sturdier than the Xantrex.I will update if the Morningstar has any problems in the future.

Overall the unit is very nice, the only issue I have with it, is the knock out tabs are very hard to get out. This could be an issue as the impact from knocking them out could damage something. I actually ended up taking the bottom cover off as I was concerned I was going to break it. It has a very nice web interface, the documentation is excellent and morningstars support was adequate. Unfortunately I could not get a clear answer for a scenario I posed, but this is also a loaded question as they don't have my exact panels to test with, Just wish they gave me some reference example. Anyway, I have 3x100 Watt Instapark panels running now in serias and I compared its performance to what I recorded on my old PWM charger with just a single 100 watt panel, the comparable sample I had showed a 16% increase in output. To me anyone with real usage for a Solar Charger should be using MPPT. My main application is powering my primary sump pump, so its almost mission critical. I am sure they will address the knock out issue ,and taking the bottom off is not that bad, one board post you have to be careful with and the board side holders, not for amateurs for sure, but I would hope amateurs don't plan on trying to install one of these as well. I will be adding 3X100 in parallel to my existing ones when it warms up a bit, and that will max me out as I have a 12 volt setup. If I stay 12 beyond that I can add another unit as it is designed to scale in that manner.