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Your cart is empty.3.7 out of 5 stars
- #112,444 in Patio, Lawn & Garden (See Top 100 in Patio, Lawn & Garden)
- #83 in Renewable Energy Controllers
Product Description
Mike W.
Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2025
This charge controller does the job well... easy setup, handles LiFePO4 like a champ, and the efficiency is great. The build quality is surprisingly good, and the heatsink is beefy enough to inspire confidence. The Bluetooth app, however, is an afterthought… feels like they slapped on generic third-party software and called it a day. Also, at this price, I kinda wish it was 30A instead of 20A. That said, if you’re running a small solar setup and want a reliable controller, this one’s a good choice.
motorbikematt
Reviewed in the United States on December 15, 2024
I've been noticing that HQST is producing some interestingly good solar stuff on the market lately. This MPPT is a very well, perhaps even over-built, controller that looks professional and possess high quality, well executed set of features, including:1. HEATSINK with access to mounting holes.2. Long thermal probe that can be easily extended as needed.3. High contrast display and on-board control that does not require battery power to work (uses solar)4. Easy to decipher error code and operational logic.5. Remote control, in this case via bluetooth (although they could have done this better)Now, why only 4 stars instead of 5?First, the documentation could have been much better, especially regarding the Bluetooth application. Somthing changed because what they wanted you to download is not available. Instead you just get (what I'm assuming is) a 3rd party app that works with other generic controllers.Second, I'm a little surprised that this is limited to only 20A, especially for this price. While I'm not going to push my luck with this one, the heatsink on this unit and it's overall beefiness suggest to me that they could have bumped it to 30A or more, but maybe they're playing it safe.Overall, I would buy this for any 20A application where I feel safe not looking at it for long stretches of time.
airaddict
Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2024
I tested two charge controllers today, this HQST and a PowMr. Both are similar specs, but that where any similarity stopped. The PowMr ended up being defective, which is too bad as I have other electronics from them that I actually like. As for the HQST, it is fantastic. The settings are intuitive and within minutes I had it configured to the LiFePO4 battery, charging away, The LCD screen is no frills, however, it's large and extremely legible even in bright sunlight. Setting the charge limits was an easy task and as soon as the battery reached 14.6V, the charger went into float mode, as it should. It has a battery temp sensor, and it works well. I haven't tested the Bluetooth, as I have it conveniently mounted so there's no need for remote, but if I change the location I will gladly download the app. This charge controller is a little larger than expected, but it has a nice heat sink and there's nothing about this unit that feels cheap. I use 10AWG wire and most of the 20A charge controllers can't handle that gauge, but it fits well in this one. On the load side, no complaints there, either. It manages the load and battery charging flawlessly. At $89.99, it's more than twice the price of the PowMr, but it's more than twice the product, and a very strong value. I'll be keeping an eye out for the 40A version.
RTMPX
Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2024
Over the past year, I had the chance to test multiple solar charge controllers and I can say without hesitation that this is the best such product I have been using. It is well built (a solid unit with a heatsink) and performs impressively. I have two small solar panels setups installed side by side (300W each), one connected to this controller and the other to a 30 amps Renogy Wanderer Li controller. The latter is a PWM unit so I had no expectation they would perform similarly (they don't) and I routinely notice the HQST unit outperforming the Wanderer by 15% or more. The HQST's terminals can easily accommodate 10awg solar cables, the display is large and informative, and I did not encounter any errors so far. Since the controller's installation was straightforward, I did not feel the need to use the app, but I plan to install it on my phone and give it a shot at some point. Overall, this is a high-quality product that I hope will last a very long time.
Woeful Zeus
Reviewed in the United States on October 9, 2024
This is the 4th MPPT I have tested. This is probably the best system for someone just starting out with solar. It is small, simple, easy to use and lives up to it's name.I tested this with 300W of solar power (recommended limit) and this thing out performed my Renogy Rover 30A.With 300W of panels connected, I was running about 20v at 10+ amps, this unit maxes out at 300W so you could probably go to 400W of panel if you MAKE SURE you are running the correct voltage.I'm quickly becoming a HQST fan after getting to use this system. I LOVE how you can chain these units together, you could set these up with 3-4 solar panels each and interconnect them to have a more robust solar grid.I haven't tested the mobile app yet, But what I really love about this unit is it's simplicity. There is nothing complicated about this unit...The terminals are well built, I had 0 issues getting 10AWG wire to seat in the terminals and they seemed bigger than other MPPT controllers I have tested.What really blew me away was this unit was able to get about 105W of solar power out of a single 100W panel. I have a high performance 100W panel that I tested on this unit and when properly oriented to the sun (crystal clear day with low humidity at high sun), somehow this MPPT was harvesting HIGHER than the recommended rating of the panel.I thought it might have been a glitch, so I got my testing equipment out and sure enough, it was harvesting 19.2V and 5.6 amps peak, but able to hold steady at 19.1 and 5.4amps.I have NEVER seen a system harvest more than the rated power of a panel. 99% of the time, a 100W panel will just barely harvest 90W on the best of days.This unit is small, but I would still recommend this even to someone building out a larger system due to the fact that you can chain these units together via the RS485 port.Item came well packaged and no issues with shipping.
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