******
- Verified Buyer
I bought a house semi-recently that had this solar hot water system attached. When I bought the house I knew nothing about this solar system. Overtime, I was told it should be working and the pipes were hot but couldn't know if it actually was without paying hundreds of dollars for someone to come inspect and take a look at it. I looked at the old solar hot water controller that was attached and took the panel off only to discover that the fuses were blown inside. I needed a replacement for it since it was just constantly running and wasting electricity.This was what I was almost positive I needed after extensive research. It was just a Chinese knock off of a few other brands running for $150+. I needed a solar controller to check the differential between the temperature on the roof against the temperature in the tank, and to run the pump when the difference is exceeded. This did exactly that, but way updated.I ended up getting this, and it took a few weeks to come in from China, but finally arrived. You can see attached is what you get in the box. The solar controller, two temp probes, and the AC wire. Upon wiring up the new stuff, I discovered that my temp probe on the roof panels were incompatible. Basically what it comes down to, is that this SPECIFIC kind of temp probe responds in a different electrical voltage than the old style that was installed. Had to go up on the roof and replace the temp probe, I spliced it in with the old wire that was there and it worked all the way down in the basement perfectly.Once it was up and running, I read through the manual front to back to understand everything it had to offer. Something to note, is that you need to specify a password to get into the settings every-time which the default is I think 0000. This is not specified in the manual. I'd say the manual is about 95% accurate, it comes default set to celsius but be sure to change this in the settings. Other reviewers had noted that there was no way to change this or that, but you definitely can if you get past the password first and then access all the settings. I didn't change many if at all any settings, but since installing this solar controller for my hot water system it is working again, and working great! Now I can know what the temperature is on the roof and what it is in the tank and that it's operating correctly.Febuary, 2021- complete system failure. My needs are simple, heat when possible close to max temp setting only. Controller now runs randomly causing overheating in the daytime and complete opposite at night, cools to cold. Replaced sensors (new from manufacturer) same exact operation. Reset to factory no help. I feel, after a little research, this unit is made with a control board intended for a variety of applications and simply flashed with a ROM for a specific purpose by each seller, for this intended use, function required much too complicated programming, causing memory loss and impossible to maintain proper control functionality. 11/28/20 After a couple months of good operation, the controller began to cool at night, regardless of settings. After extensive checking and re-check of sensors I ordered and replaced the collector sensor and wire from roof to controller. Both sensors read stable and equal with an ohmmeter but controller is off by 80-100 degrees from actual not always the same direction. Must be a bad logic control. What it initially saved me in energy cost has been lost 100 fold at this point. problem with this product, it's coming from China so when you order it pay close attention to the expected delivery date because you have only 30 minutes to cancel the order. However, I didn't learn that until 6 hours after the order had been placed and the delivery date was over 2 months away. To cancel at that point you must contact the seller and then wait for a response. In my case the seller responded during the night and said they had already shipped with FedEx and it would be fast. It arrived in under a week. It works perfectly and is adjustable in ways many are not. I am using it for my hot tub so I needed to be able to set it to 104 degrees and below which it does perfectly. I would definitely recommend the product to others and being a plumbing contractor may even consider using on a client's project should the need arise.The controller was very well packaged and arrived it excellent condition It appears to be well made, as are the sensors. I have an older Reynolds Aluminum solar system, which dates from the 1970's. The collector is still good, as are the heat exchanger and the pumps, so when the original Robertshaw controller failed a third time, and I was no longer able to patch it up, I looked for a new controller. This one is far more capable, so it's a bit of overkill, but it was fairly easy to adapt it to my system. The instructions while reasonably good, required some head scratching to decide what settings I could just ignore. Also, I would strongly recommend using an external 120VAC coil relay to switch your pump(s). The collector pump output is only rated for 1Amp. also, if you have a pump failure where a short occurs, you will prevent damage to the controller. Since my tank and pumps are located outside, I utilized a Toro lawn sprinkler control box to keep it out of the weather. It's in under a roof edge, so it doesn't get rain or direct sun, however, the controller doesn't seem to get warm at all, so the closed box in a higher than indoor ambient should be ok, guess I'll find out this summer. I've only had it working a few days, so far, but it turns the pumps on and off just as it should.very nice unit. a lot of capability with many parameters to set, and capability to use backup heat from regular boiler or electric element. you can set all kinds of differentials, temperatures, timed backup heating, etc. the instructions are pretty complicated. I think I will try to write a simplified version as i spent a long time figuring it out. Note that T3 does not show up until you change backup heating to T3 instead of T2. all in all, a great controller at a good price. would buy again.Can not access all of the Submenu options. These include switching from C to F, operating pump manually, etc. Unable to utilize all features of contoller. Don't buy it.Works ideal, pretty basic installation and operation. Nothing fancy but works 100%I have evacuated tubes on the roof.The only tricky bit was installing the temperature sensor on the roof.Other similar products were much more expensive and too fancy for what I needed.
