Sunforce 60012 7 Amp Charge Controller Reviews

• WORKS GREAT & FULL FEATURES FOR THE PRICE!

  
  By A1RPF82ESDQ0O3 on 2006-11-30
  * I hooked up a small 40 watt Solar System at my home. Bought this Sunforce 60012 7 amp Charge Controller and everything worked Great. The LED came on and the controller sent the power to the battery even in low cloudy days with no sun. I saw some hype online about MorningStar's 'SunGuard SG-4' (& it's PWM) and it's fancy line graph showing how it was far superior to other controllers. Bought one for $27.oo and $11.oo shipping tacked on from another vendor), swapped it out with this SUNFORCE 60012 Controller hoping for a big improvement. Waited for morning... and put my volt meter on the system only to find the SunGuard SG-4 (with NO LED) was still sound asleep! Zero volts passing through it! So I immediately removed the SunGuard SG-4 and re-installed the SUNFORCE 60012 Charge Controller I purchased here from Amazon. Poof... back to producing 12 Volts from my solar panels and the hazy sky had no sign of sun. The SunGuard SG-4 is now on it's way to the local landfill... and the SUNFORCE 60012 has a permanent home in my home solar power system. Sunforce's LED is glowing and the Solar 12 Volts are flowing to my battery again. Stick with the SUNFORCE 60012 it is far superior and WORKS like it's supposed to. Call me old-fashioned... I think that's why I bought the SUNFORCE (& the 'SunGuard SG-4' ~ 4 amp w/ No LED )in the first place? # SUNFORCE 60012 7 amp Charge Controller #: Low price and High Quality and it actually does what it's supposed to do! "Go figure..." :-) 5 STARS!!
  
  * [[ JUNE 2, 2008 Update: R.I.P. ]] This SUNFORCE 60012 ended it's service today. It worked great since Nov. 2006, but today it just went into a confused state. Amber and Green LED light stayed ON, even with battery disconnected. Voltage was still being fed through, but I was afraid it was going to overcharge the solar battery.
  [] I had purchased a Sunsei 10amp Sunsei 10 Amp Solar Charge Controller #SE-CC10000 a while back as a 'back up' solar charger. I installed the Sunsei 10 Amp and it was NOT WORKING at all on it's first use. So the Sunsei has received bad reviews from others on Amazon, I can't even give the Sunsei 10 Amp I had a "ONE STAR" Rating. Sorry about that.
  [] ***** [June 9, 2008] I just installed an "Xantrex C12" Solar Charge Controller (Cost Lest than $90.), 12Amp, 12V ~ "Wow" it is the BEST! It has a special feature [Nite-Lite Mode] where you can add a 12V Light(s) and it will (time is fully manually adjustable by a dial OR can be set "dusk to dawn.") control the length of time that the light will stay 'ON' after darkness. The 'Xantrex C12' is now my high quality solar charger of choice.
  The Sunforce worked great even if for only almost 2 years of 24/7 use, The Sunforce is a bargain and quality product for the price.
  
  [*] Thanks Amazon, Good Luck with your NYS Lawsuit over collecting NYS Sales Tax from us New York AMAZON online buyers. It will be effecting my Amazon future purchases, sad to say... Amazon is the BEST!!
  
  
  

• Sunforce 7 amp Solar Controller

  
  By A2TT3U4U8NMWEL on 2008-01-06
  Bad:
  Really cheap quality. Included instructions don't provide enough information. Website is just as un-informative. Cheap connector wires (low current), and is not equipped with screw-on terminal junctions.
  
  Good: Product works as advertised. Amazinlgly "regulates" the voltage to the required amount so as not to overcharge the battery. Beware though, in order to test the actual output voltage, you must apply a load on the battery end of the controller BEFORE. Failing this, the output can register volts as high as 20 volts !!! Apparently applying an actual load causes the controller to output the correct voltage range - lucky me, cause I bought 4 units ! The LEDS alternately flickers (fast for good voltage input and slow for low to no voltage on solar panel). The manual did NOT state the order of LED flashes.
  (1) Fast LED flashes - good voltage/current
  (2) Slow LED flashes - low/no voltage/current
  (3) steady Green - fully charged
  (4) steady amber - possible no load OR really low voltage/current
  
  I recommend you go out and buy 'em. The are a really good deal and does the job at the best price ! I use them in Jamaica, to provide my appliances with power during power outages (very frequent here). Used with solar panels and DC to AC inverter, of course. Considered using a generator, but too many accidents here with generators, too noisy, too bulky, and during hurricane aftermath, fuel is a problem. Solar is freely available, so it was the BEST option all round.
  
  Hope this helps all readers !
  
  

• Charger

  
  By A1SB7NAM73BRUE on 2007-12-05
  I have this unit connect to two automotive 12V batteries with three 15W panels connect to it. So far the charger works as advertised by preventing battery drain when the sun goes down and charging while the panels are producing at least 13 volts. It is pretty much an install and forget item. Additionally I have those same two batteries tied into one of my trucks 12V power points so that the batteries charge when the vehicle is running by way of the alternator. Even with this double charging set up, the charge controller appears unphased and shows a charge light in the daytime and has on two occasions indicated a fully charged green light.
  
  

• Need better connectors!!!

  
  By A485MAQ6M5335 on 2007-06-13
  I bought this product together with the Sunforce 50022 5 Watt Solar Battery Trickle Charger. I have not done any electrical testing of it yet. However I am very frustrated that it has no electrical connectors on it that match the ones on the 5 Watt solar panel. Instead it simply has spade lugs on the battery side and bare cable on the solar panel side of the controller. So if you want to use these products together you will either need to buy some quick disconnect connectors that match the ones on the solar panel or splice this unit into circuit permanently.
  
  I am using the 5W solar panel with the cigarette lighter adapter connector.
  
  

• Easy to use Charge Controller

  
  By A1A7RDIZW45NF3 on 2007-10-02
  Two wires to the battery and two wires to the solar panel. It doesn't get much simplier than that. Worked flawlessly out of the box. Yellow LED indicates charging while green LED indicates the battery is charged.
  
  
• Charge Controller
  By A30U78R9MZIR0V on 2006-11-04
  The product really charges my two batteries and let me when they are getting low. Glad I brought the charger.
  
  
• Product works well
  By A10ELWQS6WXTLY on 2007-12-25
  This item does control the charging of a 12 volt lead-acid battery. I use it with a 75 watt solar panel. The only criticism I have of it is that it doesn't indicate a partial charge. It either indicates that the battery is charging, or that it is fully charged. However, for the price, it is a reasonable buy.
  
  
• solar panel voltage regulator
  By A3JVN244YWI3F3 on 2007-09-22
  Functions just as advertised-please see my other reviews to see what you can use it for. Much better than jury-rigging an old auto voltage regulator as it automatically protects from overcharge or overload. A car regulator will fry unless its an old fashioned electro-mechanical and that would be less efficient than this product. Great item!
  
  
• Works great Poor quality control
  By A2XTNGFA49H628 on 2007-12-03
  Once I finally figurd out that it was wired incorrectly internally, the controller works as it is supposed to. The positive and negative wires were reversed and was driving me crazy trying to get it working. Finally I reversed my wiring an it worked.
  
  
• The Controller works great
  By APW0MXSBJ1LG3 on 2007-10-13
  I received the unit quickly. Install it and it has work great. I did a lot of looking on the web and found this unit was the best value.
  
  
• works well
  By ADO7G6IRQZQWU on 2007-11-19
  I've been using it to maintain the charge on a car battery with an 8 watt solar panel and it has been working great.
  
  
• Needed item
  By A3FDUYGZFQR7U3 on 2008-01-18
  My old solar charge controller finally had bought it and I found this one on your site and it fits my needs just right. I will continue to look for items I need on Amazon as I tend to get good value for my money here!
  Mark
  
  
• Solar Controller
  By A1900VGTEKF456 on 2008-01-29
  I installed this item with my solar panel and the two work well together. It was an easy setup and install.
  
  
• Nice charge controller
  By A2NDNOZ6JTW7PJ on 2007-05-30
  Nice little charge controller. Easy to hook-up. Highly recommend for anyone looking for a small controller.
  
  
• Thanks Amazon for suggesting a product I didn't need !!!!
  By ABE8G9Y2D1P55 on 2008-01-14
  I CAN'T RATE THIS PRODUCT BECAUSE I REALLY DIDN'T NEED IT. UNFORTUNATELY I MADE THE MISTAKE OF BUYING IT BECAUSE AMAZON HAD IT LISTED IN THIER "BETTER TOGETHER" SECTION (JUST BELOW THE PRODUCT INFORMATION SECTION). APPARENTLY I DIDN'T NEED THIS CHARGE CONTROLLER WITH THE Sunforce 50012 1.8 Watt Solar Battery Maintainer. I FOUND THIS OUT AFTER READING THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CHARGE CONTROLLER, WHEN I RECIEVED IT.
  
  I USUALLY RESEARCH MY PURCHASES THOROUGHLY. THIS TIME I TRUSTED AMAZON. I WILL NOT DO THAT AGAIN!
  
  NOTE: I ONLY GAVE THIS A 4 STAR RATING BECAUSE I COULDN'T SUBMIT A REVIEW WITHOUT THE RATING (4 STARS IS THE CURRENT AVERAGE RATING).
  
  
  

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