OutBack Power FM60-150VDC FLEXMax 60 Charge Controller

Except for the difficulty finding the default password, Everything else is a breeze and performance is unquestionable. I replaced a MORNINGSTAR TS MPPT 60 (after four years of service) with this-what a difference overall. System has been installed two months ago (off grid) I will update should there be any glitches or observation. So far ao good.

Outback is an amazing company. I ordered components for my solar build before I really had a system designed. I didn't really understand what I needed to. This outback is perfect for small installations. Automatically detects battery and system voltage. I love the way the outback works in my system. It is worth every penny. After I built my system and installed it, I realized there was a better way to maximize wattage from the panels. I still use the outback, but this outback can only handle 150vdc. Do a lot of research. Design your system well. Take your time. Go for the outback if you can afford it. It is plug and play. Super easy. It's amazing I didn't burn it up with all of the creative ways I found to screw up! I called Outback for help after my install. The tech expert made me so mad! How dare he impugn my honor and tell me the problem was in my wiring! Turns out he was right! I found the short and fixed it. No issues since.

I want to love this charge controller. It works great. It is a true MPPT. It is cheaper than the competition and comes with a display.I have used this charge controller daily for over 2 years and it is an amazing piece of equipment. I run 3.3 KW of panels with 10KWHr Lead acid batteries. I harvest 500 watts to 2500 watts per hour during the sunlight hours depending on availability from the sun. Yes the panels provide more power than the batteries can handle, but most of the power is used. Also being an mppt it will easily turn off excess power if needed. I do have safeguards that divert power to additional loads as well as switches to turn off panels.Here is where the problem occurs. Sometimes I notice my diversion loads are not running while the sun is blazing. The panels should be producing 2,000 to 3,000 watts or more and yet the Controller turns off all solar power. This leaves my base loads all running strictly off of my batteries. Most of the time I catch the problem and restart the unit. However sometimes I am not home and it just drains the batteries down.One thing I like about Amazon are the reviews. If you want to find out about about a product then Amazon should be included in your research. This Charge Controller should be the best out there because it works that well when it works right. But I hate having to supervise this machine to see if he decided to take the day off! His job is to protect the batteries not destroy them. Draining batteries drastically reduces their lifespan.I tinker with electronics and programming but I am no Engineer. I contacted Outback early on when I first experienced this problem. The person I talked to could not tell me how to fix this issue by changing some settings or other alternative. He did offer an exchange, but will this expensive venture fix a programming or design flaw? It seems to me that it would be worth finding a way to fix this widely discussed bug since obviously this is a very capable unit.At the end of the day it comes down to whether or not it does the job you want it to do. I do regret buying it and would buy the other brand instead if I could go back in time.

Update 07/23: Remote monitoring can be done with the Outback Mate2 but they’re hard to find and they cost ~$300. That puts the Outback controller on equal footing price-wise with the Victron which costs more for the controller but it includes the communications package (note that Victron does not support end-users at all). I’ve added a Victron SmartShunt plus my own display for remote status and am happy enough with it.Update 11/22: Both units are experiencing the hung Charged state problem but one is remote and I didn’t notice it was doing it too. It happens a couple of times a month, the controllers hit their absorb set point and after then hitting the end-amps setup or on absorb timer expiration they go into Charged state which just waits for the voltage to drop to the float set point when it’s supposed to enter float mode. Sometimes it just doesn’t come out, it stays in Charged and the batteries begin to deplete. This problem is well known and there are several forum posts about it dating back years. Outback pretends they don’t know of any such chronic issue but that would require willful ignorance, there are just too many reports of it. I suppose the fact that the firmware cannot be updated in the field means Outback is avoiding admitting to it so they don’t have to update everyone’s controllers at a repair facility.Note: This stuck Charged state may sometimes be cured by turning on a heavy load. My baseline amp draw is 2.5a @ 12v. I have read that applying say a 10a load may kick it out of Charged. I know of one instance where it stayed in Charged for a couple of hours and spontaneously went to float on it’s own.Update 4/22: these are very good assuming you don’t want remote status or history displays. They made a Mate3 remote display but reviews were terrible and it cost more than this controller plus their interface protocol is proprietary so no rolling your own. There’s just no way to monitor these or aggregate statistics say for charting of seasonal performance. A simple serial data port with a dozen or so ascii values on it would make this controller among if not the very best.Both of my units are still chugging along. I still occasionally have the issue with the one going into charged mode and never coming out but it’s pretty rare, maybe once or twice a year. They were purchased at least a year apart and I believe they have different firmware versions but I haven’t specifically checked.Another complaint is that there is no menu item to see when or even if the automatic equalization mode is scheduled. You can hit the Auto equalize selection at any time but does that cancel a previous one? Probably but the only way to tell is watch the unit for a month. Also if equalization happens on a cloudy day and the unit cannot get up to the equalization voltage does it declare success or schedule it for the next day? Who knows. I’ve seen behaviors at different times that suggest both.Original:I’ve got two of these in different locations and am very happy with them. You cannot update the firmware except at a factory repair center and the price is extreme for the separate mate controller that supports a web interface. That said they just work.A couple of times one of mine has finished absorb mode and stuck in charged and I’ve had to force it through the menus to go to float mode. I’ve not investigated why that happened.

Easy to install, running 4-12V 160W panels at the moment but will be adding more in the Spring. Instructions are clear, setup was a breeze and had been working flawlessly for a few months now...all I need is some sunshine now!

Nice compact. Easy to understand

Enjoying the Outback which really performed and gave me good output values. Eventually had to exchange with a friend for the 80A model as the output was hitting 60A. So far, I have enjoyed the product and my Solar system is working very well.

Reasonably priced in the US.