Airstream--Upgrade to MPPT Charge Controller?

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Comments

  • soleil
    soleil Solar Expert Posts: 45
    Re: Airstream--Upgrade to MPPT Charge Controller?

    Thanks brulaz. My electrical upgrades to my 5th wheel are going slowly. It'd be easier if there were more space in which to work. Trying to squeeze four 6 volt Trojans and vented box into the existing battery compartment is proving to be challanging! I'll look forward to hearing updates from you and OP.

    By the way, where's the best place to purchase a Rogue 3024? I remember reading somewhere here that the cost was $250, but I can't find it for that price.
  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,431 admin
    Re: Airstream--Upgrade to MPPT Charge Controller?

    Rogue is available from the manufacturer... I don't believe he currently has any other (US at least) distribution channels.

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
  • soleil
    soleil Solar Expert Posts: 45
    Re: Airstream--Upgrade to MPPT Charge Controller?

    Thanks for the link, Bill. I guess the price has gone up to $295 now.
  • lorelec
    lorelec Solar Expert Posts: 200 ✭✭
    Re: Airstream--Upgrade to MPPT Charge Controller?

    The price has always been $295. On occasion I have blemished or used controllers available, which I sell for less. Right now I sell them only through the website and eBay. Buying one via my website saves me eBay's $20- fee. :D

    Marc
  • soleil
    soleil Solar Expert Posts: 45
    Re: Airstream--Upgrade to MPPT Charge Controller?
    lorelec wrote: »
    The price has always been $295. On occasion I have blemished or used controllers available, which I sell for less. Right now I sell them only through the website and eBay. Buying one via my website saves me eBay's $20- fee. :D

    Marc
    OK. If/when I get one, I'll remember that. If you have a blemished one, or happen to scuff one in the near future ;), let me know. Your controller sounds like a good one for my application.
  • icarus
    icarus Solar Expert Posts: 5,436 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Airstream--Upgrade to MPPT Charge Controller?

    Marc,

    Have you noticed that your Ebay traffic has fallen off of late? It seems that the whole complexion of Ebay has changed over the last few years. I notice a much smaller selection of items across the board, and more things "buy it now". Instead of the worlds largest garage sale (where you could ultimately find anything!) it seems to have transformed largely to e-bay stores like yours.

    Just curious,

    Tony
  • lorelec
    lorelec Solar Expert Posts: 200 ✭✭
    Re: Airstream--Upgrade to MPPT Charge Controller?

    Oh, I've been looking for an excuse to vent about eBay! :grr Are you sure you want me to do it here? haha

    Yes, they have changed substantially -- over the past few years especially. The emphasis has been to discourage the "garage sale" type of atmosphere by pushing out the smaller sellers and rewarding the larger ones. However, fees have gone up a lot, too. About 10% of my revenue from an eBay sale goes to pay sale-related fees.

    Ebay likes to make a big deal out of the seller and buyer protection, but I've found that it's virtually worthless. If I have a problem with a buyer (which fortunately is rare), eBay is seldom helpful and often just downright frustrating to deal with.

    I'm still doing fairly well with sales on eBay, although I'd rather avoid eBay and sell more of them directly through my site.

    Marc
  • icarus
    icarus Solar Expert Posts: 5,436 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Airstream--Upgrade to MPPT Charge Controller?

    So where has the left handed pearl handled butter knife gone? The great beauty of E-bay was if you needed a hood ornament for a 1939 DeSoto you could find it! Now you can't. Craigs list searches are too local, and Kijiji doesn't seem to do it, and I have not had much luck with Yahoo auctions.

    Too bad,

    Tony
  • lorelec
    lorelec Solar Expert Posts: 200 ✭✭
    Re: Airstream--Upgrade to MPPT Charge Controller?

    I agree, it's disappointing. Bottom line...eBay is concerned with their image. Better image = higher level of buyer trust = more sales + higher fees = filthy rich management.

    Sellers are now rated in four "DSR"s (detailed seller ratings), from one to five stars. A seller has to maintain an average of something like 4.8 or they risk losing their power seller and top-rated seller statuses (which means loss of discounts, advatageous listing placement, etc.). It's just a matter of time until eBay becomes the next Amazon.

    Marc
  • dwh
    dwh Solar Expert Posts: 1,341 ✭✭✭
    Re: Airstream--Upgrade to MPPT Charge Controller?
    icarus wrote: »
    Craigs list searches are too local

    Off Topic I know...

    There is a tool that I use to search CL, but there is a caveat - the tool is capable of searching the entire CL database at once, which can get your IP banned (temp ban) from CL. Due to that, the tool has regions and they suggest that you only search one region at a time, rather than trying to do them all at once.

    It's web based (nothing to download or install). You will have to make a small change to your browser's config, but it's no big deal.

    http://www.crazedlist.org/

    For my most common searches, I use an RSS aggregator called RSSOwl and setup my CL searches as RSS feeds.

    http://www.rssowl.org/

    For instance, here is one I check pretty much daily:

    feed://losangeles.craigslist.org/search/sss?query=solar&format=rss
    (try it in your browser)


    You can also use the "Get Feeds" feature of the first link to create a .opml file which you can then simply import into the RSS reader. Nifty.