outback solar mppt controller

Almot wrote:

BFL13 wrote:
I sure don't need to strap my laptop to the controller and do a bunch of geeky stuff

Nobody does. When firmware (the geeky software that is "firmly" embedded into controller) is well composed, it does this all. I never connect laptop to my controller, don't feel any need. My controller display is enormously informational. Though, even with less informational display of Tristar you wouldn't have much need for a laptop after you've set it up. Some other people are having fun downloading all the weekly, daily etc graphs for output.

Your Eco firmware has limited features, so it can't generate these graphs - no big deal. Some other limitations of this charger seem more important to me. Like those you mention in the end of your post - zero Abs time and thus the need to choose between either +14V for the rest of the day (I don't like this, be it storage or camping), or instant transition to +13V Float after it hits V Abs (acceptable for storage, and not good for when camping).

No. The way the Eco-Worthy works is it has two adjustable voltages. The first is for how high it will get the batteries in the first place (absorb voltage setting) this can be set as high as 15v. the next setting id for Float voltage which goes from about 13 to 14.5v.

If you want the controller to keep the batts high for any time after it gets them to your Absorb setting, you have to pick a high Float setting. But if you want to float at 13 you can do that. What you can't do is stay at Absorb once it gets there. And you can't do the real absorption time above 14.5 since that is as high as Float goes, so if you want time at 14.8 you can't have it. (my 6s are happy with that, so no problem for me--in fact I had to drop Float to 13.6 so they wouldn't lose so much water from overcharging during "high summer")

If you are in storage and don't want it to get so high in the first place, just set your Absorb at 13.x. You could set Float to the same 13.x and have no drop at all.