Renogy ROVER Series User manual

Rover 60A Version 1.3
Maximum Power Point Tracking Solar Charge Controller
ROVER SERIES

01
General Safety Information
Charge Controller Safety
Important Safety Instructions
Please save these instructions.
This manual contains important safety, installation, and operating instructions for the charge
controller. The following symbols are used throughout the manual to indicate potentially
dangerous conditions or important safety information.
There are no serviceable parts for this controller. Do NOT disassemble or attempt to repair
the controller.
Make sure all connections going into and from the controller are tight.
NEVER connect the solar panel array to the controller without a battery. Battery must be
connected first.
Ensure input voltage does not exceed 150 VDC to prevent permanent damage. Use the
Open Circuit Voltage (Voc) to make sure the voltage does not exceed this value when
connecting panels together.
Read all of the instructions and cautions in the manual before beginning the installation.
Do NOT allow water to enter the controller.
NOTE
CAUTION
WARNING
Indicates a potentially dangerous condition. Use extreme caution
when performing this task
Indicates a critical procedure for safe and proper operation of the
controller
Indicates a procedure or function that is important to the safe and
proper operation of the controller

02
Battery Safety
Use only sealed lead-acid, flooded, gel or lithium batteries which must be deep cycle.
Explosive battery gases may be present while charging. Be certain there is enough
ventilation to release the gases.
Be careful when working with large lead acid batteries. Wear eye protection and have
fresh water available in case there is contact with the battery acid.
Over-charging and excessive gas precipitation may damage the battery plates and
activate material shedding on them. Too high of an equalizing charge or too long of one
may cause damage. Please carefully review the specific requirements of the battery
used in the system.
Equalization is carried out only for non-sealed / vented/ flooded / wet cell lead acid
batteries.
Do NOT equalize VRLA type AGM / Gel / Lithium cell batteries UNLESS permitted by
battery manufacturer.
Carefully read battery manuals before operation.
Do
NOT let the positive (+) and negative (-) terminals of the battery touch each other.
Connect battery terminals to the charge controller BEFORE connecting
the solar panel(s) to the charge controller. NEVER connect solar panels to
charge controller until the battery is connected.
Do NOT connect any inverters or battery charger into the load terminal of
the charge controller.
Once equalization is active in the battery charging, it will not exit this stage
unless there is adequate charging current from the solar panel. There
should be NO load on the batteries when in equalization charging stage.
WARNING
Recycle battery when it is replaced.

Table of Contents
03
General Information
Additional Components
Optional Components
Identification of Parts
Operation
LED Indicators
Rover Protections
System Status Troubleshooting
Maintenance
Fusing
Technical Specifications
Electrical Parameters
Battery Charging Parameters
PV Power – Conversion Efficiency Curves
Dimensions
04
08
08
09
19
10
27
29
30
30
31
31
31
32
32
33
34
Installation
General

04
General Information
The MPPT Charge Controller utilizes Maximum Power Point Tracking technology to extract
maximum power from the solar module(s). The tracking algorithm is fully automatic and does
not require user adjustment. MPPT technology will track the array’s maximum power point
voltage (Vmp) as it varies with weather conditions, ensuring that the maximum power is
harvested from the array throughout the course of the day.
The Rover Series charge controllers are intelligent controllers suitable for various off-grid solar
applications. It protects the battery from being over-charged by the solar modules and
over-discharged by the loads. The controller features a smart tracking algorithm that maximizes the
energy from the solar PV module(s) and charge the battery. At the same time, the low voltage
disconnect function (LVD) will prevent the battery from over discharging.
The Rover's charging process has been optimized for long battery life and improved system
performance. The comprehensive self-diagnostics and electronic protection functions can prevent
damage from installation mistakes or system faults.
In many cases, the MPPT charge controller will “boost” up the current in the solar system. The
current does not come out of thin air. Instead, the power generated in the solar panels is the
same power that is transmitted into the battery bank. Power is the product of Voltage (V) x
Amperage (A).
Automatically detect 12V/24V/36V/48V DC system voltages
Innovative MPPT technology with high tracking efficiency up to 99% and peak
conversion efficiency of 98%
MPPT Technology
Current Boost
Key Features
Customizable charging voltages
Deep cycle Sealed, Gel, Flooded and Lithium battery option ready
Electronic protection: Overcharging, over-discharging, overload, and short circuit
Reverse protection: Any combination of solar module and battery, without causing
damage to any component
RS232 port to communicate with BT-1 Bluetooth Module or DM-1 4G Data Module
Charges over discharged lithium batteries
ETL Listed to UL1741 and CSA C22.2

05
Therefore, assuming 100% efficiency:
Power In = Power Out
Volts In * Amps In = Volts out * Amps out
Although MPPT controllers are not 100% efficient, they are very close at about 92-95% efficient.
Therefore, when the user has a solar system whose Vmp is greater than the battery bank
voltage, then that potential difference is proportional to the current boost. The voltage generated
at the solar module needs to be stepped down to a rate that could charge the battery in a stable
fashion by which the amperage is boosted accordingly to the drop. It is entirely possible to have
a solar module generate 8 amps going into the charge controller and likewise have the charge
controller send 10 amps to the battery bank. This is the essence of the MPPT charge controllers
and their advantage over traditional charge controllers. In traditional charge controllers, that
stepped down voltage amount is wasted because the controller algorithm can only dissipate it
as heat. The following demonstrates a graphical point regarding the output of MPPT technology.
Temperature is a huge enemy of solar modules. As the environmental temperature
increases, the operating voltage (Vmp ) is reduced and limits the power generation of the solar
module. Despite the effectiveness of MPPT technology, the charging algorithm will
possibly
not have much to work with and therefore there is an inevitable decrease in
performance.
In this scenario, it would be preferred to have modules with higher nominal
voltage, so that
despite the drop in performance of the panel, the battery is still receiving
a current boost
because of the proportional drop in module voltage.
Limiting Effectiveness
Maximum
Power Point
Traditional
Controller
Operating
Range
Maximum
Power Point
Current vs. Voltage (12V System)Output Power(12V System)
Typical Battery
Voltage Range
CURRENT
VOLTAGE
10 15 17
CURRENT
VOLTAGE
10 15 17

06
The Rover MPPT charge controller has a 4-stage battery charging algorithm for a rapid, efficient,
and safe battery charging. They include: Bulk Charge, Boost Charge, Float Charge, and
Equalization.
Bulk Charge: This algorithm is used for day to day charging. It uses 100% of available solar
power to recharge the battery and is equivalent to constant current. In this stage the battery
voltage has not yet reached constant voltage (Equalize or Boost), the controller operates in
constant current mode, delivering its maximum current to the batteries (MPPT Charging) .
Float Charge: After the constant voltage stage, the controller will reduce the battery voltage
to a float voltage set point. Once the battery is fully charged, there will be no more chemical
reactions and all the charge current would turn into heat or gas. Because of this,
Constant Charging: When the battery reaches the constant voltage set point, the controller
will start to operate in constant charging mode, where it is no longer MPPT charging. The current
will drop gradually. This has two stages, equalize and boost and they are not carried out
constantly in a full charge process to avoid too much gas precipitation or overheating of the
battery.

Boost Charge: Boost stage maintains a charge for 2 hours by default. The user
can adjust the constant time and preset value of boost per their demand.
Four Charging Stages
Battery
Voltage
Equalize
Boost
Float
Recharge
Bulk Charge
A B C
Constant charging
Cumulative Time:3h
Float Charge
Boost
Time
Battery
Current
Time
Bulk
Max Current
Duration Time:2h
(Range:10-180min)

07
The charge controller will reduce the voltage charge to smaller quantity, while lightly charging
the battery. The purpose for this is to offset the power consumption while maintaining a full
battery storage capacity. In the event that a load drawn from the battery exceeds the charge
current, the controller will no longer be able to maintain the battery to a Float set point and the
controller will end the float charge stage and refer back to bulk charging.
Equalization: Is carried out every 28 days of the month. It is intentional overcharging of
the battery for a controlled period of time. Certain types of batteries benefit from periodic
equalizing charge, which can stir the electrolyte, balance battery voltage and complete
chemical reaction. Equalizing charge increases the battery voltage, higher than the standard
complement voltage, which gasifies the battery electrolyte.
Once equalization is active in the battery charging, it will not exit this stage unless
there is adequate charging current from the solar panel. There should be NO load
on the batteries when in equalization charging stage.
Over-charging and excessive gas precipitation may damage the battery plates
and activate material shedding on them. Too high of equalizing charge or for too
long may cause damage. Please carefully review the specific requirements of the
battery used in the system.
Equalization may increase battery voltage to a level damaging to sensitive DC
loads. Ensure that all load allowable input voltages are greater than the equalizing
charging set point voltage.
WARNING
WARNING
WARNING
The Rover MPPT charge controller has a reactivation feature to awaken a sleeping lithium
battery. The protection circuit of lithium battery will typically turn the battery off and make it
unusable if over-discharged. This can happen when storing a lithium battery pack in a
discharged state for any length of time as self-discharge would gradually deplete the remaining
charge. Without the wake-up feature to reactivate and recharge batteries, these batteries would
become unserviceable and the packs would be discarded. The Rover will apply a small charge
current to activate the protection circuit and if a correct cell voltage can be reached, it starts a
normal charge.
Lithium Battery Activation

08
Additional Components
Optional Components
Additional components included in the package:
Optional components that require a separate purchase:
This sensor measures the temperature at the battery and uses this data for
very accurate temperature compensation.The sensor is supplied with a
9.8ft cable length that connects to the charge controller.Simply connect the
cable and adhere the sensor on top or the side of the battery to record
ambient temperature around the battery.
The BT-1 Bluetooth module is a great addition to any Renogy charge
controllers with a RS232 port and is used to pair charge controllers with the
Renogy BT App. After pairing is done you can monitor your system and
change parameters directly from you cell phone or tablet. No more
wondering how your system is performing, now you can see performance
in real time without the need of checking on the controller’s LCD.
These brackets can be used to mount the Rover charge controller on any
flat surface. The screws to mount the brackets to the charge controller are
included, screws to mount charge controller to surface are not included.
NOTE
Do Not use this sensor when charging lithium battery.
Renogy BT-1 Bluetooth Module:
Remote Temperature Sensor:
Mounting Brackets:
The DM-1 4G Module is capable of connecting to select Renogy charge
controllers through an RS232, and is used to pair charge controllers with
Renogy 4G monitoring app. This app allows you to conveniently monitor
your system and charge system parameters remotely from anywhere 4G
LTE network service is available.
Renogy DM-1 4G Data Module:
Mounting Oval: 7.66 x 4.70mm(0.30 x 0.18in)

Key Parts
09
Identification of Parts
1. Charging Indicator
2. Battery Indicator
3. Load Indicator
4. Abnormality Indicator
5. LCD Screen
6. Operating Keys
7. Installation Hole
8. Solar panel “+” Interface
9. Solar panel “-” Interface
10. Battery “-” Interface
11. Load “-” Interface
12. Battery “+” Interface
13. Load “+” Interface
14. External Temperature Sampling Interface
15. Battery Voltage Compensation Interface
16. Controller Parallel Port
17. RS232 Communication Interface
18. RS485 Communication Interface

Installation
Connect battery terminal wires to the charge controller FIRST then connect
the solar panel(s) to the charge controller. NEVER connect solar panel to
charge controller before the battery.
Do
NOT connect any inverters or battery chargers into the LOAD
TERMINAL of the charge controller.
Screwdriver
INVERTER
BATTERY
CHARGER
HIGH AMP
DRAWING DEVICE
Do not over tighten the screw terminals. This could potentially break the piece that
holds the wire to the charge controller.
Refer to the technical specifications for max wire sizes on the controller and for the
maximum amperage going through wires.
Multi-Meter
CAUTION
CAUTION
WARNING
WARNING
10
Recommended tools to have before installation:

Remove Cover
Battery
11

Solar Panels
Load (optional)
12

13
Temperature Sensor (optional, not polarity sensitive)
Install Cover
Bluetooth Module Communication (optional)
Place the sensor close to the battery

Mounting Recommendations
14
The controller can be mounted using the existing mounting holes or using the included
mounting brackets.
Mounting Recommendations
NEVER install the controller in a sealed enclosure with flooded batteries. Gas can
accumulate and there is a risk of explosion.
1. Choose Mounting Location—place the controller on a vertical surface protected from
direct sunlight, high temperatures, and water. Make sure there is good ventilation.
2. Check for Clearance—verify that there is sufficient room to run wires, as well as clearance
above and below the controller for ventilation. The clearance should be at least 3 inches (75mm).
3. Mark Holes
4. Drill Holes
5. Secure the charge controller.
WARNING
3 inches
(75mm)
3 inches
(75mm)
warm air
cool air

Measure the distance between each mounting hole on the Rover. Using that distance drill 4 screws
onto desired surface.
Using Mounting Holes
Step 1.
Align the Rovers mounting holes with the screws
Step 2.

Verify all screw heads are inside the mounting holes. Release controller and check if mounting
feels secure
Step 3.

Install the brackets using the provided components
Using Mounting Brackets
Step 1.

Align the mounting brackets to desired surface and use the appropriate screws to drill into
surface(screws not included)
Step 2.
Verify mounting is secure
Step 3.

19
Operation
Rover is very simple to use. Simply connect the batteries, and the controller will automatically
determine the battery voltage. The controller comes equipped with an LCD screen and 4
buttons to maneuver though the menus.
Main Display
The Battery Capacity (SOC%) is an estimation based on the charging voltage.
NOTE
Main menu
Real-time
monitoring
Load mode
Parameters
setting
Statistic data
Historical data of
the current day
Device
information
485：communication
ROVER 60 ROVER 60