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groingo
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# Posted: 8 Mar 2015 12:33 - Edited by: groingo
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Well, I got my second one, the first left me unimpressed so I waited a bit and decided to give it another shot now that I have their support nailed down to an individual I feel I can trust.
Long story short, the problems are much larger than just poor performance.....the manual appears to have been printed using a much earlier model as many of the features and adjustments the manual shows are built into the KID simply are not there and there are a lot.
You know you are in trouble when even the manual has a footnote next to a function setup that says "future feature".
The importance of this controllers adjustibility as we all know is so we can fine tune for best performance and those gems for the most part simply weren't available or were incomplete for example to turn the LED screen off when not in use there are shown three modes but in reality there are only two both of which said they would turn the screen off after 5 minutes inactivity on the keypad but even those simply didn't work....or to fine tune output, night light and external power there are shown eight off or auto switches again non existent, panel scanning timing which should be done by the second started at one minute and these are just a few samples.
Wiring block is a known problem according to Midnite in that it is way too small and confined, you can get things hooked up but because it is so tiny you need to trim carefully any insulation jackets like on your panel feed wire just to get them to fit one next to the other and be very attentive there are no strands that could touch any wires within a 32nd of an inch, it is that tight!
Regarding their Wizbang feature, unfortunately information on specific WB functions is scattered seemingly at random throughout the manual rather than compartmentalized into a separate section.
Finally after getting it running with just the basics the other shoe dropped which was simply that the KID showed no power coming from the panels or going into "Resting" mode 45 minutes before my other controller which was still pulling 0.6 amps....same thing happened in the morning where the KID was a late starter.
And before you ask, yes, it is running the latest firmware.
Overall, this is like buying a car with three wheels missing.
The really sad thing is that Midnite is fully aware of these issues while myself and the support person spent some hours finally just opening the manual and going through it item by item leaving us both in disbelief that in this day and age something like this could not only happen but over a year later has not been addressed.
At this point with Samlex's help I'm going to be looking over in the next couple weeks the Steca Tarom 6000 MPPT charge controller as it is the top of the perverbial heap but horrendously expensive
at around $1500.00 for the 60 amp model, but it is all German designed and made and serves an entirely different type of market
(European) with a very different way of thinking so it should prove educational.
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Steve_S
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# Posted: 8 Mar 2015 13:00
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Sorry to hear about all your troubles Groingo  Fortunately your sharing these difficulties with us here and helping to prevent others for such unpleasantness's.
They can't even come back and say RTFM because the M is borked right from the get go.
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Steve961
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# Posted: 8 Mar 2015 14:41
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I appreciate you letting us know about this. I purchased a Morningstar SunSaver MPPT a few months before the KID came out, and was kicking myself as it seemed the KID had many more features and power for just a little more money. My SunSaver MPPT was very easy to set up and has been trouble free for the past year or so.
I hope the KID gets fixed eventually as it seems to have great promise.
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LastOutlaw
Member
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# Posted: 8 Mar 2015 18:23
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This is a little concerning since I have one I bought but have not installed it yet. I will make do as best as I can with it though. I believe MtDon runs this CC with no complaints. I'm sure he will weigh in on this at some point.
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 8 Mar 2015 20:53 - Edited by: MtnDon
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Gringo, you must be the unluckiest guy there is... We have had our Kid running 24/7 since sometime lasr fall. August I think. No issues at all. I use a breaker just before the input connection from the PV as well as a breaker right after The Kid and before the batteries connection. That lets me transition from the AWG 2 PV wire to a 310 into The Kid. Same thing after The Kid; I have a 310 to the breaker and then AWG 2 to the batteries. Two 10 inch lengths of AWG 10. The smaller gauge made hookup easy.
Re the future use thing. I musr be more relaxed. That is not the first time I've seen an unused terminal set or something reserved for the future on an electronic device.
I read the manual and set it up. Honest, it took longer for me to decide just where / how I wanted to mount it than it took to get it running. And it runs just fine. My neighbor put one into service in November. Also running fine.
My biggest complaint was having to apply the self stick labels. But not big deal.
As for adjusting the set points, there must be something defective over there. It really is easy, IMO and with my unit and my neighbors.
Was this Midnite support ot a reseller? My three calls to MN were three of the best support calls ever. No problems, just info wanted.
Best of luck.
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groingo
Member
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# Posted: 8 Mar 2015 22:04 - Edited by: groingo
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Don:
Whenever I choose a product it is because it promises more features or capabilities that could on their own or combined make it better than what I am currently using, the KID made some pretty lofty claims especially in the flexibility of operation, this backed up by the owners manual that verified and showed how to set these features up, the features on the surface have little meaning but through tweaking and testing these features there is the possibility and opportunity to make some solid gains, so I don't look for a specific gem that will miraculously make things better but a combination of things and this was what the KID professed.
The support person was a factory trained Midnite Solar employee but to protect their job I will not say more.
Out of the box the KID functioned like any other charge controller but when I began looking into the manual and trying features that would open access to more features is where we hit the wall and this was not just me but both of us working together going through the manual item by item to see what worked and what did not as we hit one dead end after another together.
Set points, if we are talking of the scan set points, mine started with a one minute and went up from there, white papers showed it should have been much faster but obviously somewhere along the way wishful thinking, prototypes and bean counters gave us what we have today.
Not unlucky but I am very demanding and the first thing I require is the truth because without it there is no credibility.
I am moving on and am letting the support person do what they will with what we found and did offer to help with correcting the errors, especially in the owners manual, should be much smaller after this.
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