RENOGY RNG-CTRL-WND10-G1 PWM Solar Charge Controller

Product Information

• The Renogy WANDERER is an advanced charge controller designed for off-grid solar applications.
• It features highly efficient PWM charging technology to enhance battery life and system performance.
• The controller is suitable for use with 12V/24V battery banks and comes with self-diagnostics and electronic protection functions to prevent damage from installation errors or system faults.
• Automatic Voltage Detection for 12V/24V Non-Lithium Systems and Lithium Battery Activation
• Preset Charging Modes for Deep Cycle Sealed, Gel, Flooded Batteries, and Lithium-Iron Phosphate Batteries
• 4-Stage PWM Charging: Bulk, Boost, Float, and Equalization
• Back-lit LCD Display for system operation, load control, and error code monitoring
• Integrated 5V, up to 2Amp USB port for charging mobile devices
• Protection Against: overcharging, over-current, short circuit, reverse polarity

Product Usage Instructions

• Connect the battery to the charge controller BEFORE connecting the solar panel(s) unless you have the solar suitcase with controller exception. The controller needs a stable power source to operate.
• The charge controller should be installed indoors in a well-ventilated, cool, and dry environment. Ensure no water enters the controller during installation.
• Make sure all connections going into and from the controller are tight. Avoid flammable materials or gases near the installation area due to potential sparks when making connections.
• The back-lit LCD display provides information on system operation, load control, and error codes. Familiarize yourself with the display to monitor the controller effectively.
• Regularly check the connections and ensure they are secure. Keep the controller clean and free from dust. Refer to the user manual for maintenance guidelines.

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:

• WARNING: Indicates a potentially dangerous condition. Use extreme caution when performing this task.
• CAUTION: Indicates a critical procedure for safe and proper operation of the controller.
• NOTE: Indicates a procedure or function that is important to the safe and proper operation of the controller.

General Safety Information

• Read all of the instructions and cautions in the manual before beginning the installation.
• 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. There may be sparks when making connections; therefore, make sure there are not flammable materials or gases near the installation.

Charge Controller Safety

• NEVER connect the solar panel array to the controller without a battery. A battery must be connected first. This may cause a dangerous occurrence where the controller would experience a high open-circuit voltage at the terminals.
• Ensure that the input voltage does not exceed 50 VDC to prevent permanent damage. Use the Open Circuit (Voc) to make sure the voltage does not exceed this value when connecting panels together in series.
• The charge controller should be installed indoors in a well-ventilated, cool, and dry environment.
• Do NOT allow water to enter the controller.

Battery Safety

• Do NOT let the positive (+) and negative (-) terminals of the battery touch each other.
• 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 batteries UNLESS permitted by the battery manufacturer.

General Information

• The Wanderer is an advanced charge controller for off-grid solar applications.
• Integrating highly efficient PWM charging, this controller increases battery life and improves system performance.
• It can be used for 12V/24V battery banks.
• The controller is embedded with self-diagnostics and electronic protection functions that prevent damage from installation mistakes or system faults.

Key Features

• Automatic Voltage Detection for 12V/24V Non-Lithium Systems and Lithium Battery Activation
• Preset for Deep Cycle Sealed, Gel, Flooded Batteries and Lithium-iron Phosphate Batteries
• 4-Stage PWM Charging: Bulk, Boost, Float, and Equalization
• Back-lit LCD for displaying system operation, diverse load control, and error codes, if any
• Integrated 5V, up to 2Amp USB for mobile or portable device charging
• Protection Against: overcharging, over-current, short circuit, reverse polarity

Product Overview

Identification of Parts

Key Parts

1. LCD Screen
2. Select Button
3. Enter Button
4. USB Ports
5. Load Terminals
6. Battery Terminals
7. PV Terminals
8. RS232 Communication Port (reserved)

Dimensions

NOTE: The dimensions have a ±0.5mm tolerance

Installation

WARNING

• Connect the battery to the charge controller BEFORE connecting the solar panel(s) unless you have the solar suitcase with controller exception. The controller needs a stable power source to operate.

CAUTION

• Do not over-torque or 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 the wires.

Mounting Recommendations

WARNING

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 tempera-tures, 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 6 inches (150mm).
3. Mark Holes
4. Drill Holes
5. Secure the charge controller.

Wiring and Fusing

NOTE: The wire terminals are closed by default.

Use bare wiring when connecting to the Wanderer’s terminal blocks. Due to default positioning, you must ensure that the terminal hatch is completely open before the first-time use.

1. Make sure to rotate the hatch counterclockwise (CCW) into the open position to expose the wire hatch
2. Insert bare wire into the terminal for the respective connection
3. Rotate clockwise (CW) to until the hatch has closed and clamped onto the wire

Depending on the PV Array wiring and battery size, the recommended fuse and cable gauge will depend on the actual amps flowing through the cable. The following chart accounts for less than 3% voltage drop and may not account for all configurations.

• Panel connection assumes series to meet 24V system minimum setup.
• Larger wire sizes generally improve performance, whereas smaller wire sizes may reduce performance, especially if undersized. When considering wiring, fusing, and connection options, think big and short as possible as heavier components and shorter wire lengths offer less resistance and voltage drop. Terminal Size Limitations may apply.
• Fusing is a recommendation in PV systems to provide a safety measure for connections going from panel to controller and controller to battery. Remember to always use the recommended wire gauge size based on the PV system and the controller.

Fuse from Controller to Battery

• Controller to Battery Fuse =
• Current Rating of Charge Controller
• Ex. Wanderer 10 = 10A fuse from Controller to Battery

Fuse from Solar Panel(s) to Controller

• Ex. 200W; 2 X 100 W panels
• Parallel
• Total Amperage = Isc1 + Isc2 = (5.75A + 5.75A) * 1.2
• Fuse = minimum of 11.5 * 1.2 = 14.38= 15A fuse

Battery Wiring

WARNING

• Connect the battery to the charge controller BEFORE connecting the solar panel(s) unless you have the solar suitcase with controller exception. The controller needs a stable power source to operate.

PV Wiring

Load Wiring (Optional)

Communication Wiring (Optional)

Operation

• After connecting the battery to the charge controller, the controller will turn on automatically.
• Assuming normal operation, the charge controller will cycle through different displays.
• The user can adjust some parameters based on the display screen.
• The user can manually cycle through the display screens by using the “SELECT” and “ENTER” buttons.

Auto Recognition

• The Wanderer controller will be able to automatically detect the battery voltage for Non-Lithium 12V or 24V batteries. Lithium batteries need to be manually programmed and can be found in Settings.

Main Display

LCD Overview

Icon or Value	State	Description
	Steady on	Solar Panels Charging Battery
	3 Bars Flashing	Battery Voltage (16.1V+)
	3 Bars	Battery Voltage (12.9V- 16.0V)
	2 Bars	Battery Voltage (12.5-12.8V)
	1 Bar	Battery Voltage (11.6-12.4V)
	No Bars	Battery Voltage (11.5V and below)
	No Bars Flashing	Battery Voltage (10.9V and below)
	Steady on	Load is On

PMM Technology

PWM Technology

• The Wanderer utilizes Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) technology for battery charging. Battery charging is a current-based process so controlling the current will control the battery voltage. For the most accurate return of capacity and for the prevention of excessive gassing pressure, the battery is required to be controlled by specified voltage regulation set points for Absorption, Float, and Equalization charging stages. The charge controller uses automatic duty cycle conversion, creating pulses of current to charge the battery.
• The duty cycle is proportional to the difference between the sensed battery voltage and the specified voltage regulation set point. Once the battery reaches the specified voltage range, the pulse current charging mode allows the battery to react and allows for an acceptable rate of charge for the battery level.

Four Charging Stages

• The Wanderer 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 the available solar power to recharge the battery and is equivalent to a constant current.
• Boost Charge: When the battery has charged to the Boost voltage set-point, it undergoes an absorption stage, which is equivalent to constant voltage regulation to prevent heating and excessive gassing in the battery. The Boost time is 120 minutes.
• Float Charge: After Boost Charge, 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 will turn into heat or gas.Because of this, the charge controller will reduce the voltage charge to a smaller quantity while lightly charging the battery. The purpose of this is to offset the power consumption while maintaining a full battery storage capacity.
  If 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: This is carried out every 28 days of the month. It is the intentional overcharging of the battery for a controlled period. Certain types of batteries benefit from a 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.
• WARNING
  Once equalization is active in the battery charging, it will not exit this stage unless there is an adequate charging current from the solar panel. There should be NO load on the batteries when inthe equalization charging stage.

Over-charging and excessive gas precipitation may damage the battery plates and activate material shedding on them. Too high of an equalizing charge or for too long may cause damage. Please carefully review the specific requirements of the battery used in the system.
Lithium Battery Activation
The Wanderer PWM charge controller has a reactivation feature to awaken a sleeping lithium battery. The protection circuit of the Li-ion battery will typically turn the battery off and make it unusable if over-discharged. This can happen when storing a Li-ion 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 activate and charge batteries, these batteries would become unserviceable, and the packs would be discarded. The Wanderer 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.

Settings

• At minimum, you should set the battery type and voltage to ensure your system’s livelihood.

Set the Battery type
Non-Lithium

• Set the battery type by maneuvering to the Battery Voltage Screen, where it should demonstrate the battery icon and voltage.

1. Highlight the Battery Voltage Screen
2. Hold ENTER for approximately 3s until the battery type starts to flash
3. Tap SELECT to highlight your desired battery
4. To confirm, hold ENTER for 3s to select the battery

Battery Type

Lithium
Press SELECT until you highlight the Battery Voltage Screen, where it should demonstrate the battery icon and voltage.

1. Highlight the Battery Voltage Screen
2. Hold ENTER for approximately 3s until the battery type starts to flash
3. Tap SELECT to highlight Lithium battery. Tap ENTER to confirm Lithium
4. Tap SELECT to highlight the nominal battery voltage as 12V or 24V. Tap Enter to confirm
5. Tap Select to choose your charging voltage setpoint; voltages are in 0.2V increments
6. To confirm, hold ENTER for 3s to confirm Lithium, Battery Voltage, and Charge Voltage

Battery Type

Load Terminal

WARNING: Make sure the load is compatible with the battery type of the system. 12V loads damaged in 24V battery systems will not be covered in the warranty.

The Load Terminal allows you to connect DC devices directly to the controller with timer functions as optional features. The Load Terminal is an extension of your battery charging circuit so the voltages on your battery will be present in the Load terminal since it is powered by the battery. This means that when charging a 12V bank, those charging voltages will also be seen in the Load Terminal. The terminal limits are set by the controller, so no more than 10Amps. In addition, when connecting to a 24V battery bank, you will also have a 24V DC Load Terminal that you can also utilize. Stick with simple electronics, such as lights and fans that have no issues turning on/off at any time.
Programming the Load Terminal.

Press SELECT until you highlight the Load Mode Screen, where it should demonstrate a numerical load mode. The following chart indicates numbers representing hours ON that the load terminal

1. Highlight Load Mode Screen
2. Hold ENTER for approximately 3s until the Load Mode starts to flash
3. Tap SELECT to highlight your desired Load Mode
4. To confirm, hold ENTER for 3s to select your Load Mode

Programs 0, 1-14, 16, and 17 are automatic processes that operate from the PV detection circuit as soon as they are set. No other action is necessary. Program 15 requires manual user toggling so users will need to press ENTER on the Main Screen or Load Mode Screen to observe the Light Bulb Brightness icon being activated to confirm Load is also being activated.

Troubleshooting

Error Codes
If the Rover is not functioning correctly, it may be undergoing an internal electronic protection and sharing an error message. The error messages stop normal operation and clear when resolved. This is not indicative of a defective controller but may require some troubleshooting to resume normal operation.

Maintenance

WARNING
Risk of Electric Shock! Make sure that all power is turned off before touching the terminals on the charge controller.
For best controller performance, it is recommended that these tasks be performed from time to time.

• Check that the controller is mounted in a clean, dry, and ventilated area.
• Check wiring going into the charge controller and make sure there is no wire damage or wear.
• Tighten all terminals and inspect any loose, broken, or burnt up connections.
• Check to make sure none of the terminals have any corrosion, insulation damage, high temperature, or any burnt/discoloration marks.

Technical Specifications

Battery Charging Parameters

• All the coefficient is referred to 25℃

CONTACT

• 2775 E Philadelphia St, Ontario, CA 91761, USA
• 909-287-7111
• www.renogy.com

Manufacturer: RENOGY New Energy Co., Ltd

• Address: No.66, East Ningbo Road Room 624-625 Taicang German
• Overseas Students Pioneer Park JiangSu 215000 CN
• eVatmaster Consulting GmbH
• Raiffeisen Street2 B11, 63110
• Rodgau, Hessen, Germany
• contact@evatmaster.com

FAQ

• Q: Can I connect the solar panel array to the controller without a battery?
  • A: No, NEVER connect the solar panel array to the controller without a battery. The battery must be connected first to prevent dangerous occurrences.
• Q: What should I do if the input voltage exceeds 50 VDC?
  • A: Ensure that the input voltage does not exceed 50 VDC to prevent permanent damage to the controller. Use the Open Circuit (Voc) to verify the voltage when connecting panels in series.

Documents / Resources

RENOGY RNG-CTRL-WND10-G1 PWM Solar Charge Controller [pdf] Instruction Manual RNG-CTRL-WND10-G1, RNG-CTRL-WND10-G1 PWM Solar Charge Controller, RNG-CTRL-WND10-G1, PWM Solar Charge Controller, Solar Charge Controller, Charge Controller, Controller

References

• User Manual