DMT1230 Battery Charger

I don't usually review products but I made an exception for this particular product because it looks to be underrated. Perhaps some get overwhelmed with the install, return it, and rate it negatively. I purchased one of these returned units for a steep discount and I must say that it's an excellent value given what this controller can do and what else is available in the market.Build quality is great, instructions are far better than most foreign products, and if you find a warehouse deal, these things are a slam dunk! I used it for a DIY campervan. It charges a 12v lifepo4 battery flawlessly using alternator power and 400w 2S2P solar system.If you have a technical background and are comfortable with electrical, installation is simple. If you have no idea what you're doing, I suggest hiring a pro or doing serious research before purchasing.

First, the manual is thorough and clearly written.Second, when I emailed a technical question to Support, I got a technical answer from a person, in North America, who understood what I was getting at and was able to explain exactly how the product works in that use case.And for the product itself - I would normally never buy something with no reviews, but the other KISAE products have good reviews so it seemed a good company. I was between the KISAE and a Victron, and I chose the DMT1230 because it has a feature that no other charger has - an aux input for the alternator that feeds the three stage charger. This allows you to use the vehicle charging circuit to charge your house batteries, without overcharging them. This seems to be a loophole with other systems that can cause your batteries to be overcharged, unless you put in a manual disconnect. It also automatically disconnects from the starting battery when the voltage drops to prevent you getting stranded.Even though the DMT1230 is one of the most expensive solar chargers, in my case the KISAE saved me money. My RV has one of those typical 120v to 14v converters that are designed to boil your battery when you are plugged into shore power. Instead of replacing the converter with a three stage version for $250, I fed the 14v output into the alternator input of the DMT1230. So now whether the source is shore power, alternator or solar, the house battery charge is automatically properly maintained.

I am building out a 2021 Ford Transit and used this to charge my lithium batteries while we drive. I was surprised at how easy it was to setup. I had to tap into a wiring harness on the vehicle, but after finding the right connector, setup was painless. Its been working great for 4 months now and our batteries never go dead or have an issue. Glad I went this route versus a more expensive brand.

This is a fabulous piece of gear. We use it to charge a lead acid battery from a lithium battery and it marches through the bulk, absorption, then float stages of lead acid battery charging perfectly, increasing the voltage where necessary. Have yet to use the solar controller capability.

Oddly on occasion the charger has an draw of 0.2-03A after finishing charging from solar. Happens every other time. Customer service could not resolve. Only solution is to switch off the KISAE charger at night and then turn it back on in the morning to eliminate this high (for parasitic) current draw.

My daughter did a van conversion on a Sprinter van a number of years ago and I did the electrical for her and bought this charge controller. Unfortunately I can't recommend it, largely due to poor tech support. While I was doing the installation I had a number of questions and found it almost impossible to reach Ricardo, the tech support guy. Ultimately I got it running but recently it stopped working. I have debugged it to the best of my ability and now need tech support but have once again been unable to reach Ricardo. I don't know if the problem is Ricardo or that Kisae doesn't have enough techs but their tech support is woefully inadequate. If I can't get support from Kisae I may just have to buy a different brand of charge controller from a company that does supply good tech support. It's possible, perhaps even likely that the unit actually would work but without help I have no way of knowing that. At this point it's a brick.

The GOODThe manual is easy to follow, not too much information, but enough. I installed this in a Mercedes Sprinter Van project and have been super impressed with it. It is hooked up to both the alternator and solar panels (200W). It switches seamlessly between sources depending on which one is able to provide more current at a given time. i.e. when I turn on the ignition it will start charging the house battery with up to 30A if needed and as soon as I turn off the ignition it will switch back to my solar panels so the battery is always kept topped off. It charges the battery with a true 3 stage charge (bulk, absorption, float). It will also auto regulate the float current to compensate for loads on the device. For example, when my fridge + roof fan are drawing 8 amps it will increase the current to compensate for the load + a small float current to keep the battery 100% charged. It is easy to wire and program and the unit feels solid and well built. It is the cheapest DC-DC battery charger and solar MPPT charge controller on the market that I could find. A win-win if you ask me.Not bad, but some draw backs.1. It only accepts 45V input from solar panels. This potentially limits the number of panels you can wire depending on your configuration, but with planning can be avoided.2. The max charge current is 30A. This is relative, it is probably better for batteries to not charge beyond 30A, but if you were in a situation where you needed to charge quickly this unit won't get it done. The 50A version offers a relative advantage in this situation.Overall, I am super impressed and really surprised that there isn't more written about this unit. Try it, you won't regret it.