Your Must Read Review of the Xantrex C35 Solar Charge Controller
2 min readI formerly used a 7 amp Sunforce charge controller that I bought from Northern Tool when I first stepped into the realm of Solar Power. It lasted for a couple of months and then died. Upon recommendations from friends I researched “Pulse Width Modulation” solar charge controllers only to find that I kept coming back to the Xantrex C35. At this point I was using an off the shelf battery charger from the big box store and I found out that using those will greatly reduce the life span of your batteries. I had 105 watts of solar panels and this gave me around 7 amps of charging current with plenty of wiggle room for future expansion. I took the plunge. Plunked down my money and have never looked back.
The “C” series charge controllers are the mainstay of the Xantrex charge controller line-up. The C35 charge controller is a solid state, microprocessor driven, solar battery charger that will handle up to 35 constant amps of input current no matter what the charging source. The C35 utilizes a “PWM” charging style. “PWM” is a 3 stage charging profile that provides greater longevity for your batteries than a normal off the shelf battery charger. The Bulk, Absorption, and Float modes are used to ensure that voltage and current settings equal the state of charge of the batteries. This means the quickest possible charging and an extended battery life that you will not get if you use your fathers old charger. With the cost of batteries today, anything that prolongs their life is worth the price. The controller is U.L Listed and comes with a 2 year manufacturer’s warranty.
The C35 solar charge controller is field adjustable for either 12 or 24 volt DC operation. It can be set up as a DC load controller or as DC Diversion mode. This mode would be used if you were using Micro-Hydroelectric power or Wind Power to generate your electricity. The Xantrex C35 charge controller has been my main source as a solar powered battery charger for over a year now with absolutely Zero issues or problems. Would I hesitate to buy another one? Absolutely not! This charge controller has been the most reliable product in my solar toolbox and I look forward to many more happy years with it. My system continues to grow and currently I have the original C35 and now have added another C40 to sit beside it.
