Marine Solar Charger
IP67 Marine MPPT Solar Charge Controller
The MicroCore Marine Solar Charger, a 250W MPPT controller designed from the ground up for direct marine and coastal installation.
Marine and coastal environments place demands on electronics that indoor or sheltered installations do not. Salt aerosol penetrates enclosures at cable entry points and through ventilation paths. UV and thermal cycling degrade conformal coatings. Wireless monitoring tied to a specific OS version or external gateway adds fragility to a system that needs to run unattended.
The MicroCore Solar Charger addresses each of these directly. IP67 rated end-to-end, enclosure, M12 connectors, and cable entry, the same ingress protection class as marine chartplotters and VHF radios. Fanless design with heat-efficient PCB layout and passive thermal management: no vents, no moving parts, no ingress path. Dual-mode Bluetooth (SPP + BLE) provides reliable wireless access across legacy workshop devices and modern mobile apps without OS dependency. Native Ethernet Modbus TCP means one cable to the dock LAN gives full integration with any BMS or SCADA system, no additional gateway hardware required.
Designed for NZ conditions. Specified and tested against the marine environments it will actually be deployed in: Bay of Islands, Hauraki Gulf, Marlborough Sounds.
Why IP67, not IP43. Most solar controllers on the market are IP43-rated, sufficient for splash, not for salt air. Salt aerosol is a sub-micron particulate, not liquid spray, and it isn't excluded by a splash rating. At 18 months in a marina environment, salt air reaches the PCB of every IP43 controller and starts a slow galvanic corrosion process regardless of whether the enclosure has ever seen a wave. Read the full corrosion mechanism →
Specifications
IP67 Sealed
Dust-tight, 30-minute immersion to 1m. End-to-end: enclosure, M12 connectors, and cable entry. Same rating class as marine chartplotters and VHF radios.
250W MPPT / 20A
Buck topology, synchronous rectification. 12V/24V auto-detect. Reverse polarity protection on both PV and battery inputs.
Fanless Design
Heat-efficient PCB layout with passive thermal management. Fully sealed enclosure with no vents or moving parts, eliminates the primary ingress path in coastal and offshore installations.
Bluetooth Dual-Mode
CC2564MODA, SPP + BLE simultaneously. SPP for legacy workshop tools and serial-based applications; BLE for modern mobile apps. OS-independent connectivity across both transports.
Ethernet Modbus TCP
Native Modbus TCP built into the controller. M12 A-coded sealed Ethernet connector. Direct integration with any BMS, SCADA, or network monitoring system, no additional gateway hardware.
Battery Temperature Sensor
External Tb terminal (5kΩ NTC). Automatic charge voltage compensation per battery chemistry and ambient temperature, critical for FLA and AGM installations in high-temperature environments.
Internal Data Logging
4Mbit NOR Flash. 1-minute resolution, ~7 months retention. Circular buffer. No cloud dependency, data stays on the device and is accessible via Bluetooth or Ethernet.
Charge Profiles
FLA, AGM, Gel, LiFePO₄, configurable via Bluetooth app. Temperature compensation per chemistry: FLA/AGM -4mV/°C/cell, Gel -3mV/°C/cell, LiFePO₄ 0mV default.
Full Specifications
MCS-SPEC-001 Rev 0.9, subject to change during design validation.
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Rated power | 250W |
| Charge current | 20A |
| Battery voltage | 12V / 24V, auto-detect |
| Topology | Synchronous buck MPPT |
| Battery chemistries | FLA, AGM, Gel, LiFePO₄ |
| Ingress protection | IP67, enclosure, M12 connectors, cable entry |
| Cooling | Fanless, passive, heat-efficient PCB layout |
| Wireless | Bluetooth dual-mode (SPP + BLE), CC2564MODA |
| Wired network | Ethernet Modbus TCP, M12 A-coded connector |
| CAN-bus | NMEA 2000 |
| Data logging | 4Mbit NOR Flash, 1-minute resolution, ~7 months retention |
| Temperature compensation | External Tb terminal, 5kΩ NTC |
| Reverse polarity protection | PV and battery inputs |
Frequently Asked Questions
What people evaluating a marine solar controller usually ask.
How does this handle salt air corrosion? The enclosure is IP67-rated end-to-end, no vents, no fans, no cable entry points that aren't sealed to the same rating as the enclosure itself. Salt aerosol can't deposit on the PCB because there's no path for it to get in. That's a different approach to most solar controllers on the market, which rely on a splash rating (IP43 or similar) that was never designed to exclude airborne salt. See the thermal design log for how the fanless architecture that makes this possible is engineered to stay within thermal spec.
Why is it fanless if that limits cooling? A fan requires a vent, and a vent is an ingress path, the two goals are incompatible in a marine environment. Passive cooling via the sealed aluminium enclosure wall keeps the ingress protection genuine rather than nominal.
Does it need a separate gateway for boat network integration? No. Native Ethernet Modbus TCP and NMEA 2000 CAN-bus are built into the controller. One cable to the dock LAN or NMEA 2000 backbone gives full integration with any BMS or SCADA system.
What battery chemistries does it support? FLA, AGM, Gel, and LiFePO₄, each with its own temperature-compensated charge profile, configurable via the Bluetooth app.
Request a Quote
In active development, pre-orders open when design validation is complete.
Send through your installation requirements and we will get back to you with pricing and availability. Direct technical questions are welcome.