WAVE charge controller vs FLEXmax FM80

In Dominican Republic you can see them showcased side by side. Like choose the one your budget can handle…

The FM80 FLEXmax from Outback has been the most reliable and sold MPPT in the market for years. Now we are seeing so many counterfeits trying to get advantage of its popularity and position in the solar market.
One that I have seen in Dominican Market is the WAVE, I had the opportunity of try one and the funny part is that the Mate3 access its interface and works, but the internal components are not good quality as you should expect. an interesting point is that the parts and boards are glued, you cannot expect to handle 80A continuously with that type of construction.

WAVE charge controller

Fangpusun charge controller

The other one I’ve seen is the Fangpusun which has similar if not the same characteristics as the WAVE. This particular one has counterfeited the MATE so you can see remotely the production of the FM80.

This company has copied many other mayor brands in the industry, not only the Outback’s but Victron’s, Morningstar and others.

Outback FLEXmax FM80 charge controller

I prefer to use the original and give my clients the best and ensure that my job will be safe for many years to come.
The Original FLEXmax from Outback FM80

A few question the you should take in consideration are:

Would it be as good as the original?
What will be the price difference?
Is it UL tested, What type of protection do I have?
Warranty wise, will it be honored and for how many years?
Does it meet all the test and regulation of the market? There’s a lot of fires caused by a weak solar controller.