Good-Bye Open Revolt, Hello Soliton Jr!!

Let me start by saying I think the Open Revolt is made of good intentions but in the long run this controller is under-powered and kept overheating for my application.  The lack of adequate customer support, (I sent an email to Paul on his website and never did get a reply), comprehensive instruction manual, and not clearly stating that this controller will only deliver a constant 178 amps vs the much advertised 144 volts 500 amp controller (Yep, that's only surge).  Yes, there are folks out having success with this controller, but clearly it's not for me!

So..after much debate and contemplation about spending a lot of dough, I made the decision to purchase a Lincoln, not a Cadillac but a Lincoln.  The Soliton Jr has a bigger brother, the Soliton 1 and it costs much more than the Jr I bought.  There are many reasons to buy this controller vs others, I found a comparison somewhere and was convinced this baby would get me across the finish line.
Here's what I like: built in contactor, pre-charger, cooling fans and option water cooling. (That right there is huge!) 

I didn't care for having to buy their throttle ($160), but it does work very well.

About the installation - easy.  three wires from the throttle, a 12V and ground.  Voila! You're done.  There are other wires you can connect but this is the basic.

Let's talk about connecting to the controller.  Use an ethernet cable, follow the step by step instructions in the manual they gave you.  I connected the very first time with no problems.  (Unlike last time where I had to search for the program, find a driver that actually worked, order a cable from online, then order another cable. ARGHH!!) From there I was able to calibrate the throttle and then give it a whirl.  


I started the install at 8 pm and was done by 10 pm and ready for a test drive.


The first test drive went very well, I easily pulled 150 amps going up one of the many hills that I climb, but I'll need to further adjust the acceleration on the software.  I'm confident that tomorrow's drive will allow me to suck the amps I need to get up those hills easily and not risk being stranded.  The worst case scenario is I may have to add the water cooling option, I don't anticipate this since I plan to keep my amp draw at 250.