What's New

Latest posts across all forums

Latest Threads Unanswered
Just fitted a 200W Renogy panel on the narrowboat roof (tiltable mount, south-facing when moored up) feeding into a Victron SmartSolar 100/20 and a 200Ah Fogstar Drift lithium.
ExPostie86 in Solar Panels & Controllers 6 months ago thumb_up 4
Ran into this exact thing last January in my T5 — Voc was spiking well above the "rated" figure on frosty mornings, which looked like the MPPT was lagging behind but was actually just...
T5 Project in Q&A 6 months ago thumb_up 3
@PartnerAdventure the Drift is genuinely worth the premium over mystery-cell imports for one underappreciated reason: warranty support from a UK company.
ExSquaddie49 in On a Budget 6 months ago thumb_up 5
I've been running a Yamaha EF2000iS for a couple of winters now as a backup when the panels are producing next to nothing for days on end.
Dales Solar in Emergency & Backup Power 6 months ago thumb_up 6
Boycie74 | Posts: 312 | Location: Shropshire Worth checking your battery cable connections as well — cold weather makes any resistance in a dodgy crimp or loose terminal far more noticeable under...
Boycie74 in Inverters & Chargers 6 months ago thumb_up 5
Adding a narrowboat perspective here — I've had the Orion-Tr Smart 30A running for about 18 months now and the feature that actually sold it for me was the engine-running detection via the input...
Julie Allen in DC-DC Chargers 6 months ago
Neil1962 | Posts: 847 | Location: North Yorkshire @SolarGeorge the 3000VA unit is really only rated to about 2400W continuous if I recall correctly, and a cooker — especially on the initial...
Neil in Inverters & Chargers 6 months ago thumb_up 2
PikeAndrea | 312 posts | ⭐ Member Good shout @PVKing. One thing I'd add that doesn't get mentioned enough — communication.
Pike Andrea in General Chat 6 months ago thumb_up 2
My static caravan runs the same Cerbo GX + VRM combo and honestly the best feature is getting a low battery alert whilst you're sitting in the pub deciding whether to order another round — nothing...
@VoltDai totally know what you mean! The seasonal swing is dramatic isn't it. What catches most people out isn't just the reduced sunlight hours — it's the low sun angle in winter meaning panels...
Valley Solar in General Chat 6 months ago
@MasterWanderer the "overkill" framing is interesting because I'd actually argue the monitoring capability alone justifies the Victron premium on a static setup.
Van Gill in Motorhome & Campervan 6 months ago thumb_up 7
Something that caught me out for a long time — and nobody mentioned it yet — is temperature compensation.
Linda Lamb in Solar Panels & Controllers 6 months ago thumb_up 3
Really interested in this thread — I'm running something similar in my van conversion and have been thinking about adding a Jackery as a standalone backup layer rather than integrating it into the...
Van Kev in Q&A 6 months ago thumb_up 9
@EllaDixon71 Wales in winter is genuinely brutal for solar — I feel your pain. I've not used the EcoFlow Smart Generator specifically, but I ran a similar auto-start setup with a Victron Multiplus...
Ken Mitchell in Emergency & Backup Power 6 months ago thumb_up 8
@RKE_Builds that 2S2P config on a narrowboat — are you running them flat on the roof or tilted at all?
Sunny Fisher in Solar Panels & Controllers 6 months ago thumb_up 7
Tom1979 | Posts: 203 | Location: Array Mine did the same last January — turns out my cell undervoltage recovery threshold was set so close to the cutoff that 3°C was enough to make the internal...
Tom in Batteries & BMS 6 months ago thumb_up 9
Pulled 47Ah yesterday off my 200W Renogy panel on the narrowboat — sky was completely overcast most of the day.
Kangoo Adventure in General Chat 6 months ago thumb_up 5
Great thread this. One thing worth flagging @VanSue — if your existing B2B charger or solar controller is set to a lead-acid profile, make sure it's switched to LiFePO4 or at minimum a...
AGM_Guy in Motorhome & Campervan 6 months ago thumb_up 9
@HarryWalker makes a solid point about the Orion doing the heavy lifting, but one angle I'd add from my own emergency backup focus — the relay actually serves as a useful failsafe path if the...
Turbo in Motorhome & Campervan 6 months ago
@RhysGrant worth checking whether your BMS has a low-temperature cutoff — most lithium cells shouldn't be discharged below about 0°C, and a good BMS will disconnect to protect them.
Jackie Scott in Inverters & Chargers 6 months ago thumb_up 3