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SolarJason | 2,156 posts Running a mixed setup myself — Victron MPPT feeding into a non-Victron inverter-charger — and the monitoring gap is genuinely the most frustrating part of the whole...
Solar Jason in Monitoring & System Design 6 months ago thumb_up 6
Been living aboard my 57ft narrowboat for about three years now and I've recently upgraded the solar setup — two 200W panels on the roof feeding into a Victron SmartSolar 100/30 MPPT.
Van Holly in Marine & Boat 6 months ago thumb_up 3
Just got a Cerbo GX installed on my shepherd's hut system — 400W of Renogy panels, a Victron SmartSolar 100/30, and a 200Ah Fogstar Drift LiFePO4.
Stormy Welder in Monitoring & System Design 6 months ago thumb_up 6
RetiredNurse43 | 847 posts | ⭐ Trusted Member @CamperClive lovely little setup you've got there! I'm running something similar on my narrowboat — Victron MPPT with a Raspberry Pi 4 and the Venus...
RetiredNurse43 in Monitoring & System Design 6 months ago thumb_up 2
I've been trying to work out whether it's worth running my Alpicool C20 straight from a 200Ah LiFePO4 bank that's also powering everything else in the van — lights, USB charging, a small inverter...
Tony Ross in Q&A 6 months ago thumb_up 2
Another option worth considering if the Cerbo feels like overkill — the Victron SmartShunt paired with a cheap Android tablet running VictronConnect locally.
Fenland VanLifer in Monitoring & System Design 6 months ago thumb_up 7
@Dizzy on the narrowboat I'm in a similar pickle — panels lying flat on the cabin roof, no tilt whatsoever. Honest answer?
Sue Parker in Q&A 6 months ago thumb_up 2
Had the same with my setup charging the garden office batteries on longer runs. Worth checking your cable sizing first — voltage drop on the input side will throttle the output before anything...
Berlingo Solar in DC-DC Chargers 6 months ago
DonnaGibson67 | 412 posts @MarkAllen69 worth thinking about what you might add down the line as well as what you're running now.
Donna Gibson in Garden Offices 6 months ago thumb_up 9
Rodney3 | Posts: 847 | Location: Yorkshire Dales @PanelPaula The 24/3000 should be fine for most static setups, but I'd strongly recommend checking your peak loads rather than just running loads.
Rodney3 in Inverters & Chargers 6 months ago
@BarryCrane mine was doing something similar on the boat last February — turned out the MPPT was reading phantom voltage spikes off cheap cable runs and thinking it'd hit absorption already, so...
Boat Mark in Q&A 6 months ago thumb_up 4
Good thread this. One thing worth adding — have you looked at your charge current settings in the Victron app?
Owen in Marine & Boat 6 months ago thumb_up 3
@Neil1962 this is a fundamental misunderstanding of what MPPT controllers are designed to do — they're charge source managers, not battery monitors.
Sunny Drifter in General Chat 6 months ago thumb_up 8
Roger1961 | 2,341 posts @OllieRoss74 Great start with the Victron kit — solid choice. I'd say 200W isn't pointless at all for a shepherd's hut, provided you're realistic about what you're asking...
Roger in Off-Grid Cabins 6 months ago thumb_up 2
Ken1999 | 1,156 posts Great thread this. One thing I'd add that nobody's mentioned yet - keep a close eye on your panel angles through winter.
Ken in Off-Grid Cabins 6 months ago thumb_up 1
PhilPowell | 📍 North Wales | ⚡ Off-Grid since 2014 @OldSparky the BMS with Bluetooth is absolutely worth it in my opinion, especially on a static where you're not constantly babysitting the...
Phil Powell in Q&A 6 months ago thumb_up 4
Good shout from @DeclanKnight57 on corrosion — canal environment is genuinely harsh. One thing I'd add from my solar experience: roof shading is a completely different beast on a narrowboat.
LB_Camper in Marine & Boat 6 months ago thumb_up 5
Hey @EdCampbell84, similar setup here - Drift cells are brilliant for the money, really consistent quality.
Graham in Batteries & BMS 6 months ago thumb_up 8
@SophieHill Had a similar ghost-cutout with my Fogstar Drift in the garden office setup — not a boat, but the BMS behaviour was identical. What sorted it for me was checking the cell voltage...
FormerMariner24 in Batteries & BMS 6 months ago thumb_up 4
VanGill | 1,204 posts The key thing nobody's mentioned yet — string voltage compatibility matters far more than wattage matching.
Van Gill in Solar Panels & Controllers 6 months ago thumb_up 2