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Yeah this is the reality of PWM in winter really isn't it. The panel voltage barely creeps above battery voltage at low sun angles so the controller just...
Cove Mick in General Chat 6 months ago thumb_up 1
Not a narrowboat myself — garden office setup here — but the Victron + Fogstar combo is exactly what I run and it's been rock solid. One thing worth flagging for narrowboat specifically: keep an...
Berlingo Solar in Marine & Boat 6 months ago thumb_up 6
Running a 400Ah LiFePO4 bank in my static caravan setup — two 200Ah Fogstar Drift cells paired with an older 200Ah Renogy unit I had knocking about.
Battery Tony in Monitoring & System Design 6 months ago thumb_up 4
@DriftKing had the same setup for a bit — kept the old split-charge relay "just in case" after fitting the Orion-Tr Smart. Honestly? Pulled it out after a month.
Jim Kelly in Motorhome & Campervan 6 months ago thumb_up 9
RetiredChef2 | ⚡ 47 posts | Array This is my nightmare scenario — I've got a 200Ah LiFePO4 bank on my 32ft narrowboat and I'm always slightly anxious about exactly this happening.
RetiredChef2 in Batteries & BMS 6 months ago thumb_up 7
Worth noting lithium behaves differently on the cut vs a motorhome — engine alternator charging can be brutal on lithium without proper protection.
Cornish Camper in Marine & Boat 6 months ago thumb_up 9
@LindaPrice87 the Multiplus basically is the shore power integration — just wire your 16A inlet through it and let it handle the transfer switching automatically like the smug little box it is.
Sophie Hill in Inverters & Chargers 6 months ago thumb_up 9
Ha, this thread is falling apart at the seams! 😄 @KMV_Marine assuming the issue is what it sounds like — worth checking your absorption voltage setting in VictronConnect.
T5 Build in Q&A 6 months ago thumb_up 5
I've been running a 400W panel setup on my Renogy Rover 40A MPPT for about eight months now, mostly parked up in Wales and the Scottish Borders.
Panel Dai in Solar Panels & Controllers 6 months ago thumb_up 2
Finally pulled the trigger on a Fogstar Drift 200Ah to replace the two old 110Ah AGMs I'd been limping along with. Night and day honestly.
Salty Maker in Off-Grid Cabins 6 months ago thumb_up 3
Thread is full of cliffhangers today 😄 I've got a Cerbo GX on my shepherd's hut setup and honestly the mixed chemistry question kept me up for weeks before I just committed to separating them...
SmartSolarGuy | 312 posts @NBW_VanLife 😂 "storing clouds" — that's going on a t-shirt. Running my cabin through last winter on a similar setup taught me one brutal lesson: it's not your...
SmartSolarGuy in Off-Grid Cabins 6 months ago thumb_up 8
@LuckySkipper the maths is pretty brutal when you work it through. Even a cracking 6-hour solar day gives you maybe 2kWh from that array after losses — that's roughly 6-8 miles of EV range added.
Foggy80 in Motorhome & Campervan 6 months ago thumb_up 1
Great thread, @VoltTom. One thing I'd add that nobody's mentioned yet — the VictronConnect app is genuinely brilliant for a liveaboard winter setup.
Alex Young in Marine & Boat 6 months ago thumb_up 3
DustyBodger | Posts: 847 @SaltyTrekker for a static setup the Orion-Tr Smart genuinely earns its premium, mainly because of the Bluetooth monitoring and programmable charge profiles.
Dusty Bodger in DC-DC Chargers 6 months ago thumb_up 5
BarryWood | Senior Member | Posts: 1,203 Worth flagging something @OhmsLaw7 and @PV_Master haven't mentioned — the Venus OS Large firmware is what unlocks the proper Node-RED and Signal K...
Barry Wood in Monitoring & System Design 6 months ago thumb_up 4
RelayProject | 1,203 posts | ⚡ Welsh Borders @MarineMike Solid move — four-year-old AGMs on a boat are rarely worth nursing along.
Relay Project in Marine & Boat 6 months ago thumb_up 5
LakelandNomad | 2,847 posts | ☀️ Solar Obsessive @BitsAndBobs this is bread-and-butter UK solar behaviour, unfortunately.
Lakeland Nomad in Solar Panels & Controllers 6 months ago thumb_up 2
LochFinn | 847 posts | ⚡ Solar Enthusiast @Finn1975 Classic scenario this one! The discrepancy you're seeing is almost certainly down to wiring losses between your controller and battery, plus...
Loch Finn in General Chat 6 months ago thumb_up 6
PeakCamper | Member @KenCross 15kWh sounds generous until you remember your EV laughs at 15kWh for breakfast. 🚗💨 Genuine question though — what are you actually driving?
Peak Camper in Q&A 6 months ago thumb_up 7