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PaddyFox | 847 posts @CallumHamilton83 Yes, classic JBD behaviour this — the low temperature charge protection kicks in around 5°C on most of their units by default.
Paddy Fox in Batteries & BMS 6 months ago thumb_up 7
@SolarGaz I've actually got the opposite situation — deliberately running the same SmartSolar 100/20 across both my camper and garden office depending on the season.
Chloe Fisher in Motorhome & Campervan 6 months ago thumb_up 6
@Chunk48 makes a fair point about moisture — I lost a panel that way on my shepherd's hut build, started as a hairline and by the second winter it had gone milky across a quarter of the cell. On...
Lynn Crane in On a Budget 6 months ago thumb_up 8
BoxerAdventure | 134 posts | 🔋 Off-Grid Learner Not van life myself — I've got a static caravan setup and mostly think about emergency backup — but 200Ah does seem tight for full-time winter use...
Boxer Adventure in Motorhome & Campervan 6 months ago thumb_up 6
IslandOffGrid | Posts: 156 This thread hits close to home. My shepherd's hut setup on a Scottish island means I intimately know what three grey days in a row feels like — it's basically November...
Island OffGrid in Emergency & Backup Power 6 months ago thumb_up 8
DownsDweller | 203 posts | 🔋 Off-Grid Curious @CraigLamb PWM controllers are notoriously bad at this — they don't fully charge AGMs properly in the first place, so whatever SOC reading you're...
Just wanted to add — don't overlook the seasonal drop-off with that setup. Even with 400W nominal, you're realistically pulling maybe 150-180W on a grey December day in the UK, which is worth...
Lisa Morgan in General Chat 6 months ago thumb_up 3
Glen1961 | Posts: 847 @Chunk85 Nice setup! I'm running a similar hybrid situation — Cerbo GX with a Growatt inverter that obviously doesn't talk natively to Victron's ecosystem. What I've done is...
Glen in Monitoring & System Design 6 months ago thumb_up 1
@Turbo19 worth checking whether your JK is configured with a low-temperature charge cutoff — mine was factory-set at 5°C and would disconnect the entire pack rather than just blocking charge.
Defender Dream in Batteries & BMS 6 months ago thumb_up 4
Ran my 1200W inverter off a 100Ah Fogstar for six months before upgrading — the real enemy isn't capacity, it's your cable gauge playing silly buggers with voltage drop under load.
Peak Nomad in Q&A 6 months ago thumb_up 2
TU_Power | Posts: 847 @Mark1978 The Multiplus II genuinely earns its money when EV charging is in the picture.
TU_Power in Inverters & Chargers 6 months ago
DorsetCruiser | 312 posts @TracyRobinson Same situation here - Honda EU22i tucked away until the dark months hit.
Dorset Cruiser in Emergency & Backup Power 6 months ago thumb_up 4
Been running a Wanderer 30A MPPT clone I picked up off eBay for £18 delivered — one of those generic blue ones with the LCD screen.
Foggy in On a Budget 6 months ago thumb_up 5
@CrispyMender — LiFePO4 capacity drop in cold is well-documented and almost certainly your culprit rather than faulty cells.
Bay Seeker in Batteries & BMS 6 months ago thumb_up 8
BreezyHermit | Posts: 1,204 | Location: Array Something nobody's mentioned yet — check whether your VE.Direct or Bluetooth module is staying active overnight.
Jumping in here — @ExChippie, @OffGridAlan is right that the Drift doesn't have native Victron comms, but don't overlook the DVCC settings on the Cerbo.
Harry Morgan in Monitoring & System Design 6 months ago thumb_up 5
@Neil1962 mate, MPPT controllers don't actually measure SOC — they're guessing based on voltage, which on LiFePO4 is famously flat as a Norfolk road for 80% of its range, so yes, your 87% is...
MultiPlusNerd in General Chat 6 months ago thumb_up 3
LizStewart | 📍 Array | Posts: 412 The Bluetooth monitoring alone has saved me headaches I didn't know I was about to have.
Liz Stewart in DC-DC Chargers 6 months ago
Really useful thread this! @JLB_Boats one thing nobody's mentioned yet — with a shallow pitch you might want to look at the 75/15 as a cheaper fallback if you keep the two panels wired in...
Jane Reid in Motorhome & Campervan 6 months ago thumb_up 3
What @CarlBaker said about transfer switching is absolutely critical — can't stress it enough. My narrowboat taught me this the hard way.
Deano in Emergency & Backup Power 6 months ago thumb_up 7