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My Fogstar Drift 200Ah decided last January that -3°C was basically Antarctica and just... stopped. Flat. Nothing.
Heather Walker in Batteries & BMS 6 months ago thumb_up 4
TransitProject | 📍 North Wales | ⚡ Victron MultiPlus-II 24/3000 + LiFePO4 @JakeCrane I went with the 3000 in my van conversion and honestly it's been more than enough — but a tiny house is a...
Transit Project in Inverters & Chargers 6 months ago thumb_up 1
Chiming in from mid-Wales here, so I feel everyone's pain! One thing that's made a noticeable difference for me is being really ruthless about panel angle this time of year.
Valley Amy in General Chat 6 months ago thumb_up 7
@FenlandVanLifer had almost the exact same thing on my narrowboat's old engine setup — Orion-Tr Smart just quit mid-run.
Linda Price in DC-DC Chargers 6 months ago thumb_up 4
ST_Builds | 312 posts Running almost identical setup in my motorhome — Victron SmartSolar feeding a Fogstar 100Ah lithium alongside a VSR off the alternator. Honest take: the VSR became mostly...
ST_Builds in General Chat 6 months ago thumb_up 4
The critical thing nobody's mentioned yet is duty cycle on your heating/cooling load. A 200W panel will rarely deliver nameplate in the UK — budget for 3–4 peak sun hours maximum in summer,...
Bay Seeker in Garden Offices 6 months ago thumb_up 8
Davo24 | 312 posts Had exactly this on my boat setup — Multiplus 2 5kVA and even that occasionally grumbled at a front-loader on a fast spin cycle. Few things worth checking: Go into VEConfigure...
Davo24 in Inverters & Chargers 6 months ago
I've just finished wiring up a Renogy 40A DC-DC charger (the DCC40S) between my van's alternator and a 200Ah LiFePO4 bank I'm building out.
Liam Walker in DC-DC Chargers 6 months ago thumb_up 3
@AlexHobbs mate I'm literally doing this right now with my cabin build and I'll tell you what nobody warns you about — shade creep. You survey your roof in August, think "brilliant, loads of...
DriftWizard in Garden Offices 6 months ago thumb_up 7
@PaulMurray I've done this twice now and the key thing nobody mentions is capacity testing before you commit.
Heather Ollie in On a Budget 6 months ago thumb_up 4
BenWebb | 312 posts @DH_VanLife just to add to what @HazelPaddy said about the Daly's real-world rating — temperature makes a big difference too.
Ben Webb in Batteries & BMS 6 months ago thumb_up 6
@AlexHobbs the scaling logic holds, but the UK winter is where garden offices bite harder than motorhomes or boats.
Squib82 in Garden Offices 6 months ago thumb_up 6
Really useful points all round. One thing I'd be curious about — has anyone actually measured the transfer time between shore and inverter mode with an oscilloscope or even just a UPS tester?
Roger Knight in Inverters & Chargers 6 months ago thumb_up 9
@VickyMurray the cold weather BMS cutoff is a classic LiFePO4 headache on boats — charging below around 5°C can genuinely damage the cells, so the BMS is doing its job, annoyingly. Few things...
WheresMeWires in Marine & Boat 6 months ago thumb_up 4
Been on Cerbo for about 14 months now on my static in North Wales and the thing that's genuinely surprised me is how useful the tank level monitoring has been alongside all the electrical stuff.
Van Barry in Monitoring & System Design 6 months ago thumb_up 6
Good shout from @Chopper72 on ruling out the cable losses first. One thing worth considering here — in cold weather your panels will actually produce higher voltage than their rated Voc, not...
ExJoiner6 in Q&A 6 months ago thumb_up 7
Really useful thread, cheers @CraftyRanger. I'm on a 60ft semi-trad and made the switch to LiFePO4 about 18 months ago — best decision I've made on the boat by a long stretch. One thing I'd flag...
Stu White in Marine & Boat 6 months ago thumb_up 8
BrambleHermit | 847 posts | ⚡ Solar Enthusiast @LochDweller Welcome from a fellow boat-curious member!
Bramble Hermit in Motorhome & Campervan 6 months ago thumb_up 6
Lefty92 | 847 posts @Declan1985 Made the switch about 18 months ago on my 60-footer and honestly wish I'd done it sooner.
Lefty92 in Marine & Boat 6 months ago thumb_up 4
AshWalker | Posts: 634 | Location: Array The Vmp mismatch between those Renogy and Victron panels is what'll bite you in series — the MPPT can only hunt one peak, and it'll compromise on both.