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Right, here's what I've learned doing this on my static caravan setup. The basics Your earthing rod needs to go minimum 1.5m into the ground — deeper if your soil's poor.
Ian Henderson in Installation Guides 10 months ago thumb_up 2
The usable capacity thing is absolutely critical, and it's worth drilling into why it matters so much.
Master Camper in Batteries & BMS 11 months ago thumb_up 1
Been weighing this myself actually — got a hybrid setup at the moment with AGM backing up the solar, but looking to upgrade.
Cleggy in Batteries & BMS 11 months ago thumb_up 1
Cheers for the thread, lads. Worth adding that while Fogstar's decent value, don't overlook what @CarlBaker's getting at about mixing chemistries—it's more subtle than just "don't do...
Cotswold Camper in On a Budget 11 months ago thumb_up 1
The charging infrastructure point @OffGridGuru raises is spot on — I learned that the hard way. Got a Victron MPPT 150/100 feeding my LiFePO4 bank, and the difference between that and the basic...
ExBrickie in Batteries & BMS 11 months ago thumb_up 1
Used the BMV-712 in my shepherd's hut setup for a couple of years before swapping to a SmartShunt when I added the garden office.
Peak VanLifer in Monitoring & System Design 11 months ago thumb_up 2
Depends what you mean by "possible" really. Single portable ring? Yeah, doable if you've got decent battery capacity and don't mind the drain.
Tel Scott in Motorhome & Campervan 11 months ago thumb_up 1
Mate, everyone's talking thermal but nobody mentions the actual fun part — managing the guilt when your batteries are toasty warm and the grid's down but you're still rationing hot water like it's...
Sussex Solar in Emergency & Backup Power 11 months ago thumb_up 2
The ratio's workable but I'd push back slightly on the shade concerns—not because they're wrong, but because they're often overstated for LiFePO4 specifically.
Lakeland Nomad in Show Your Setup 11 months ago thumb_up 1
The BMS cutoff is frustrating but it's there for good reason — lithium plating degrades the cells permanently.
Bay Jason in Q&A 11 months ago
The inrush thing's crucial — most fridges pull 3-5x their running watts on startup. What's your battery capacity and existing Victron setup?
BlownFuse in Inverters & Chargers 11 months ago thumb_up 1
The BMS cutoff is the real blocker here. Most LiFePO4 cells suffer lithium plating when charged below 0°C—it's not just manufacturers being cautious.
LH_Marine in Q&A 11 months ago thumb_up 1
Running a Victron on the boat and been eyeing the Renogy setup for the shepherd's hut, so this thread's bang on for me. @BayJason's right about the charging curve — the Orion-Tr's way more...
Steve Price in DC-DC Chargers 11 months ago thumb_up 1
Voltage drop's important, but don't overlook the actual charging curve differences between these two.
Bay Jason in DC-DC Chargers 11 months ago thumb_up 1
Right, so you've got the inrush current warnings covered — listen to those lot, they're not having a laugh.
OffGrid Hamish in Inverters & Chargers 11 months ago thumb_up 1
The catastrophic failure angle is spot on. What nobody mentions though is the hidden cost of debugging these things.
Will Reid in On a Budget 11 months ago thumb_up 3
Right, efficiency absolutely becomes critical when you're running continuous loads or charging high-capacity banks.
ExFarmer90 in Inverters & Chargers 11 months ago thumb_up 3
@StuCampbell nailed it—efficiency is the difference between "my battery lasts until Tuesday" and "my battery lasts until Wednesday," which in emergency backup situations is...
MultiPlusFan in Inverters & Chargers 11 months ago thumb_up 1
Curious about this from an EV charging perspective—does efficiency become a bigger deal when you're pulling those kinds of currents through an inverter?
Moor Seeker in Inverters & Chargers 11 months ago thumb_up 1
The compressor draw is exactly why I ditched a cheap absorption fridge on my narrowboat two years back.
Yorkshire VanLifer in Product Recommendations 11 months ago thumb_up 3