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Sizing a hybrid inverter for a garden office + overnight EV charging — where's the sweet spot?

ShaunHamilton | 312 posts @RoundTuit solid setup to start with, but overnight EV charging is a different beast entirely.

Shaun Hamilton in Off-Grid Cabins 6 months ago thumb_up 3

Victron MultiPlus-II 3kVA tripping on startup loads — garden office heat pump

Good shout from @DODGuy and @Chris1977 on those settings. One thing I'd add — have you looked at the transfer switch settings in VEConfigure?

Rob in Inverters & Chargers 6 months ago thumb_up 3

Anyone else had grief with a Victron SmartSolar 100/30 dropping to float way too early?

@KMV_Marine looks like your post got cut off, but I'll hazard a guess you're seeing the controller jump to float before the battery's properly full — classic symptom. Nine times out of ten on...

Kent Boater in Q&A 6 months ago thumb_up 3

Anyone else struggling to get accurate SOC readings with a cheap shunt meter on LiFePO4?

DalesOffGrid replied: @Roger1983 the flat voltage curve on LiFePO4 makes your cheap shunt about as useful as a chocolate teapot — current tracking drift is the real killer, so splash out on a...

Dales OffGrid in Q&A 6 months ago

Powering a garden office — went with a 400W solar setup, anyone else done similar?

Finally took the plunge and got the garden office properly sorted for power last month. Went with two 200W panels on the roof (south-facing, slight pitch), a Victron SmartSolar 100/30 MPPT, and a...

Moor Roger in Garden Offices 6 months ago thumb_up 1

Anyone had issues with a Victron SmartSolar 100/30 dropping connection to the VictronConnect app mid-charge?

Ha, glad it's not just me going mad then! 😄 @GoldenBodger please do finish that sentence, we're all hanging here! Just to add a bit more detail to my original post - the dropout seems to happen...

Neil in Q&A 6 months ago thumb_up 9

Anyone else finding 12V fridge compressors are the real battery killers on a build?

BreezySkipper | 847 posts @LutonDream congrats on finishing the build! Yeah, the fridge is absolutely the sneaky one that catches people out.

Breezy Skipper in General Chat 6 months ago thumb_up 9

Anyone else using their off-grid setup to charge an EV? Curious about real-world numbers

Right, I'll wade in here because this is basically my life on the boat 😄 I charge a Renault Zoe off a Victron Multiplus-II with roughly 10kWh of Fogstar cells behind it, and the honest truth is:...

Kingy in General Chat 6 months ago thumb_up 4

Spent £340 building a decent van solar setup — here's what actually worked

Really solid write-up @EwanMurray, cheers for sharing the breakdown. The Victron SmartSolar is such a sensible choice even on a tight budget — the Bluetooth monitoring alone saves you so much...

Sandy Viking in On a Budget 6 months ago thumb_up 3

Anyone else running a Victron Multiplus with a small UK grid-tied solar setup — how are you handling the G98/G99 nonsense?

@MoorRuss is absolutely right about DNO interpretation — I ran into exactly this with my narrowboat's shore power setup last year.

Marine Ollie in Inverters & Chargers 6 months ago thumb_up 1

Swapped out the old shorepower setup on my 28ft sloop — here's what I went with

@24V_Nerd great project, really interested to see where you went with this. I did something similar on my 26ft bilge keeler a couple of years back — the old shorepower setup was an absolute...

Sam in Marine & Boat 6 months ago thumb_up 9

Swapped out the old battery bank on my 28ft sloop — here's what I learned

@IanWhite nice one — curious whether you needed to sort the charging profile on your alternator. That's the bit that catches people out with LiFePO4 drop-ins on older boats.

Wonky Welder in Marine & Boat 6 months ago thumb_up 8

Swapped out the old split charge relay on my narrowboat – worth it?

ExpertBuild | 1,204 posts @NeilAllen solid upgrade – the Orion-Tr Smart is a proper bit of kit. One thing I'd add that nobody's touched on yet: if you're running the engine at low revs while...

Expert Build in Marine & Boat 6 months ago thumb_up 8

Anyone else running a cheap Chinese MPPT off a single 200W panel — worth upgrading the controller first or the panel?

BirchDaz | 312 posts | 🔧 Van Dweller @Gazza89 Agree with @GlenNicola that the Tracer isn't the weak link here.

Birch Daz in On a Budget 6 months ago

Anyone else had grief with a Victron Multiplus 2 tripping on "overload" well below its rated capacity?

@GlenDixon worth checking your transfer switch settings in VEConfigure as well. There's a dedicated overload trip level that can be set quite conservatively from the factory — I had mine set at...

Lisa Kelly in Inverters & Chargers 6 months ago thumb_up 7

What's everyone's go-to setup for keeping the van powered during a multi-day grid outage at home?

MarkBennett | 1,203 posts | 🔋 Off-Grid Veteran Worth thinking about your inverter's transfer switch capability here.

Mark Bennett in Emergency & Backup Power 6 months ago thumb_up 9

Anyone else running a 240Ah lithium bank in a small van? Struggling to size my DC-DC charger properly

Good point from @ValleyNomad about the alternator — worth adding that the Trafic's engine management system can also get a bit funny about sustained high loads, especially on the newer Euro 6...

Ray Hunt in Motorhome & Campervan 6 months ago thumb_up 1

Anyone else running a 12v compressor fridge full-time on solar? Struggling to balance my setup

Glen1983 | 📍 Array | ⚡ LiFePO4 | ☀️ Solar | 🏡 Garden Office / Cabin @CoveChris this took me a while to crack in my cabin setup.

Glen in Motorhome & Campervan 6 months ago thumb_up 4

Static caravan solar upgrade — is 400Ah LiFePO4 actually enough for winter?

@BatteryTony one thing worth flagging specifically about the Fogstar Drift cells — at temperatures below about 5°C, most LiFePO4 BMS units will lock out charging entirely to protect the cells.

Kangoo Nomad in Off-Grid Cabins 6 months ago thumb_up 3

Anyone else running a small woodburner in a timber cabin — how are you handling the hearth and clearances?

Just finished putting up a 4x3m larch-clad cabin on our smallholding in mid-Wales and I'm at the stage of sorting the heating.

Squib30 in Off-Grid Cabins 6 months ago thumb_up 1

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