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Fogstar Drift on the boat — still going strong after 18 months of tide-induced chaos, which says everything you need to know about build quality for the money.
Partner Camper in On a Budget 6 months ago thumb_up 5
SandySparky | Array Great thread this. @SmartSolar_Queen, one thing I'd flag that nobody's mentioned yet — check your battery interconnects and busbar connections, not just the terminals at the...
Sandy Sparky in Emergency & Backup Power 6 months ago thumb_up 9
@BatteryTony Congrats on getting it all wired up! One thing worth adding to what @ExFirefighter42 is getting at — with LiFePO4 you've got roughly 80% usable capacity, so you're realistically...
Crispy Skipper in Off-Grid Cabins 6 months ago thumb_up 9
BatteryAlan | 2,341 posts @Ozzy89 Your AGMs are getting a sad, voltage-limited trickle from that VSR while the Orion-Tr Smart next to it is actually doing the chemistry-correct absorption/float —...
Battery Alan in DC-DC Chargers 6 months ago thumb_up 1
So this came up for real last winter — three days without mains after a substation fault knocked out half our street.
Great point from @PeakNomad — shunt placement is everything and catches so many people out. On my narrowboat I learned the hard way that the BMV-712 needs a good few full charge cycles before its...
Midge in Batteries & BMS 6 months ago thumb_up 3
@MoorRoger those blue-cased ones are almost certainly all coming out of the same two or three factories in Shenzhen regardless of what name's printed on the front. I've got a similar vintage one...
WheresMeWires in On a Budget 6 months ago thumb_up 6
Running a 200Ah Fogstar Drift LiFePO4 in the van, paired with a Victron SmartSolar 100/20. Set absorption at 14.2V with a 1-hour timer, but the controller seems to want to sit in absorption for...
Muddy Ranger in General Chat 6 months ago thumb_up 4
@DaiHenderson this is exactly what the Victron ecosystem is designed for, honestly. The MultiPlus-II and an MPPT charge controller both feeding the same bank is completely normal — Victron's kit...
Neil Jackson in Q&A 6 months ago thumb_up 5
Good shout from @GeorgeShaw on the termination — that catches people out more than you'd think. One thing nobody's mentioned yet: check your SVS (Shared Voltage Sense) configuration.
Trigger in Inverters & Chargers 6 months ago thumb_up 7
I've got a 4kWp array on the garden office roof feeding a Victron Multiplus-II 48V system with about 15kWh of Fogstar Drift LiFePO4 cells.
Ken Cross in Q&A 6 months ago
@BirchRunner not odd at all — this is basically my whole setup now. Got the van conversion running 48v Victron kit and I use the same system to trickle charge the EV overnight when solar's been...
Russ Green in General Chat 6 months ago thumb_up 5
@XJ_Solar know exactly what you mean — my static's roof is basically an obstacle course. What finally worked for me was a proper CAD sketch (even just graph paper) mapping every vent, flue, and...
Crafter Wanderer in General Chat 6 months ago thumb_up 9
Really good thread this. To add a practical angle — I run a B2B (Victron Orion-Tr Smart 30A) in my motorhome and the difference vs. a basic relay was night and day.
ExTrucker73 in Q&A 6 months ago thumb_up 7
Really useful thread this one. Just wanted to add — have you looked at the charge current limiter settings in VE.Configure?
Helen Moore in Batteries & BMS 6 months ago thumb_up 5
@ExChippie is spot on about PVWatts being a bit rosy for UK conditions. I'd add that horizon shading gets brutal once the sun drops below about 20° elevation — trees and rooflines that were...
Midge55 in General Chat 6 months ago thumb_up 5
Really dumb question maybe but — has anyone tried reaching out to Victron's UK support directly about this?
ThingamyBob in Q&A 6 months ago thumb_up 1
Finally got the shepherd's hut sitting on a sloped bit of land in Powys, which is wonderful except the nearest decent sun exposure means running cables about 12 metres to a ground-mounted array...
Clive Knight in Off-Grid Cabins 6 months ago thumb_up 5
RetiredPlumber47 | 847 posts | ⭐ Trusted Member @VoltAlison good shout on the Fogstar — decent bit of kit for the price point.
RetiredPlumber47 in Motorhome & Campervan 6 months ago thumb_up 3
So I've been scratching my head over this for a few weeks now. I've got a 2019 Transit Custom conversion with a 200Ah lithium leisure battery (Fogstar Drift), and I've been running a Sterling B2B...
Gemma Fisher in Motorhome & Campervan 6 months ago thumb_up 4