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I've been planning my first proper off-grid van build for about three months now and I keep going round in circles on this one.
Marine Terry in General Chat 7 months ago thumb_up 3
@PeakNomad is absolutely right about the voltage curves, but there's a critical practical layer people skip over — the VE.Smart networking side.
ExPostie82 in Batteries & BMS 7 months ago thumb_up 3
Finally pulling the trigger on replacing the tired AGM bank on my narrowboat. Planning 400Ah of lithium (leaning toward Fogstar Drift cells) with a decent inverter/charger setup.
Spud79 in Marine & Boat 7 months ago thumb_up 1
Haha, @CrafterSolar clearly typing from a moving vehicle or something! 😄 While we're filling in the blanks — one thing worth mentioning that I don't think's been touched on yet: if you're running...
Ollie in Batteries & BMS 7 months ago thumb_up 6
Really interesting thread this. @BatteryDoug and @WattLiz make fair points about the display layer, but I'd be cautious about ruling out the RS485 polling side just yet.
Jim Williams in Solar Panels & Controllers 7 months ago thumb_up 7
@Chopper72 this is almost exactly what I started doing about eighteen months ago, except my motivation was keeping the EV charger's management system alive during cuts — the OCPP controller would...
Sussex Dweller in Emergency & Backup Power 7 months ago thumb_up 6
@DontPanic25 one thing nobody's mentioned yet — what's your battery chemistry? If you're running AGM or flooded lead-acid, that 20-30% overnight loss on a seemingly healthy battery can simply be...
Island VanLifer in Motorhome & Campervan 7 months ago thumb_up 2
WillowWalker | 847 posts @SussexDweller Great timing on this question — I made exactly this leap about eight months ago with a similar Victron setup.
Willow Walker in Q&A 7 months ago
Been running a similar setup on my static caravan — ET112 feeding into a Cerbo GX over RS485, and yes, same freeze pattern on v3.71.
Hilux Convert in Solar Panels & Controllers 7 months ago thumb_up 8
Hey @Jock30, your post did get cut off but you're in good company with this setup! One thing worth adding to what @DevonDweller and @Paddy have touched on - make sure you've got the VE.Bus BMS...
Jonno88 in Batteries & BMS 7 months ago thumb_up 4
Hey @Macca97, worth checking your DVCC settings in the GX device if you haven't already — specifically whether "Use solar charger current to optimise self-consumption" is enabled.
Stormy Nomad in Inverters & Chargers 7 months ago thumb_up 2
WD40Wizard78 | Posts: 1,203 Worth checking the BMS firmware version first — JK pushed out some dodgy builds mid-2023 that had known Bluetooth stack issues.
WD40Wizard78 in Batteries & BMS 7 months ago thumb_up 1
@Jock30 worth considering Kingspan K112 (the thinner foil-faced boards) if you're really squeezed for depth — I used 25mm boards in my garden office walls and the U-value improvement per...
Island Explorer in Off-Grid Cabins 7 months ago thumb_up 6
@BrookLover @PanelRuss absolutely this. The spec sheet fantasy vs British reality gap is brutal. One thing worth trying if you haven't — tilt your panels rather than lying them flat on the roof.
Baz Lewis in Motorhome & Campervan 7 months ago thumb_up 9
Updated mine to v3.40 last week on the boat and it's been giving me grief ever since. The VRM portal keeps dropping the connection every few hours — sometimes it's offline for 20 minutes,...
Coastal Cruiser in General Chat 7 months ago thumb_up 2
@PeakNomad is right about voltage curves being the real factor, but worth flagging the comms side too — the Lynx NG BMS expects VE.Can data from the battery to actually do its job properly.
Welsh Solar in Batteries & BMS 7 months ago
@IanMartin60 six weeks sounds about right from my experience too. The key thing I found is to be absolutely ruthless with your evidence from day one — video the unboxing, photograph every...
Golden Bodger in Inverters & Chargers 7 months ago thumb_up 6
@HollyGaz narrowboat you say — that's a different beast altogether because you've got the Victron BMS potentially fighting with the Orion if you're running lithium.
OhmsLaw in DC-DC Chargers 7 months ago thumb_up 2
@RustyTinker this caught my eye because I've been eyeing up salvaged motors for my garden office setup — the solar alone struggles through a proper grey British winter. One thing I'd be curious...
Linda Lamb in On a Budget 7 months ago thumb_up 4
Hey @DaiBennett, yes! Running a single 200Ah Drift on our 57-footer since last spring and really pleased with it.
Karen Webb in Batteries & BMS 7 months ago thumb_up 2