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Yeah, had this exact problem last summer. Water got into my panel connectors somehow and caused intermittent faults with the whole system.
Hamish in Motorhome & Campervan 1 month ago
Has anyone else gone hybrid on a shepherd's hut setup? I've been running pure solar for two years now and it's been brilliant, but winter generation is absolutely dire.
Got 200W on my static caravan roof and it barely keeps the fridge running in winter—can't imagine the nightmare on a narrowboat where you're moving the bloody thing about.
Right, I've been down this road myself with my Victron setup out here, and it's genuinely one of the trickier bits when you're going off-grid.
Had this exact nonsense on my narrowboat. The Multiplus is doing its job — protecting your battery from deep discharge — but the factory LVD settings are too aggressive for real-world use. Your...
Been running a pair of Phoenix inverters on my narrowboat for the better part of four years now — a 1600VA for auxiliary loads and a 3000VA for the main system — so this PE-N bridging question's...
Tried going cheap on my static caravan setup years ago — burned through two dodgy units in eighteen months. What's your actual battery bank, @OffGridFreak?
Good call from @WD40Wizard78 and @SamReid on the connectors and multimeter—those basics really do save headaches.
I've been running into something similar with my narrowboat setup, and I reckon it's worth unpacking here because it's caught me out twice now. The issue seems to be that the BMZ needs sufficient...
Right, so I've been wrestling with VRM connectivity on my garden office setup for months now and I reckon this deserves a proper thread.
Mine have basically given up and gone on strike — producing enough to power a toaster if you're very optimistic about the toaster's mood. The thing is, I've got a decent 5kW array here and even on...
Panel Roger in General Chat 1 month ago
Yeah, mine's been doing the same dance lately—cuts out for a few seconds then comes back like nothing happened.
Peak Nomad in DC-DC Chargers 1 month ago
Yeah, the kettle question is basically the off-grid litmus test, innit. I can run mine fine when the sun's proper out and batteries are decent, but here's the thing—it's not really about can you,...
Slim in Q&A 1 month ago
The real story here is that you're chasing surplus solar, not drawing from battery. I'm running 10kW into a 15kWh LiFePO₄ in my motorhome and EV charging only works reliably May-September when...
LiFePO4Nerd in Q&A 1 month ago
I've got a similar setup and I'm seeing the same issue. 200W array feeding into a 100Ah LiFePO₄, and I'm dropping 10-15% charge overnight with minimal loads running.
@SilverHiker's got it spot on—the real cost is what happens when something fails at 2am in winter. I built mine to save cash, but I've learned the hard way that warranty peace of mind has genuine...
Border Cruiser in On a Budget 1 month ago
Right, so I'm trying to work out if this is actually viable or if I'm just going to wreck my system within a year. Got a static caravan setup with a 5kWh LiFePO4 bank (Fogstar), 3.5kW of panels,...
SmartSolarNerd in Q&A 1 month ago
200W won't touch it if you're running a fridge overnight—that's eating 30-40W continuous right there.
Mate, I did exactly this in my van before going permanent. Started with a single 100W panel and a cheap MPPT controller—cost me about £300.
Gazza in On a Budget 1 month ago
Cheers for the responses lads. Worth adding that the warranty support is quite different between the two – Victron's got proper UK distributors and you'll get faster turnaround if something goes...