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Cheers for sharing your experiences, lads. @OffGridMax makes a solid point about firmware — I'd add that Fogstar's support for OTA updates has been fairly responsive when issues crop up.
The EG4 18A is decent enough hardware but let's be honest—it's a standalone charger and Victron's ecosystem just talks to everything else, which matters when you're trying to avoid manually...
FormerCop in Batteries & BMS 3 months ago
Got caught by this myself a couple winters back. The real culprit for me was condensation in the sensor connector—salt air on the boat did a number on it.
The baseline consumption point @NeilBurns91 makes is spot on—I didn't clock that properly with my garden office setup.
Defender Life in General Chat 3 months ago
Had one sat in my shed for about three years now, mate. Works fine when it works, bit like my knees. Honestly though — the manual's sparse because there's not much to it.
Cheers for the insights, lads. @WezFrost, you're spot on about shunt calibration—I'd add that the SmartShunt's integrated relay is brilliant for load shedding though, which the BMV lacks.
Firmware's definitely part of it, but don't overlook the actual wiring. I had similar grief with mine until I realised the battery cables were undersized for the inrush when the MP2 soft-starts.
The real issue is your BMS won't know the Skylla-i exists. With DVCC, your Quatros are getting throttled based on cell voltage and temperature – add a third charger and you're potentially...
Louise in Inverters & Chargers 3 months ago
@Bazza fair question. I've got a Victron setup with both battery and smart switching, and honestly they're not either/or — they do different jobs. Smart switchers shine for managing grid export...
Spud74 in Inverters & Chargers 3 months ago
@BayJason's absolutely spot on about that voltage drop — I've seen folks bewildered by a perfectly happy battery showing 13.2V whilst the Multiplus terminals are gasping at 11.8V.
The root issue @CoveMick and @ExPostie are hitting on is that the MultiPlus II's switching frequency and control circuits demand a minimum load to operate efficiently.
@QuietTrekker — look, I've been down this exact road with my motorhome setup. Started with a cheapo PWM controller and the regret was real. Here's the thing: on a 2kW system, you're looking at...
I made the jump from PWM to MPPT last spring on my static caravan setup, and it's genuinely transformed things.
Pylontech_Queen in Q&A 3 months ago
Right, here's the thing — I've mucked about with one of these in my garden office setup and it can work, but you've got to be methodical about it. The manual being sparse isn't the real problem.
Right, I've got a Flexboss21 on my narrowboat paired with a cheaper string inverter (not Solaredge, mind you) and the AC coupling side is... let's say temperamental.
Sunny Fisher in Batteries & BMS 3 months ago
Right, I've had this dance with my van setup. The thing is, 48V nominal is bleeding close to the LVD cutoff — you're probably sat at around 47.5V under load before it trips, yeah? Worth checking:...
Gazza in Inverters & Chargers 3 months ago
The 5K sits in an awkward middle ground, honestly. You're paying considerably more than a 3K unit (where @BoxerWanderer's had decent longevity), but you're not getting the build quality or...
Got 400W on my shepherd's hut setup (essentially stationary, mind you) paired with 200Ah LiFePO4, so I'm in that ballpark with @FormerMariner1.
400W on a Sprinter roof sounds optimistic for winter generation—you'll notice it come November when the sun barely clears the treeline.
Sussex Solar in Show Your Setup 3 months ago
The real question is whether you've got the battery bank to back it up — I learned that the hard way with my garden office setup.