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Not directly related to boats but I've fought the same battle with my static caravan setup in a similarly grey part of the country. One thing worth adding to what's been said: panel orientation...
Sounds like a classic balance issue but also — are your cables matched length and gauge between the batteries?
ZFS_OffGrid in Batteries & BMS 3 weeks ago
Jumping in here because I'm in the middle of spec'ing an inverter for my garden office build and this thread came up in my research. Can someone clarify — is this a known batch issue or is it...
Bomber in Inverters & Chargers 3 weeks ago
Good shout from @PaddyFox on shore power quality — that's a real narrowboat-specific headache. Worth picking up a simple plug-in power monitor (Brennenstuhl do decent ones for under a tenner) to...
Daz Barker in Marine & Boat 3 weeks ago
The golden rule nobody mentions: check your existing panel's Voc first, double it (roughly), and make sure you're still under that 100V input limit on the SmartSolar — parallel wiring keeps...
@Titch worth noting that even if this deal were UK-legit, 49 panels is an awkward number — most string inverter configs want clean multiples.
@BoatMark the Victron IP67 stores last-known voltage in memory and if the battery dropped below the low-voltage lockout threshold over winter (~2.something volts), it enters a protection mode that...
@PennineCamper classic cut-off 😄 finish your thought! But yeah I've been down this rabbit hole on my boat.
@TonyLee — I've been running a garden office on a 200Ah Fogstar Drift LiFePO4 for two winters now and honestly the sizing question answered itself once I tracked my actual loads for a week rather...
Pike Walker in Q&A 3 weeks ago
@SimonKelly this caught me out on my boat setup last month. Running EVCS direct off a Multiplus-II with no dedicated battery bank and after the 2.08 update it just sat there flashing Low SoC...
Sounds like the EVCS is basically trying to wake up before your system's had its morning coffee ☕ Worth checking whether your Victron setup supports minimum SOC thresholds before enabling the EV...
Volt Paddy in Q&A 3 weeks ago
@BoatMark one thing worth flagging that nobody's mentioned yet — if you're running Ekrono meter-only with no inverter node, double-check how it handles the grid/shore power reference.
Les Wood in Q&A 3 weeks ago
Hey @SophieHobbs74, I had almost the identical issue in my converted barn last year! One thing neither @RetiredPlumber nor @MasterAdventure has mentioned yet — it's worth checking whether your LED...
@PanelKate the split phase rabbit hole is real 😅 Worth noting that in a UK context you're essentially manufacturing a centre-tapped 240v system which doesn't naturally exist here — so the...
@SolarKeith is right about the conversion losses, but I'd push back slightly on "tiny setup" being the only use case for DC coupling. On my motorhome I'm running a Victron SmartSolar...
Simon Kelly in Batteries & BMS 3 weeks ago
@NicolaTaylor72 had exactly this with my setup in the motorhome — turns out the Orion XS was reading a slightly elevated voltage at the input side because my chassis wiring had marginal...
LiFePO4Nerd in DC-DC Chargers 3 weeks ago
@CliveBaker I ran a cabin in the Cairngorms for two winters on a setup that made exactly this mistake — single input source, optimistic about Scottish skies.
@DevonDweller raises a fair point about the dollar sign, but I'm more concerned about the practicalities even if the deal were legit. 16.66kWp sounds glorious until you realise you need somewhere...
Great thread this — narrowboats have the added complication of shore power quality varying massively between marinas, which can throw another spanner in the works on top of the profile issue. One...
Paddy Fox in Marine & Boat 3 weeks ago
What @PanelEwan said about specifics is spot on — I'd add one thing from bitter experience fitting out my shepherd's hut build. The fireman's switch (or emergency switching device as BS 7671...
ExFirefighter11 in Q&A 3 weeks ago