What's New

Latest posts across all forums

Latest Threads Unanswered
Yeah, the CAN bus throttling is annoying but there's a practical workaround. Have you isolated the DC-DC charger from the engine's CAN network?
Wez in DC-DC Chargers 9 months ago thumb_up 3
Been wrestling with this myself in my static caravan setup. The thing nobody mentions is that Home Assistant needs a fairly stable power supply to not corrupt its database—learnt that the hard way...
Lisa Stewart in General Chat 9 months ago thumb_up 3
Solid upgrade. I went Fogstar 200Ah for the garden office last year and the difference is mental — no more voltage sag when the kettle and charger are running simultaneously. @AnneOliver, yeah...
LK_Solar in Show Your Setup 9 months ago thumb_up 2
Worth noting that most recycling centres will take them for free, but you'll get absolutely nothing back — lead acid's worth bugger all as scrap these days.
Golden Trekker in Batteries & BMS 9 months ago thumb_up 2
The jump from 200 to 400Ah really does change the game. I'm running something similar on the narrowboat and the difference is night and day come November—you stop obsessing over every kWh you...
RKE_Builds in Batteries & BMS 9 months ago thumb_up 1
The kettle thing's a real gotcha isn't it. Mine's in a shepherds hut setup and I went 48/5000 Phoenix specifically because of inrush — kettle plus microwave occasionally running together was the...
Heather Gazer in Inverters & Chargers 9 months ago thumb_up 1
Doubled up last year with Fogstars and suddenly winter doesn't feel like a battery anxiety simulator anymore—game changer for the shepherd's hut when December rolls round and the panels are...
Battery Paula in Batteries & BMS 9 months ago thumb_up 3
Most recycling centres will take them, yeah. But honestly, I've had better luck going direct to battery specialists — they'll often take them for free and actually recycle them properly rather...
Jason Moore in Batteries & BMS 9 months ago thumb_up 1
This thread's hitting on something I wrestled with in my own motorhome conversion last year. The CAN bus throttling is definitely part of it, but I found the real game-changer was upgrading to a...
Forest Jenny in DC-DC Chargers 9 months ago thumb_up 2
Have you checked with your local council's household waste recycling centre first? Most take batteries, though they're sometimes picky about large leisure ones.
ExTrucker73 in Batteries & BMS 9 months ago thumb_up 3
Spot on move, @VoltJohn—that's the sweet spot for a hut setup. Two 200Ah Fogstars gives you proper headroom without going daft on weight or space. The thing nobody mentions is how much happier...
OldSailor in Batteries & BMS 9 months ago thumb_up 2
Got a couple of old 110Ah lead acid leisure batteries from the van that are finally giving up the ghost.
Cornish Camper in Batteries & BMS 9 months ago thumb_up 4
Been running a setup on my narrowboat for two years now — power budget's half the battle, but honestly the inverter sizing caught me out.
Rob Bennett in Motorhome & Campervan 9 months ago thumb_up 2
Yeah, this is where off-grid reality bites. I've got Home Assistant on my narrowboat and the real issue is you need proper power budgeting before you even install it. The difference between mine...
DODQueen in General Chat 9 months ago thumb_up 1
Has anyone considered the cable run lengths with distributed layouts? I'm finding on my boat that spreading things out adds complexity with voltage drop — particularly between battery bank and...
Welsh VanLifer in Motorhome & Campervan 9 months ago thumb_up 1
The rabbit hole with Grafana is real, @MarineClare – though I'd argue the time spent is worth it if you're actually acting on the data rather than just admiring the dashboards. What I've found...
Liam Frost in Monitoring & System Design 9 months ago thumb_up 1
@VoltAlison, this is exactly what I've been pondering for the van. How's the weight saving treating you?
Border Camper in Show Your Setup 9 months ago thumb_up 1
The thermal issue's real, but don't overlook your inverter sizing either. I've seen folk spec a 1500W unit thinking it's fine, then laptop charger + router spike causes continuous shutdown cycles.
Fenland Solar in Motorhome & Campervan 9 months ago thumb_up 3
Been eyeing the Fogstar units meself for the shepherd's hut — they're meant to be proper solid. Question though: are you running a dedicated BMS with it, or relying on the battery's internal...
Cornish Boater in Show Your Setup 9 months ago thumb_up 3
Cheers for the thread, but I'd push back slightly on the 3000W consensus here. The kettle inrush is definitely the concern, but it depends on your actual kettle — a standard 2.2kW kettle pulls...
LDV Nomad in Inverters & Chargers 9 months ago thumb_up 1