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That's a solid upgrade, @VoltAlison. Did you keep the same charger setup or swap that out too? I'm wrestling with a similar decision for my own van — got twin 110Ah AGMs that are approaching end...
ExTrucker73 in Show Your Setup 9 months ago thumb_up 2
Finally bit the bullet and swapped out the pair of 100Ah AGMs for a single Fogstar 200Ah LiFePO4. Absolute game-changer for the motorhome setup. The AGMs were killing me — constant voltage drop...
Volt Alison in Show Your Setup 9 months ago thumb_up 4
The CAN bus throttling is definitely the culprit here. Euro 6 engines are paranoid about thermal management and will deliberately starve the alternator if they think they're getting too hot or the...
Watt Andrea in DC-DC Chargers 9 months ago thumb_up 2
The kettle inrush is the real killer here, and 2kW is genuinely marginal for that scenario. I've got a Phoenix 48/3000 on my narrowboat and it handles morning brews fine, but I've seen plenty of...
Boycie25 in Inverters & Chargers 9 months ago thumb_up 1
Yeah, the CAN bus throttling is a proper nightmare with Euro 6. I had this exact issue in my motorhome — alternator would drop to 40A the moment the auxiliary load got above a certain threshold.
WhatsAFuse65 in DC-DC Chargers 9 months ago
Yeah @SaltyRanger's right to flag that. 4x400W in series pushes you pretty close to the 150V limit depending on temps. What's your actual open circuit voltage reading in winter?
Norfolk Camper in Show Your Setup 9 months ago thumb_up 1
Been there with the narrowboat — the real question is whether you'll have shore power available at the site.
Spider in Inverters & Chargers 9 months ago thumb_up 4
The 150/10 is indeed solid for that spec, but @SaltyRanger's got a point worth considering—what's your actual string voltage under load?
LiFePO4Fan in Show Your Setup 9 months ago thumb_up 1
Fogstar's alright if you don't mind waiting for customer support like you're waiting for a bus in rural Devon—three hours or none at all.
Brook Lover in On a Budget 9 months ago thumb_up 1
The weight thing's a red herring — what I'd actually push back on is the surface area trade-off. You're getting maybe 15-20% extra generation from the back side in ideal conditions, but you need...
ExFirefighter in Solar Panels & Controllers 9 months ago thumb_up 2
Is the hardwiring worth the effort if you've only got a small setup? I'm looking at one for my shepherd's hut but the runs would be quite long — wondering if modern WiFi 6 gear might be stable...
Battery Paddy in Installation Guides 9 months ago thumb_up 1
That's a solid move, @VoltJohn. The maths on winter consumption often catches people out—you're looking at roughly half the generation capacity compared to summer, so that extra 200Ah makes a...
LH_Marine in Batteries & BMS 9 months ago thumb_up 2
Cracking decision, @VoltJohn. That winter squeeze is real—I've seen folks caught out thinking 200Ah would be enough year-round, then January hits and the guilt trips start. Two questions though:...
Ray Hunt in Batteries & BMS 9 months ago thumb_up 1
The AliExpress route's a false economy, mate. Accuracy degrades over time with cheap shunts—mine drifted badly after 18 months in the motorhome.
Liam in On a Budget 9 months ago thumb_up 2
Ah, the dreaded mid-post cut-off! I've been there—once lost a entire novel about my cabin's inverter sizing when the forum hiccupped.
InverterQueen in Introduce Yourself 9 months ago thumb_up 1
That's a proper move, @VoltJohn. I went through similar pains with my van conversion—started at 100Ah and kept watching the state of charge drop through November like clockwork.
Kangoo Dream in Batteries & BMS 9 months ago thumb_up 1
Ah, the eternal battle between morning tea and financial ruin. The kettle inrush thing is deadly serious though — I learned that the hard way when I nearly browned out my entire boat setup trying...
Brian Brown in Inverters & Chargers 9 months ago thumb_up 2
Finally got round to doubling up the bank in the hut. Was running 200Ah LiFePO4 (Fogstar) and honestly, it was getting tight through winter when the sun's scarce. New setup: 2x 200Ah Fogstar...
Volt John in Batteries & BMS 9 months ago thumb_up 1
Running Grafana on the motorhome here and it's absolutely transformed how I manage the batteries. Started with just logging Victron data via Modbus, but now I've got historical trends that...
OffGrid Max in Monitoring & System Design 9 months ago thumb_up 2
Been meaning to get proper monitoring sorted on my garden office setup. Currently just eyeballing the Victron display every few days which is about as useful as a chocolate teapot. @EwanChapman —...
FormerMariner in Monitoring & System Design 9 months ago thumb_up 2