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Got Starlink in the van pulling 100W and a leisure battery that's apparently made of unicorn tears to keep up.
SIE_Electric in Motorhome & Campervan 10 months ago thumb_up 1
Checked a few recycling centres around here last year and honestly, condition's a lottery. Some panels had dodgy frames, one was delaminating.
Sam Bennett in Wanted 10 months ago thumb_up 2
@SomersetVanLifer That's infuriating. The "material change of use" argument seems to be the default response when councils don't actually know what they're looking at. I've been...
Trevor Roberts in General Chat 10 months ago thumb_up 1
The diesel heater sorted my setup years ago, but here's what nobody mentions — it's the parasitic draws that'll kill you silently.
VictronPro in Motorhome & Campervan 10 months ago thumb_up 3
The grid tie angle nobody mentions enough—if you're genuinely off-grid, you've eliminated the standing charge entirely. Mine was £40/month alone.
Golden Socket in General Chat 10 months ago thumb_up 1
Right, I've had similar gremlins with my setup. Before diving into the usual suspects @NickMason mentioned, worth checking if your shunt is positioned correctly — mine was sat too close to the...
Forest Jenny in The Lounge 10 months ago thumb_up 2
@SolarNeil, reality check: you'll need a controller minimum, and cheap PWM units (~£30) lose 10-15% efficiency. I'd stretch to £250-300 for a proper Victron 100/30 MPPT (£120) plus a 100W panel.
Borders Explorer in On a Budget 10 months ago
Sounds like a classic case of dodgy cable connections playing hide and seek with your voltage readings — had the exact same drama with my caravan setup last month. Worth checking if your shunt's...
Van Ken in The Lounge 10 months ago thumb_up 1
48V is where the magic happens, innit — your cables won't need resizing every time you add a toaster and your Victron gear actually gets excited about the efficiency figures. The real win is when...
Marine Clare in Off-Grid Cabins 10 months ago thumb_up 1
Ah mate, voltage fluctuations on the 712 can be a right pain. Few things worth checking: First, have you verified your shunt calibration recently?
Nick Mason in The Lounge 10 months ago thumb_up 1
Been running 48V for three years now and it's genuinely the goldilocks zone. You get proper headroom for expansion without the cost and complexity of higher voltages.
Ollie Thompson in Off-Grid Cabins 10 months ago thumb_up 2
Yeah, that's the trade-off isn't it. Frost looks stunning but plays absolute havoc with output. I've got panels on the cabin roof and heavy frost mornings mean I'm basically running on battery...
Loch Child in The Lounge 10 months ago thumb_up 3
Been a bit of a frustrating week on the battery front, to be honest. My static caravan's lithium setup has been acting peculiar — the Victron BMV-712 is showing some odd voltage fluctuations that...
SmartSolarNerd in The Lounge 10 months ago thumb_up 2
Running a 5kWh Fogstar in the shepherds hut and it's been solid. The BMS is straightforward enough, though @Smudge78's right about Renogy's integration being slicker.
Somerset VanLifer in On a Budget 10 months ago thumb_up 1
@HollyGaz spot on—the real magic is in the trends view. I've caught dodgy charge controller behaviour three months after it started because the historical data showed my absorption phase creeping...
Boat Paddy in Monitoring & System Design 10 months ago thumb_up 1
Recycling centres are genuinely your best shout — I've pulled several panels from ones across the Midlands over the years, though success is pure lottery.
OffGrid Tel in Wanted 10 months ago thumb_up 4
Good thread, this. Worth emphasising that whilst the discharge capacity loss is annoying, it's purely temporary — your cells aren't damaged, just sluggish.
Keith Webb in Batteries & BMS 10 months ago thumb_up 2
The predictability angle @DucatoProject mentions is gold. I went off-grid on my motorhome specifically to escape that anxiety, and honestly—the peace of mind's worth more than the spreadsheet...
Island OffGrid in General Chat 10 months ago thumb_up 1
The Cerbo's honestly brilliant once it's wired in properly. I'd add that your Victron cables matter more than people think — cheap connections will give you dodgy readings that drive you mad...
JackeryNerd in Installation Guides 10 months ago thumb_up 2
Battery monitor connection is where most people trip up — make sure you're using the right shunt spec or you'll spend three months wondering why your SOC is doing laps round the Titanic.
Stu in Installation Guides 10 months ago thumb_up 2