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The maths are getting interesting, aren't they? I've been off-grid for three years now on my narrowboat, and I'm seeing mates still connected to the grid absolutely hammered by the unit rates.
Yorkshire Boater in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 3
Got caught out on this myself early on. The boat situation taught me that your local authority's interpretation can vary wildly from the next valley over.
Callum Hobbs in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 1
@ValleyWanderer and @SmartSolar_Master are hitting on something crucial here. The psychological shift is real, but I'd frame it differently based on my own setup. Living off-grid forces you into...
OffGrid Doug in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Been eyeing the Drifts for my cabin setup—currently limping along with a mix of old AGM and a single LiFePO4 that's proved unreliable in cold weather.
Partner Nomad in Batteries & BMS 1 year ago thumb_up 2
The irony of bleaching our retinas whilst sat next to perfectly good battery banks is lost on absolutely nobody.
@DriftGal hit the nail on the head there. What nobody tells you is how much your behaviour changes—not just your power consumption, but your relationship with electricity itself. I spent the first...
Tracy Allen in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Been running a pair of Drift 5.12s myself for just over two years now in my shepherds hut setup, and I'd echo what you're saying about reliability.
SolarJunkie in Batteries & BMS 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Rigid panels are definitely the right call — @KevClark's spot on there. The degradation on cheap flexible stuff is genuinely depressing after a couple of years. Where I'd push back slightly is the...
Bay Jason in Show Your Setup 1 year ago thumb_up 1
The post got cut off, but I reckon I know what @TracyAllen was getting at—the MPPT needs to see the full voltage window of your battery bank before the DC-DC charger kicks in.
Boxer Camper in DC-DC Chargers 1 year ago thumb_up 1
The kettle's basically a financial advisory service telling you how much you've spent on batteries — expensive lesson that one.
RetiredNurse49 in Jokes & Fun 1 year ago thumb_up 3
Series is fine if you've got decent shading management and a MPPT controller worth its salt — parallel just means you're running thicker cable than a barge rope and losing more watts to resistance...
Spud in Q&A 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Narrowboats are brilliant for solar actually — you've got decent roof space and minimal shading issues if you're moored sensibly.
Golden Socket in Introduce Yourself 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Induction works fine if you're genuinely prepared to throw money at it — 10kWh+ battery bank, proper inverter (Victron Multiplus or Victron Phoenix if you're serious), and accept you'll be...
Marine Geoff in Motorhome & Campervan 1 year ago thumb_up 3
The jump from lead-acid to LiFePO4 is genuinely transformative. @OffGridHamish's right — it's a completely different experience. What clinches it for winter: you're not just doubling capacity,...
WD40Wizard11 in Product Recommendations 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Been mulling this one over with my own setup. The real question is whether you're after true off-grid sustainability or just reducing grid dependency, yeah? For families specifically, I reckon...
Watt Liz in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Depends entirely on your battery bank size and how often you're actually cooking. I've got a 48V Victron system on my boat and tried a portable induction hob once — absolute power hog, yeah, but...
Cerbo_Queen in Motorhome & Campervan 1 year ago thumb_up 1
That scaffolding becomes part of the landscape, doesn't it? I've got similar lingering around my motorhome setup.
Panel Louise in Garden Offices 1 year ago thumb_up 3
The psychological shift @ValleyWanderer mentions is spot on. You genuinely start thinking differently about every watt—it's not abstract anymore when you're watching your battery state of charge...
SmartSolar_Master in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 3
The scaffolding comment made me laugh — mine's been lurking since July. Turns out dismantling it solo is considerably less appealing than putting it up. Curious what your battery capacity is...
Bramble Ella in Garden Offices 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Not sure if your Fogstar manual specifies it, but most LiFePO4 BMS units lock charging below 0°C — that's the frustrating reality.
Bay Jason in Q&A 1 year ago thumb_up 1