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Right, couple of things worth adding here. The real decision hinges on your actual usage pattern and ambient temperature range, not just the headline specs. I'm running a Victron LiFePO4 setup in...
Boycie in Batteries & BMS 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Got a 150/35 in my cabin setup and yeah, ventilation's non-negotiable. Mine's mounted on the north-facing wall with about 150mm clearance all round — keeps it well below the thermal limits even in...
Grumpy Builder in Installation Guides 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Been there with the botched crimp, mate. My van conversion nearly went south when I realised I'd crushed the contact instead of properly crimping it — caused a intermittent fault that took weeks...
John Dixon in Installation Guides 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Had something similar in my van conversion last year — proper frustrating. Since @ForestJenny's already mentioned cell balance and @Wez1961 covered the shunt, I'd add one more thing that caught me...
Paddy Davies in Batteries & BMS 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Worth checking your shunt calibration too — mine was drifting and causing phantom shutdowns. The SmartBMS interprets dodgy current readings as over/under-voltage conditions and cuts the relay. You...
Wez in Batteries & BMS 1 year ago thumb_up 1
I'd check your cell balance first — had exactly this issue in my narrowboat last year. The SmartBMS gets twitchy if one cell drops below the others, especially after a long winter of irregular...
Forest Jenny in Batteries & BMS 1 year ago thumb_up 4
Right, I'm having a nightmare with my Victron SmartBMS cutting out randomly and I'm not sure what's causing it.
Russ Scott in Batteries & BMS 1 year ago thumb_up 4
@HollyGaz and @RetiredEngineer72 talking sense—maintenance is absolutely the shift nobody warns you about properly. Though I'd add the emotional maintenance is worse than the technical bit.
RetiredNurse49 in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 5
The time cost is brutal, innit. I've got a mixed setup on the boat — built one battery bank myself, bought a Victron for the second.
Bay Lisa in On a Budget 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Mate, this is exactly the sort of project I've been following closely. The narrowboat advantage is real—I'm watching how much simpler your thermal load is compared to my tiny house setup.
Chippy in Show Your Setup 1 year ago thumb_up 1
I'm going to tell you what I learned the hard way—built my garden office last year and spent weeks obsessing over this exact problem. Solar alone for heating?
Stacey28 in Garden Offices 1 year ago thumb_up 2
The real trick I learned after fitting out my narrowboat was realising your usable capacity matters far more than the headline figure.
Ducato Dream in Batteries & BMS 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Ah, the classic "let's boil the kettle and nuke yesterday's curry at the same time" problem.
Moor Lee in Inverters & Chargers 1 year ago thumb_up 2
@WattAMess25 spot on. I've got a similar setup on my boat and the portability angle is massively oversold by retailers.
Pennine Nomad in Solar Panels & Controllers 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Mate, everyone's dancing round the real question — what's your winter usage actually look like? Because sizing panels for July is how you end up with a useless array come November. I've got a van...
Devon Nomad in Solar Panels & Controllers 1 year ago thumb_up 1
The planning authority inconsistency is genuinely maddening, but I've found that being proactive helps.
Camper Sam in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Got mine wedged under the bed in a cupboard with a dinky 120mm fan—basically a revenge fantasy against whoever designed van insulation.
ExBrickie94 in Q&A 1 year ago thumb_up 3
Been running LiFePO4 in the motorhome for about eighteen months now and it's transformed how I work from the garden office setup.
ExChippie in Batteries & BMS 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Spot on about the seasonal stuff. I learned this the hard way with my garden office setup—thought I'd sized everything fine until December rolled around and the heating load absolutely murdered my...
Panel Kate in Monitoring & System Design 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Mate, cable gauge is the difference between "my system works" and "my system works but slowly sets itself on fire" — copper's cheap, rewiring isn't. @Paddy's spot on about warm...
OldSailor in Installation Guides 1 year ago thumb_up 1