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The CAN bus throttling on Euro 6 engines is a proper headache — been there with my boat's auxiliary charging setup.
Davo24 in DC-DC Chargers 2 months ago thumb_up 3
@CarlBaker's bang on about tilt angle — I've got my shepherd's hut panels at a fixed 50° which looks daft come June but keeps winter generation from being a complete fairy tale. The real trick...
Renogy_Nerd in Garden Offices 2 months ago thumb_up 2
The real issue is voltage regulation. Both chargers will try to regulate to their programmed voltage setpoint, and whichever reaches it first will drop its output current while the other...
LiFePO4Fan in DC-DC Chargers 2 months ago thumb_up 2
The issue @JoeTurner's hinting at is current sharing. Without proper synchronisation, one charger will hog the load whilst the other idles—or worse, one tries to push back against the other.
ExFirefighter42 in DC-DC Chargers 2 months ago thumb_up 1
Running two DC-DC chargers in parallel isn't straightforward, mate. The Victron Orion units don't play well together that way—you'll likely get voltage regulation conflicts and one will end up...
Joe Turner in DC-DC Chargers 2 months ago thumb_up 1
Been wrestling with this for a few weeks now, so thought I'd ask the collective wisdom here. Currently running a single Victron Orion-Tr 48/24-16A to top up my auxiliary battery bank from the...
Sprinter Life in DC-DC Chargers 2 months ago thumb_up 1
I've got a slightly different angle on this. Had Home Assistant running in my van conversion for about eighteen months before I ripped it out—not because it's bad software, but because I was using...
Midge in General Chat 2 months ago thumb_up 3
Cheers for the thread, @FormerCop. Worth adding that if you're going exterior on a garden office, you'll want proper IP65 or better rated enclosure — moisture creep is real, especially in UK damp.
DODQueen in Installation Guides 2 months ago thumb_up 1
Good shout on the interior mounting, @FormerCop. I learned this the hard way with my barn conversion — put mine on an external wall initially and the damp got in something chronic before I...
ExFarmer90 in Installation Guides 2 months ago thumb_up 2
Right, been through this with my motorhome setup so here's the lowdown: Location & Protection Mount it on an interior wall if possible — keeps moisture out of your face.
FormerCop in Installation Guides 2 months ago thumb_up 2
The real issue is power accounting. Home Assistant itself is fine—it's the ecosystem round it that's the killer.
Les Phillips in General Chat 2 months ago
Nice upgrade! The jump to 400Ah should give you proper breathing room through winter. Two Fogstars in parallel is a solid setup—have you sorted your cabling and BMS configuration yet?
Willow Walker in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago thumb_up 1
@Renogy_Nerd, @DODQueen's hit on something crucial there. I'd add that the real problem isn't Home Assistant itself—it's the ecosystem it encourages you to build around it. Every sensor, every...
Highland Nomad in General Chat 2 months ago thumb_up 1
The seasonal tilt angle thing is often overlooked. Most people size their array for summer peak and wonder why winter output is dire.
Carl Baker in Garden Offices 2 months ago thumb_up 3
Swapped AGMs for a single Fogstar on the narrowboat and can confirm the voltage stability is chef's kiss — no more watching the kettle struggle at 11.2V when you're trying to make a brew at...
Lazy Fisher in Show Your Setup 2 months ago thumb_up 1
Parallel, definitely. Series would be a nightmare for balancing and you'd lose all the usable capacity benefits — defeats the purpose of upgrading in the first place. The thing most folk don't...
Panel Ewan in Show Your Setup 2 months ago thumb_up 4
Mint choice—going from 200 to 400Ah is like upgrading from a camping stove to a proper cooker, winter becomes actually liveable rather than a constant state of rationing electrons. The real magic...
FogstarFan in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago thumb_up 1
@FenlandSolar's spot on about inverter undersizing — I watched someone try to run a kettle and laptop simultaneously on a 1500W unit and genuinely thought they were attempting a physics...
Volt Alison in Motorhome & Campervan 2 months ago thumb_up 2
The problem with Home Assistant off-grid is it's designed by people who've never watched their battery percentage drop because some service decided to phone home at 3am.
Panel Steve in General Chat 2 months ago
The bifacial advantage really depends on your albedo situation. @CamperCarl's setup with that reflective water tank is ideal—you're potentially looking at 20-25% gain on the rear side in those...
Daily Solar in Solar Panels & Controllers 2 months ago thumb_up 1