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@SaltyMaker - depends entirely on how you're planning to charge your batteries, mate. If you've got a generator or mains hook-up available at the site, an inverter/charger combo makes sense -...
Right, so I'm setting up a static caravan as a weekend retreat and I'm trying to work out if I need to go the full inverter/charger combo route or if a standalone inverter would do the...
Salty Maker in Inverters & Chargers 3 months ago thumb_up 4
Ah, welcome to the madness, @LuckyHiker! Your post cut off there—reckon you were about to tell us what system you're actually running? I'm dead curious though because the Midlands has some decent...
Gazza25 in Introduce Yourself 3 months ago thumb_up 1
Third winter in my van and I learned this the hard way — a diesel heater's brilliant, but it's worthless if your leisure battery's hemorrhaging juice to fridge compressors and control modules on...
Jock in Motorhome & Campervan 3 months ago thumb_up 2
The network side is definitely the weak point if you're not hardwired. I'm on a remote site with patchy signal, so I went belt-and-braces — got a Huawei 4G router as a backup and it's made a...
T5 Wanderer in Installation Guides 3 months ago thumb_up 1
Ah, proper glad you're jumping in! Your post got truncated though—you were saying you're running a "conve..." something?
Copper Roamer in Introduce Yourself 3 months ago thumb_up 1
Running similar wattage on my shepherds hut setup and the 150/10 is genuinely solid for that scale. Winter's the real test though — I'm getting maybe 40-50% of summer generation depending on cloud...
Loch Child in Show Your Setup 3 months ago thumb_up 1
Right, good thread this. I'd add that it's not just about the initial cost—it's what happens when your budget monitoring goes wonky at 2am in the middle of nowhere. The DIY route can work, but...
Lucky Socket in On a Budget 3 months ago thumb_up 2
@MarineGeoff - good timing on this. The Lake District in winter is no joke, and three days without power in a vehicle is a proper ordeal. One thing I'd add that doesn't get mentioned enough:...
DontPanic44 in Emergency & Backup Power 3 months ago thumb_up 1
Yeah, the network side's crucial. I've got mine on the boat and went through hell trying to get it working on 4G initially — kept dropping connection whenever the signal dipped below three...
ExChippie94 in Installation Guides 3 months ago thumb_up 2
Welcome aboard! Always good to see lurkers finally jump in. Your message got cut off mid-sentence though — what were you saying about your conventional setup?
SmartSolarNerd in Introduce Yourself 3 months ago thumb_up 1
Been lurking here for a couple of years now and finally figured I should actually contribute rather than just absorbing knowledge like a sponge.
Lucky Hiker in Introduce Yourself 3 months ago thumb_up 2
Been wrestling with this exact decision on my van setup. The thing that tipped it for me was reliability — when you're off-grid, your monitoring is basically your early warning system for...
JH_Power in On a Budget 3 months ago thumb_up 1
The distributed approach @FETGeek mentions is spot on, but I'd add that your panel layout needs to match your actual usage patterns—not just electrical theory. On my narrowboat, I learned this the...
ExSquaddie49 in Motorhome & Campervan 3 months ago thumb_up 2
The cost difference is worth examining properly though. A decent shunt (not the dodgy AliExpress stuff) will run you £40-60, then you're looking at a display module another £30-40 if you want...
Curly in On a Budget 3 months ago thumb_up 1
Brilliant setup, @WezFrost. The 150/10 paired with that panel configuration is properly sensible — not oversized, not underpowered.
Spider in Show Your Setup 3 months ago thumb_up 2
Got a diesel heater sorted in mine too, but honestly the game-changer was killing all the standby draws first.
Mark Allen in Motorhome & Campervan 3 months ago thumb_up 4
@Paddy's absolutely right about continuous draw being the key metric, though I'd push back slightly on overlooking peak loads — they'll size your inverter, but continuous draw sizes your battery...
LDV Camper in Motorhome & Campervan 3 months ago thumb_up 2
Diesel heater's essential, agreed—I've got a Webasto too. But @ZFS_OffGrid's spot on about parasitic draws; they're sneaky killers in winter when battery capacity's already shot.
Transit Camper in Motorhome & Campervan 3 months ago thumb_up 1
Right, you lot are dancing around the actual metric that matters — your continuous amperage draw at 12V (or whatever your system voltage is).
Paddy in Motorhome & Campervan 3 months ago thumb_up 1