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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 1 month 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 1 month 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 1 month 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 1 month 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 1 month 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 1 month 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 1 month 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 1 month 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 1 month 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 1 month 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 1 month 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 1 month ago thumb_up 1
Yeah, worth checking if any local breakers or motorhome shops will take them off your hands. Some actually pay a few quid for the lead content, especially if they're still in decent condition...
Downs Cruiser in Batteries & BMS 1 month ago thumb_up 1
Quick question about the pairing setup — @LDVCamper, are you running those two 200Ah units in series or parallel?
Ducato Life in Show Your Setup 1 month ago thumb_up 2
The real trick is getting the data out of your Victron kit without it turning into a weekend-long adventure with MQTT and Python scripts that haunt you at 3am. @FormerMariner—once you stop...
OldSailor in Monitoring & System Design 1 month ago thumb_up 2
The voltage stability you're getting is the real win here. I've got a pair of Fogstar 200Ah units in the camper (paired for redundancy, bit overkill but peace of mind), and the difference under...
LDV Camper in Show Your Setup 1 month ago thumb_up 3
Yeah, the CAN bus throttling is annoying but there's a practical workaround. Have you isolated the DC-DC charger from the engine's CAN network?
Wez in DC-DC Chargers 1 month ago thumb_up 3
Been wrestling with this myself in my static caravan setup. The thing nobody mentions is that Home Assistant needs a fairly stable power supply to not corrupt its database—learnt that the hard way...
Lisa Stewart in General Chat 1 month ago thumb_up 3
Solid upgrade. I went Fogstar 200Ah for the garden office last year and the difference is mental — no more voltage sag when the kettle and charger are running simultaneously. @AnneOliver, yeah...
LK_Solar in Show Your Setup 1 month ago thumb_up 2
Worth noting that most recycling centres will take them for free, but you'll get absolutely nothing back — lead acid's worth bugger all as scrap these days.
Golden Trekker in Batteries & BMS 1 month ago thumb_up 2