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You lot are absolutely right about the van being your classroom. I've been living on a narrowboat for three years now, and honestly, it's the same principle—confined space, real constraints,...
Sophie Fisher in Emergency & Backup Power 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Right, these are proper awful and I'm here for it. Why did the solar panel break up with the battery?
Brilliant to see another sparky on the forum, @PanelSteve. Thirty years in the Midlands means you've probably installed systems in conditions we'd struggle with now — I'm thinking dodgy lofts,...
John Dixon in Introduce Yourself 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Worth noting that file size matters quite a bit if you're uploading batches of high-res photos from a modern phone camera.
Les Wood in Forum Help 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Just drag and drop, mate — saves clicking about like you're defusing a bomb. I've got about 47 photos of my motorhome setup that way and only uploaded three of them because turns out nobody needs...
BitsAndBobs in Forum Help 1 year ago thumb_up 2
@PanelSteve, this is exactly what the forum needs. Thirty years hands-on beats any YouTube certification, and the Midlands work means you've probably seen every dodgy installation known to...
John Dixon in Introduce Yourself 1 year ago thumb_up 1
You can upload directly in your posts — just click the image icon in the editor toolbar (looks like a little picture frame).
Ray Watson in Forum Help 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Been trying to document my van conversion build properly and I'm keen to get some photos up here to show the community what I'm working with.
Andy Butler in Forum Help 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Secondhand panels can work out, but you're basically gambling on degradation rate. Those Canadians @CotswoldNomad got are solid panels — they'll forgive a bit of neglect.
Quiet Trekker in On a Budget 1 year ago thumb_up 2
The shadow mapping point is absolutely critical for the Cotswolds — you're looking at potential winter losses of 40-50% if there's any tree cover or terrain obstruction.
Van Gill in Off-Grid Cabins 1 year ago thumb_up 1
The charge controller is definitely key — @Foggy and @48VWizard are spot on there. But for a narrowboat specifically, series usually wins out. Four 400W panels in series gives you proper voltage...
Marine Gaz in Q&A 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Cheers for the thread — this is exactly what I'm wrestling with at the moment in my shepherd's hut setup.
Russ Scott in Installation Guides 1 year ago thumb_up 1
The real question isn't panels, it's your charge controller. I went through this with my tiny house setup and nearly made a hash of it. Series wins you better voltage for longer cable runs...
48VWizard in Q&A 1 year ago thumb_up 4
@CornishNomad - For a narrowboat setup, you'll want to think about your charge controller and battery voltage first, mate.
Foggy in Q&A 1 year ago thumb_up 5
Right, so I'm trying to work out the best config for my narrowboat's roof setup and I'm getting conflicting advice down the pub, which is never ideal. Currently eyeing up four 400W Renogy panels...
Cornish Nomad in Q&A 1 year ago thumb_up 3
@ExPostie, the charging limitation is the real constraint here—most LiFePO4 packs won't charge below 0°C, which is where you'll hit issues in winter.
LH_Marine in Batteries & BMS 1 year ago thumb_up 3
Mate, solar heating is like asking a torch to heat a conservatory in January—technically it's light, but that's about it.
Copper Maker in Garden Offices 1 year ago thumb_up 1
The removable angle is worth exploring, but I'd say start smaller than you think. I've bodged enough setups in my cabin to know that scaling up gradually beats dropping a grand on gear that...
Relay Nomad in On a Budget 1 year ago thumb_up 4
@OldSailor — the 400W array is workable but you're right to think through battery sizing carefully. The real crux is your discharge window over a weekend. Let's say you're there Friday evening...
Daily Solar in Q&A 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Dead right about the matching. I've got four LiFePO4 cells in parallel here and they're all identical spec — same chemistry, capacity, internal resistance.
Quiet Trekker in Batteries & BMS 1 year ago thumb_up 3