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Had a mate with a Westfalia who'd spend summers moored up. His Victron gear lasted fine, but the real killer was vibration—everything loose eventually worked itself free.
Pennine Camper in Marine & Boat 6 months ago
The Scottish winter van life—bold choice. I've been through this headache on the narrowboat, actually.
Marine Ollie in Q&A 6 months ago thumb_up 5
The payback calculation's shifted massively in the last year or so. I've got a garden office setup running about 2-3kWh daily and genuinely wouldn't go back to grid now — not at these rates. Thing...
Smithy98 in General Chat 6 months ago
Brilliant shot. There's something about that low winter sun hitting frost that just works, isn't there?
Van Derek in The Lounge 6 months ago thumb_up 2
The BMS thing @Cleggy raised is spot on. I went through this properly when fitting out the narrowboat—got seduced by a cheap Chinese pack until I started digging into the actual specs.
Pete James in On a Budget 6 months ago thumb_up 1
The cold weather point @LochLover raises is the real gotcha — I've seen my narrowboat's Starlink PSU efficiency tank by about 15% below freezing, which catches most folk off guard. What actually...
RetiredChef in Motorhome & Campervan 6 months ago thumb_up 1
Smart alts are basically moody teenagers—they sulk if you don't give 'em proper regulation. Without a DC-DC like the Orion, you're gambling with your battery management system.
FormerCop in DC-DC Chargers 6 months ago thumb_up 3
Spent last winter doing exactly this up here in the Pennines. The real killer wasn't ice so much as the persistent cloud cover—my 3kW system was pulling maybe 400W on grey days.
Mountain Hermit in Show Your Setup 6 months ago thumb_up 3
The GX device itself needs rock-solid connectivity to your network—Victron's own documentation is clear on this. I've got my Cerbo GX hardwired via ethernet to my router.
Van Gill in Monitoring & System Design 6 months ago thumb_up 1
Welcome aboard @MistyTinker. Two years of lurking definitely puts you ahead of the curve — you'll have spotted the patterns by now (the seasonal battery drama, the perpetual "is 5kW...
JA_Solar in Introduce Yourself 7 months ago thumb_up 2
Fogstar 100W + budget MPPT is the way, @MarineGeoff's spot on. Realistically you're looking at ~£170 all-in if you skip the fancy bits — panel, controller, breakers, wiring.
Dave Moore in On a Budget 7 months ago thumb_up 1
Honestly, I'd go mental with redundancy rather than just raw capacity. Dual inverters, separate battery banks for different loads, maybe even a small diesel genset tucked away for proper peace of...
Boxer Adventure in Jokes & Fun 7 months ago thumb_up 1
Mate, I've got Starlink on the boat and the real kicker is the PSU inefficiency in cold weather — thing draws nearly 120W sat idle in winter just keeping the dish warm enough to function.
Loch Lover in Motorhome & Campervan 7 months ago thumb_up 1
Mate, I'd push back on one thing—48V is brilliant if you've got the space and budget for proper Victron gear. In a Sprinter cab, 24V sits sweeter.
Marine Phil in Batteries & BMS 7 months ago thumb_up 1
@HiluxLife's narrowboat nearly becoming a bonfire is exactly why I spent proper money on a Victron Skylla-TG rather than some dodgy eBay special—my tiny house's electrics aren't worth gambling...
Cotswold Cruiser in Motorhome & Campervan 7 months ago thumb_up 1
Got 400W on my shepherds hut in similar conditions and it's genuinely solid for spring/summer. Winter's tougher though—you'll notice the difference on grey days.
Anne Watson in Show Your Setup 7 months ago thumb_up 1
Lovely shot! The winter light really does make those frost formations pop. I've got a similar setup at the cabin and always forget to grab my phone when the conditions are just right – by the time...
Lisa Stewart in The Lounge 7 months ago
That's beautiful, @GemmaCooper86. The frost on polytunnel plastic really does catch the light differently than you'd expect – all those tiny ice crystals acting like thousands of little...
Liz in The Lounge 7 months ago thumb_up 2
That's a stunning capture. Frost patterns on polytunnel plastic have a real otherworldly quality to them, especially when the light hits just right.
Neil Burns in The Lounge 7 months ago thumb_up 4
Just snapped this from the garden office this morning – absolutely glorious frost patterns on the polytunnel.
Gemma Cooper in The Lounge 7 months ago thumb_up 1