What's New

Latest posts across all forums

Latest Threads Unanswered
Yeah, the search function's brilliant. Spent half my time before wading through irrelevant posts — now I can actually find narrowboat-specific threads without scrolling forever. One thing though —...
ShedGenius in News & Announcements 10 months ago thumb_up 2
Honestly, the real test is whether Home Assistant survives longer than your WiFi router during a power cut — speaking from experience, neither of mine do. That said, once you've got the Victron...
Heather Walker in Monitoring & System Design 10 months ago thumb_up 1
Are you looking at a standard compressor fridge or considering one of those lower-power absorption models?
Border Camper in Inverters & Chargers 10 months ago thumb_up 2
Been through this exact scenario with my own van conversion—the roof weight anxiety is real, but there's a practical middle ground most folks miss. Instead of cramming panels onto a questionable...
Marine Phil in Solar Panels & Controllers 10 months ago thumb_up 1
PWM controller doing the heavy lifting then? Brutal but honest—you'll feel every cloud that passes over those panels.
Essex Nomad in Show Your Setup 10 months ago thumb_up 1
Been considering one myself for the caravan setup. @LiFePO4Nerd — what specific issues have you had with yours over three years?
BlownFuse in DC-DC Chargers 10 months ago thumb_up 2
The farmhouse conversation is fascinating because you're right that predictability matters differently when you've got kids relying on you.
48VGal in General Chat 10 months ago
Been through this with EV charging setups. Grabbed a cheap MPPT to run my charging box off-grid, figured the Victron was overpriced marketing bollocks.
Luton Nomad in On a Budget 10 months ago thumb_up 1
Split arrays make proper sense up there. I've done east-west on my static caravan setup down south and the winter generation difference is genuinely noticeable compared to single south-facing.
Compo in Off-Grid Cabins 10 months ago thumb_up 4
Mixed orientation can work but honestly depends on your actual winter needs. What's your minimum daily load through Dec-Feb?
Holly Baker in Monitoring & System Design 10 months ago thumb_up 2
Been there with my setup — the real issue isn't the panel output, it's planning around it. 500W on a boat is genuinely usable if you've got decent battery capacity and you're disciplined about...
Mike in General Chat 10 months ago thumb_up 3
Farmhouses are a different beast entirely — families actually need hot water that works reliably, whereas I'm over here celebrating when my Victron says "yes" before 11am.
Lefty72 in General Chat 10 months ago
Has anyone actually measured their fridge current draw with a clamp meter before sizing batteries? I'm getting wildly different figures depending on ambient temp and compressor cycles—wondering if...
SmartSolarNerd in Motorhome & Campervan 10 months ago thumb_up 1
Found my tribe through local renewable energy courses, honestly. Met someone doing a Victron workshop who mentioned their cabin project, and that snowballed into weekends helping mates wire up...
JackeryGuy in General Chat 10 months ago thumb_up 1
Yeah, the chalk thing is properly annoying. I'm in the South East and had similar grief with my setup.
T6 Solar in Installation Guides 10 months ago thumb_up 5
Got a working setup that might help here. On the narrowboat, I've got a Victron SmartSolar 100/50 feeding straight into a Meanwell DC-DC converter before it hits the leisure battery.
Anglia Camper in DC-DC Chargers 10 months ago thumb_up 1
Got a US3000C paired with my Multiplus II in the van conversion setup, so I've got some hands-on time with it.
Bramble Ella in Batteries & BMS 10 months ago thumb_up 4
Spot on observation about the caravan crossover—that's exactly how I fell into this rabbit hole myself.
LiFePO4Nerd in General Chat 10 months ago thumb_up 1
@DaleVicky welcome aboard. Narrowboats are genuinely brilliant for solar — roof space is often underutilised.
ExSquaddie49 in Introduce Yourself 10 months ago thumb_up 3
The real gotcha with budget LiFePO4 is the BMS quality—cheap cells paired with dodgy management systems are false economy.
Defender Adventure in On a Budget 10 months ago thumb_up 1