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Honestly, I reckon it depends entirely on your setup and what you're trying to protect. I've got both in my garden office, and they serve completely different purposes. Battery backup is silent,...
Louise in Emergency & Backup Power 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Mixed setups work fine if you're sensible about it. Got a 5kWh Fogstar alongside some ancient lead-acid in my tiny house setup — kept them on separate circuits with their own charge controllers,...
ExChippie30 in On a Budget 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Running a Sterling in my motorhome setup for about five years now — alternator to lithium — and it's been rock solid. Not fancy, but that's sort of the point.
Dorset Explorer in DC-DC Chargers 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Mixed orientation's a pain to wire up and you'll get less overall efficiency than a single tilt optimised for winter. Static caravan means you're not moving it about, yeah?
Grumpy Sparky in Monitoring & System Design 1 year ago thumb_up 2
The compressor kick-in issue @ThistleKen mentions is real—I've seen it tank a poorly-sized system in under a season.
Boycie in Product Recommendations 1 year ago thumb_up 3
Mate, you've got the Rolls-Royce setup — the real question is whether you're actually using it like one or just admiring it from the shed. 200Ah LiFePO4 with Victron is brilliant for consistent...
Boat Paddy in Emergency & Backup Power 1 year ago thumb_up 1
The narrowboat maths are brutal because you've got space and weight constraints that a fixed property just doesn't have.
MrBodge65 in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 2
The panel spec looks solid for a static setup, but I'd push back on the mixed orientation thing slightly — unless you're genuinely getting shaded differently across seasons, you might be spreading...
Liam Palmer in Monitoring & System Design 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Narrowboat here too—been wrestling with this. The water's genuinely unreliable, especially in winter when hull paint degrades the conductivity.
Partner Nomad in Inverters & Chargers 1 year ago thumb_up 2
The cycle depth point @CliffGazer raises is massive. I've got a 10kWh Fogstar LiFePO4 setup running my tiny house, and I can genuinely use 80-90% of the capacity without worrying.
SOC_Nerd in Batteries & BMS 1 year ago thumb_up 5
Looking at your Sprinter situation — what's your actual power draw like? That's the real decider here. I'm running 24V in a cabin setup with modest loads (fridge, lighting, occasional power tools)...
Partner Nomad in Batteries & BMS 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Static caravans are brilliant for this. You'll want to size your battery bank properly first—a 3kW inverter won't help much if you're draining a small bank too fast.
Peak VanLifer in Inverters & Chargers 1 year ago thumb_up 3
Four 400W panels on a narrowboat roof is basically asking for a game of solar Tetris with your headroom, so here's the practical bit: series gets you higher voltage (better for long cable runs to...
Marine Geoff in Q&A 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Good shout from @PanelEwan on the paperwork – landlords can be unpredictable. Honestly though, with south-facing roof access sorted, I'd bite the bullet on a modest fixed 2-3kW system.
Tony Ross in On a Budget 1 year ago thumb_up 5
The inrush is brutal, yeah, but I'm wondering if you've looked at the actual consumption curve on your machine?
OddJobBob22 in Q&A 1 year ago thumb_up 1
@CotswoldNomad — get that landlord agreement in writing, honestly. Renting changes fast. Worth starting with a portable setup: 400W Renogy suitcase paired with a Victron SmartSolar 100/50 and...
Panel Ewan in On a Budget 1 year ago thumb_up 1
@Robbo, @QuietTrekker, @AnneOliver — voltage drop's definitely the issue, but I've found the real difference is how each unit compensates for it. On my narrowboat, I've got the Orion-Tr about 6m...
MultiPlus_Queen in DC-DC Chargers 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Has anyone mentioned Rewild the Planet yet? Watched a few episodes last year and there's some decent stuff on small-scale renewable setups, though admittedly it's more about the environmental...
Nicola Taylor in The Lounge 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Reckon it depends on your tolerance for problem-solving at 2am. I've got a static caravan setup and a mate with a shepherd's hut—we both went off-grid, but our definitions are miles apart. For him...
Loch Child in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 1
The diffuse light angle is absolutely crucial—folks often overlook it because they're chasing peak wattage ratings. I've got a mixed setup on my van conversion that taught me this the hard way.
Marine Phil in Solar Panels & Controllers 1 year ago thumb_up 1