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Good thread this. I'm curious though—does the definition shift depending on whether you're stationary or mobile?
ThingamyBob in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 2
The trick nobody tells you is that off-grid communities basically operate like a secret society, except the password is "I've rewired my entire house and my partner still speaks to...
AZY_Marine in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Mate, the real killer is whether you're in summer or winter — my Dometic pulls about 40A starting current then settles to 8-12A running, but in July it's basically a tiny air conditioning unit.
Solar Keith in Q&A 1 year ago thumb_up 5
Mate, I went from 100Ah lead-acid to a 200Ah LiFePO4 in my shepherds hut and honestly it's like upgrading from a bicycle to a proper van.
OffGrid Hamish in Product Recommendations 1 year ago thumb_up 1
The real ones reveal themselves once you stop looking and just start doing something interesting. Built a solar setup on my boat three years back, suddenly the marina was full of blokes asking...
Stormy Drifter in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 2
The real question is: what's your duty cycle looking like? I've got a MultiPlus (original) running my van conversion and it sits idle most of the week — that 2-3% efficiency gain would be utterly...
Rob in Inverters & Chargers 1 year ago thumb_up 2
The efficiency gain only matters if you're actually using the inverter heavily. I've got a MultiPlus 3000 running my shepherds hut setup — it's sat idle most of the time, so that 2-3% is...
JA_Solar in Inverters & Chargers 1 year ago thumb_up 3
Right, so you've basically described how I found this lot five years ago too. Was googling "why is my battery bank angrier than my wife" and somehow landed on offgrid4less.
RetiredElectrician in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Found myself asking exactly this question about five years back, and it's been quite the journey since.
48VWizard in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Proper jealous of your landlord situation, mate — most would rather you set fire to the roof than drill a hole in it.
Anne Butler in On a Budget 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Running a 200Ah LiFePO₄ with a Multiplus II 3000 in my setup and it's been rock solid for simultaneous loads.
Nice discussion going on here. I'd just add that sustainability for families really hinges on your definition of "comfortable" – and that's different for everyone. What @ExSquaddie's...
Dodgy Nomad in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Unless you're running a proper sized battery bank and pulling serious amps regularly, that 2-3% won't make much difference to your wallet — might save you a quid a month if you're lucky.
Cornish Nomad in Inverters & Chargers 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Been through this decision myself recently. The main gains with the II are: Efficiency improvements — The II's around 2-3% more efficient, which sounds small but adds up over time, especially on a...
RKE_Builds in Inverters & Chargers 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Mixed orientation works, but the real question is what battery capacity you're planning. That 5.28kW array will hammer a undersized bank in summer and leave you struggling in winter — classic...
CE_Builds in Monitoring & System Design 1 year ago thumb_up 3
The real answer depends on your controller and battery setup, but I'll give you the narrowboat-specific bit since I've got four 400W panels on my tiny setup. Series works fine if you've got a...
Wardy in Q&A 1 year ago thumb_up 1
The narrowboat thing's a peculiar beast. I went through this myself with my shepherd's hut setup — different constraints, same existential crisis about battery budgets. Where folks often go wrong...
Copper Welder in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 3
Right, so I've got to ask — are those Renogy panels actually designed for snow, or are they just really good at collecting it?
EcoFlowMaster in Show Your Setup 1 year ago thumb_up 2
The winter capacity squeeze is real—I've been there with my off-grid cabin setup. Lead-acid just doesn't perform when ambient temps drop, and you're effectively losing 20-30% usable capacity...
Daily Solar in Product Recommendations 1 year ago thumb_up 2
What's your current power situation like on the boat? Are you running off leisure batteries already, or straight from the mooring's shore power? I'm curious about your roof space...
SOC_Wizard in Introduce Yourself 1 year ago thumb_up 1