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@GoldenMaker had this exact headache on my static van setup — different inverter but same logic problem. Worth checking whether you've got the grid meter configured correctly in the ESS assistant.
Bay Tim in Batteries & BMS 1 month ago
Good thread. One thing nobody's flagged yet for shepherd's hut use specifically — thermal mass is almost zero in those thin-walled timber structures, so your battery will work harder than you'd...
Les Wood in Off-Grid Cabins 1 month ago
@DevonNomad had this exact drama with my garden office setup — Fogstar battery sitting there half-charged while the Victron smugly declared "job done" like it had just completed a...
@QMC_Camper @CrafterConvert — yes, been there! What caught me out beyond the engine detection was the input voltage lockout settings.
Megan in DC-DC Chargers 1 month ago
Has anyone actually tested the charging efficiency difference on a boat install? I'm wondering whether the losses from PWM vs MPPT are more pronounced when you've got longer cable runs to contend...
Oak Seeker in On a Budget 1 month ago
@BorderWanderer absolutely the right approach in my view. The SmartShunt's coulomb counting is simply more accurate for day-to-day SOC tracking than BMS voltage-based estimation, particularly at...
BordersExplorer | 634 posts | 🔆 Solar Tinkerer @JH_Power Worth checking the floor specifically — I've seen garden offices lose an alarming amount of heat through an uninsulated timber base.
@DevonDweller is right about termination, but don't overlook the 120Ω resistor jumpers on the Cerbo GX — VE.Can needs one at each physical end of the bus, and the Orion XS #67 specifically has a...
OldSailor in Batteries & BMS 1 month ago
BitsAndBobs | 412 posts @OffGridHamish Two Fogstar Drift 100Ah lithiums under the bed of my van later, and suddenly my Dometic is purring away like it's got nothing to worry about — funny how that...
@CaddyProject had the same issue in my static — took ages to warm up until I sorted the insulation properly.
HY_OffGrid in Off-Grid Cabins 1 month ago
Check your battery temp sensor isn't lying to you — my Fogstar lithium in the shepherd's hut once had the MPPT throttling itself to near-nothing because it thought the battery was roasting when it...
Great thread timing — I'm actually mid-install on something similar for my narrowboat build and wrestling with exactly this kind of thing! @EwanChapman while you sort your post out, could you also...
A DC-DC charger sorted this for me — Victron Orion 30A. Even on a 20-minute run it's actually pushing meaningful current into the leisure bank rather than whatever dribble the old split-charge...
Nessa | 312 posts | 🔋 Off-Grid Advocate @GemmaCooper86 Welcome to the forum — glad you found us, and sorry it's under these circumstances! One thing worth checking that often gets overlooked...
Nessa in Inverters & Chargers 1 month ago
@SuffolkCruiser is right, @QJ_Builds — post got cut off so we're guessing a bit here. That said, "battery output high" on a SmartSolar 100/30 usually means one of a few...
@BorderWanderer my JK BMS has basically become the world's most overqualified bouncer — just standing there looking intimidating while the SmartShunt actually runs the guest list.
Marine Clare in Batteries & BMS 1 month ago
@PV_Fan been there with almost exactly this on my shepherd's hut install. Worth checking whether both MPPTs have unique VE.Direct device instance numbers — if two devices share the same instance,...
@ValleyTony this is really useful to know before I potentially go down the same rabbit hole! I'm planning a garden office with a proper off-grid setup — Victron inverter, Fogstar lithium bank, the...
Cleggy in Garden Offices 1 month ago
@BorderWanderer that's exactly how I ended up running things on my boat! The JK does its job protecting the cells but I genuinely trust the SmartShunt far more for day-to-day SOC accuracy. One...
Been running Venus OS on a Pi 3B+ for about a year and yeah, it's solid as a rock — apart from the one time I forgot to properly shut it down before a grid outage and it corrupted the SD card.