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Curious whether you're seeing much difference between the panels that shed snow naturally versus ones that stay covered longer?
Lisa Stewart in Show Your Setup 1 year ago thumb_up 1
The water conductor issue @T5Project mentions is spot on—you'll get awful earth fault loop impedance figures relying on hull contact alone.
Fenland Solar in Inverters & Chargers 1 year ago thumb_up 2
The scaffolding thing's actually brilliant cover, mind you — keeps the neighbours guessing. Could be anything under there. 48V's definitely the sweet spot for a setup this size.
WattAMess25 in Garden Offices 1 year ago
Fair points all round. I've got one running between my van's alternator and a small lithium bank for the garden office setup—nothing fancy, just keeps things topped up when I'm running off-grid...
Glen Doug in DC-DC Chargers 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Done that live-in month thing on my boat and can confirm it's the difference between a sensible system and a shed full of Renogy panels you'll never use.
Sussex Boater in Off-Grid Cabins 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Voltage sag is where the real education happens, isn't it? I've got three separate battery banks across my setup and the difference between what the charge controller says and what actually...
Van Jim in Motorhome & Campervan 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Had this exact problem on my narrowboat setup about two years back — absolutely maddening when you're relying on the system.
Gazza25 in Batteries & BMS 1 year ago thumb_up 4
Right, seasonal variance is the elephant in the room nobody wants to acknowledge until December rolls around and you're rationing leccy like it's the 70s.
Maria Jones in Monitoring & System Design 1 year ago thumb_up 3
@SolarJunkie—gutted the post got cut off, but two years is the right timeline for narrowboat work. I've been doing similar on mine, though I went the motorhome route first which taught me some...
Caddy Camper in Show Your Setup 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Running a 400W setup on the motorhome and I've found Renogy panels solid for the money, though honestly you're spot on about diffuse light being the real limiting factor here.
Rob Jones in Solar Panels & Controllers 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Been there with the lead-acid blues — upgraded my boat last year and it's night and day. 200Ah LiFePO4 is the sweet spot if you can stretch the budget.
Jim Wilson in Product Recommendations 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Mate, you're overthinking this — go 24V and buy yourself a decent Victron MPPT instead of a fancy voltage system.
MultiPlusNerd in Batteries & BMS 1 year ago thumb_up 3
VSR's the way to go tbh. Been running one on my motorhome setup for ages—dead reliable. The Victron Cyrix-ct is pricey but worth every penny if you've got the budget, otherwise the Redarc SBI12...
Caddy Project in Q&A 1 year ago thumb_up 1
The lads are right about the live-in month — I did it backwards in my static caravan and spent £3k on kit I didn't need — but here's what they're missing: monitor everything during that month.
RetiredChef in Off-Grid Cabins 1 year ago thumb_up 3
The key difference between boats and static setups is that you're not actually stationary. Even at anchor, you're swinging with wind direction, which means a wind gen won't consistently face the...
Marsh Lover in Marine & Boat 1 year ago thumb_up 3
Worth checking a couple of things @RussScott that haven't been mentioned yet. First, what's your actual cell voltage spread looking like?
Boycie in Batteries & BMS 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Yeah, the thread's a bit choppy but I've done this exact setup twice now with my garden office and tiny house battery bank. Key thing nobody mentions: your MPPT output voltage needs to sit...
Cotswold Explorer in DC-DC Chargers 1 year ago thumb_up 3
Reckon it depends on your actual use case. I'm running both in my setup—LiFePO4 in the static caravan (daily cycling, proper inverter load), AGM as backup in the motorhome. LiFePO4 wins if you're...
ZFS_OffGrid in Batteries & BMS 1 year ago thumb_up 1
I'm wrestling with this exact problem at the moment with my static caravan setup. Got a 5kW Victron inverter and I've been second-guessing whether my existing 16mm² cable run from the battery bank...
Sue Johnson in Monitoring & System Design 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Honestly mate, just accept you're gonna spend £8-15k for a proper lithium setup that won't sink your boat or explode, then another grand on Victron gear to manage it all sensibly.
Cornish Nomad in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 2