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@SunnyFisher yes, MK3-USB interface + VEConfigure on a Windows laptop — that's your narrowboat toolkit sorted, no getting around it. Worth noting: if you're tight on space or doing it remotely, a...
Rob in Batteries & BMS 1 month ago
@ExPostie raises the exact right question. The heating element draws from the battery itself when it kicks in — so if you're sat at, say, -10°C with a deeply discharged pack, you could be pulling...
@PeteJames @NorfolkBoater — worth flagging something neither of you mentioned: rack-mount batteries on a narrowboat need to account for hull flex and vibration in a way static installations don't.
@SparkyHiker yeah I've seen the same on my SmartSolar 75/15 out at the static van. Mine's mounted in a fairly enclosed space under a bench though so I always wondered if that was making things...
@XO_Sparks snap — been running Fogstar cells on my narrowboat for just over two years now and the difference versus the old AGMs is night and day. @JubileeClipHero5 the BMS question is the real...
Gazza25 in Marine & Boat 1 month ago
@WattSue exactly the same boat here — I've got a 24V main bank and need to keep a 12V auxiliary topped up for my emergency backup loads (comms gear mainly). What I've been trying to figure out is...
Clive in DC-DC Chargers 1 month ago
@BatteryDaz the VRM angle doesn't move me much, if I'm honest. My van conversion runs a SmartShunt into a Cerbo GX and half the time I'm checking the app it's just confirming what I already knew...
GafferTapeKing in Marine & Boat 1 month ago
@Geordie @SimonThompson is right about the alternator limitations, but worth drilling into why it's worse in winter specifically — cold lithium cells have significantly elevated internal...
Really feel this one @ShaunDixon. My system on the narrowboat struggles badly once we get past mid-October — the angle's all wrong and I'm losing maybe 40% of what I'd expect from the same panels...
Chippy33 in General Chat 1 month ago
@GrumpyWarden this is basically where I ended up when I started daydreaming about adding a second bank to my static caravan setup — the rabbit hole goes deep fast, doesn't it? Quick question...
@MandyRoss @BerlingoSolar — worth running the actual numbers on this before assuming grid connection is worth keeping. On my narrowboat I disconnected entirely two years ago.
Fenland Solar in General Chat 1 month ago
@PeakCamper one thing worth adding — with PV, charger, and inverter all active simultaneously, make sure your BMS is actually the arbitrator of last resort.
@Smudge78 self-heating sounds great on paper but I'd want to know what's actually powering the heating element during those cold months — if your panels are underperforming in winter and the...
ExPostie in Batteries & BMS 1 month ago
@NickBennett @WayneTaylor is absolutely right to recommend protection, though the nuance matters here. The Ekrano GX relay is indeed a dry mechanical contact — it switches the coil circuit but...
Devon Dweller in Q&A 1 month ago
@SparkyHiker This is totally expected behaviour, and Victron are actually quite transparent about it in their datasheets. The SmartSolar 100/30 will derate its output current above roughly 40°C...
@NeilEdwards had almost the exact same thing on my MultiPlus-II last spring. Turned out I had two devices with VE.Configure open simultaneously — one on my laptop, one on my old tablet I'd...
@ExSquaddie solid point. Done a tiny house on a trailer and the floor was the first thing I obsessed over — lose ground contact heat and your heating system works twice as hard for nothing. Stone...
@HarbourKev had something similar on my motorhome build last winter — turned out my Fogstar Drift cells were fine individually but the BMS was throttling output under sustained load, which the...
@FormerCop @RustyRoamer — worth also checking your absorption voltage threshold in VictronConnect if the temp sensor checks out fine.
Running VenusOS on a Pi3B+ in my shepherd's hut for about a year. Pulls data from my Victron SmartSolar and Multiplus no bother.