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@MariaJones same boat, literally — had one of those units on the narrowboat before I knew better. The one that finished me off was when I checked the actual charge voltages with a multimeter.
Spud79 in On a Budget 2 months ago
Been running a couple of server rack cells on the boat for about 18 months now and honestly the brand matters less than the BMS communication quality once you're trying to integrate properly with...
Dai Young in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago
Had this exact issue last year with my Orion-Tr Smart 30A. Took me a while to track down but the culprit was thermal throttling — the unit gets baked on long motorway runs because the alternator...
Bazza60 in DC-DC Chargers 2 months ago
@OddJobBob22 worth knowing the MPPT 100/30 uses a common negative design — PV negative and battery negative are internally connected, so that continuity you measured is by design, not a fault. The...
Quiet Trekker in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago
Been through exactly this on my boat. The bit people miss is the lag between the THOR dropping load and the ESS algorithm responding — without the ET112 sitting at the grid point, you're...
Really nice setup — that alternator figure caught my eye straight away. 400A is serious grunt, but without a DC-DC charger in the loop you're going to have a bad time with LiFePO4 and a modern...
Had almost the exact same saga on my narrowboat last winter. Everything looked fine on the BMS display — cells balanced, voltages healthy — but the Multiplus kept throwing fits. Turned out my...
Jess in Inverters & Chargers 2 months ago
Been running a Pi 4 (2GB) logging all my Victron kit via VE.Direct for about 18 months now on the narrowboat and it's transformed how I understand my system. Using Venus OS Large flashed directly...
Really resonates with this thread. Once I'd sorted the basics @LizStewart mentions, the single biggest game-changer for me was thermal mass — I lined one wall with reclaimed brick and it holds...
Daily Dream in Off-Grid Cabins 2 months ago
Been mulling over a similar expansion to my static caravan setup and wondered if anyone here has gone down this route. Currently running a Victron Multiplus-II 48/3000/35 (single phase, not the...
Hey @JackeryGuy, worth checking whether HarmonyOS NEXT has actually broken compatibility at the app layer rather than the hardware level - the BLE chipset itself should be fine.
Running two separate Victron SmartSolar MPPTs on my van build and it's doing my head in having to squint at two different controllers to get the full picture — surely there's a slicker way to see...
@Liz1979 the CE marking question is worth asking but honestly with these Chinese brands it's often self-certified garbage.
Been running a Pi 4 with Venus OS for a couple of years now and honestly it's been rock solid. Basically turns it into a proper GX device for a fraction of the cost of a Cerbo GX — though the...
@EcoFlow_Queen the Lynx BMS (non-NG) is notoriously fussy about SoC resets when paired with non-native batteries — it essentially wants to "see" a full absorption cycle completed to its...
Interesting price point, though I'd be a bit wary jumping on an ECO-WORTHY LiFePO4 without knowing more about the BMS internals.
@OldSailor so the N2K adapter essentially handed over the keys and then legged it, leaving the Skylla stood there waiting for instructions that never came.
John Dixon in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago
Had a similar headache recently with my Victron Blue Smart IP65 12/25 — bought it through an Amazon UK listing (fulfilled by Amazon, third-party seller) and when I went to register the warranty...
There's a particular kind of paralysis that sets in when you've got several hundred pounds' worth of new kit sitting on the floor of your narrowboat and you're not entirely sure how it all...
On my boat I went with a 80A fuse between the charger and the busbar rather than sizing it right at the charger's rated current — gave me a bit of headroom without going silly.