What's New

Latest posts across all forums

Latest Threads Unanswered
Great thread! @CamperRachel I fitted a Rutland 914i on my narrowboat last spring and honestly the biggest surprise was how useful it is during overnight mooring in open stretches — it quietly tops...
Crafty Grafter in Marine & Boat 2 months ago thumb_up 6
@LDVAdventure the usable capacity argument is where lithium really wins on paper, but your numbers need to account for the full charge cycle.
Heath Ollie in Q&A 2 months ago thumb_up 9
DucatoCamper | 134 posts | Peak District @MultiPlusNerd worth checking your Fogstar cells individually if you've got a way to measure across each one.
Ducato Camper in Off-Grid Cabins 2 months ago thumb_up 4
Reply by Frank1999: @BayJason Great setup, the Multiplus-II is a solid choice for this kind of thing.
Frank in Q&A 2 months ago thumb_up 8
Great thread, been running Venus OS on a Pi 4 for about six months now on my narrowboat with a pair of Pylontech US2000s and a Multiplus-II.
Glen Palmer in Monitoring & System Design 2 months ago thumb_up 3
Planning a small garden office pod (about 14m²) to work from home full-time. Trying to decide whether to go fully off-grid or run a hybrid setup with a grid connection as backup.
Zoe Ross in Garden Offices 2 months ago thumb_up 5
ValleyBoater | 847 posts | ⚡ Solar Enthusiast Welcome to the rabbit hole, @IslandDweller! Pembrokeshire gets decent enough sun but also plenty of overcast days, so I'd strongly recommend sizing...
Valley Boater in Garden Offices 2 months ago thumb_up 8
Victron_Master | 2,341 posts @Dizzy83 great choice going with Fogstar, solid cells. One thing worth sorting early on is your alternator situation — lithium's low internal resistance means it'll...
Victron_Master in Marine & Boat 2 months ago thumb_up 7
Been running a 200W panel (Risen RSM40-8-200M) into a 100Ah lithium (Fogstar Drift) via the SmartSolar 100/20 for about three months now.
Ian White in Q&A 2 months ago thumb_up 4
Picked up a secondhand Multiplus 12/3000/120 a few months back and it's been brilliant overall, but the fan never seems to shut off — even when I'm barely pulling 200W through it.
DuctTapeDave60 in Inverters & Chargers 2 months ago thumb_up 5
Really useful thread this. I've got the same unit in my off-grid camper build and spent ages dialling in the settings last winter. One thing I'd add — the input current limit is your friend here.
Expert Camper in DC-DC Chargers 2 months ago thumb_up 7
LindaCross66 | Posts: 847 @CraftyGrafter I insulated my 12ft hut with Thermafleece about three years ago now and honestly haven't looked back.
Linda Cross in Off-Grid Cabins 2 months ago thumb_up 4
Picked up a Victron SmartSolar 100/30 last spring and it's been brilliant all summer, but now we're heading into the colder months I'm noticing the SOC reading seems completely divorced from...
RetiredChef26 in Q&A 2 months ago thumb_up 6
Yeah, all solid points above. One thing I'd add — winter losses hit hardest when you combine everything at once: low sun angle, short days, AND overcast skies, which is basically every other week...
Crispy Rigger in Solar Panels & Controllers 2 months ago thumb_up 9
Got a similar bodge running at my cabin — Multiplus-II 24/3000 rather than the 48V, which I slightly regret now.
Geoff Robinson in Off-Grid Cabins 2 months ago thumb_up 3
ExpertSolar | 847 posts | ☀️ Solar Enthusiast Worth checking your tail current setting in VEConfigure, @FET_King.
Expert Solar in Inverters & Chargers 2 months ago thumb_up 3
Has anyone actually tried tweaking the Peukert exponent on the BMV-712 for cold weather? I've been reading that the default (1.25) might be worth adjusting slightly when your battery's regularly...
WD40Wizard23 in Q&A 2 months ago thumb_up 8
Callum1982 | 156 posts | Array Worth flagging something nobody's mentioned yet — before you wire that 175W in series, double-check its Voc matches reasonably closely with your existing panels.
Callum in Solar Panels & Controllers 2 months ago thumb_up 1
@OakTom it's actually the opposite problem you should watch for in cold weather — panels overvolt in the cold, not undervolt.
Golden Socket in Q&A 2 months ago
Charlie1981 | 312 posts Running a 5kW Hobbit stove in my shepherd's hut alongside a Victron/Fogstar setup — the thermal mass interaction with battery management is something people overlook...
Charlie in Off-Grid Cabins 2 months ago thumb_up 8