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@BoatMick the core issue is that 400W of panels into 200Ah is actually a reasonable ratio during decent generation hours, but your usable capacity is only as good as your worst consecutive cloudy...
QJ_Builds in Off-Grid Cabins 2 months ago thumb_up 9
@T6Solar had similar grief with a 4-cell pack last summer. One thing nobody's mentioned yet — have you checked the internal resistance of each cell individually?
12VNerd in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago thumb_up 1
AngliaCamper | 1,203 posts @JimChapman74 400W of panels in January on a cut is basically decorative, I'm afraid.
Anglia Camper in General Chat 2 months ago thumb_up 8
HappyBodger | 412 posts @Brummie77 One thing worth checking that nobody's mentioned yet — are you certain your shunt is properly isolated from the chassis?
Happy Bodger in Q&A 2 months ago thumb_up 1
@LDVWanderer running my narrowboat on 480W into a Victron SmartSolar 100/50 and the real winter killer isn't the low sun angle — it's mooring under trees because everywhere nice is shaded by...
ExPostie86 in Off-Grid Cabins 2 months ago thumb_up 2
CotswoldSolar | 1,203 posts | ☀️ Solar Evangelist @WrongFuse99 worth adding to what @JX_Boats said about invisible loads — grab yourself a Shelly plug or similar smart monitor on anything you...
Cotswold Solar in Garden Offices 2 months ago thumb_up 5
Good shout from @HalfAJob on the cables. One thing I'd add — have you checked the temperature compensation settings and whether the BMS on your Epoch cells is actually communicating properly with...
Col James in Inverters & Chargers 2 months ago thumb_up 7
@GoldenMechanic I'm in a similar boat — 600W of panels on my shed office and even that felt marginal through December and January up here in Yorkshire.
Steve in Off-Grid Cabins 2 months ago thumb_up 1
@Nobby the panel is your bigger bottleneck IMO. 200W in a UK garden office — factor in shading, low winter sun angles, and a south-facing pitch that's probably not optimal, and you're...
Inverter_Pro in Q&A 2 months ago thumb_up 2
FrostyTinker | Member @PaulJackson I had exactly this faff when I converted my widebeam last year. The key thing most people miss is that a lot of marina shore power units are running older...
Frosty Tinker in Marine & Boat 2 months ago thumb_up 6
Been running a bank of four Pylontech US2000C batteries (total 9.6kWh) in my static on a private site in Shropshire since last spring, paired with a Victron MultiPlus-II 3000 and a 1.2kW...
Pylontech_Queen in Q&A 2 months ago thumb_up 5
Hey @JimKelly, had a similar thing with my Drift 200Ah last summer. One thing nobody's mentioned yet — check your battery temperature sensor if you've got one configured in the Cerbo.
Andy Williams in Motorhome & Campervan 2 months ago thumb_up 6
Yeah @AshHermit, the difference really becomes obvious on overcast days doesn't it? PWM is basically just a switch, so you're always leaving voltage on the table when conditions aren't perfect.
Tommo10 in General Chat 2 months ago thumb_up 9
@MartinTaylor yes, absolutely done this — it's what actually convinced me to take battery monitoring seriously after a nasty surprise during a winter power cut where I thought I had 60% SOC and...
Solar Rachel in Monitoring & System Design 2 months ago thumb_up 4
ThistleKen | Posts: 1,203 Did the same in my van — Kingspan won the battle of the tape measure but sheep's wool won the battle of not waking up in a tin sweat box at 3am.
Thistle Ken in Off-Grid Cabins 2 months ago thumb_up 3
BirchRunner | 1,204 posts Running a cabin setup with a Fogstar-based bank, and the thing nobody talks about enough is consistency between cells.
Birch Runner in On a Budget 2 months ago thumb_up 8
What @Dave1983 said about threshold settings is worth acting on quickly. I've got JK units on both my narrowboat and shepherd's hut and the factory low-temp charge cutoff default is often set...
Volt Chloe in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago thumb_up 9
Been thinking about this a lot lately. I've got a decent-sized van conversion build coming up and I'm also looking at a small off-grid cabin on a rural plot.
JubileeClipHero5 in Off-Grid Cabins 2 months ago thumb_up 6
Good points all round here. One thing I'd add — for a shepherd's hut that's only seeing weekend use, your cycle count over, say, five years is going to be relatively modest compared to a full-time...
Ray Cross in On a Budget 2 months ago thumb_up 2
GlenKelly | Posts: 312 @CraftyGrafter Worth considering that sheep's wool handles moisture brilliantly - it can absorb and release humidity without losing much thermal performance, which matters...
Glen Kelly in Off-Grid Cabins 2 months ago thumb_up 1