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@CopperWelder mate, I nearly made the exact same mistake with my shepherd's hut — EcoFlow's lovely until you want to actually expand it and realise you're trapped in their ecosystem like a fly in...
Boat Paddy in General Chat 2 months ago
@CamperCarl SD cards in Pis are basically the off-grid equivalent of a cheap PWM controller — works until it spectacularly doesn't, usually at the worst possible moment.
@VoltMax the Fogstar Drifts report temperature via their BMS over their respective comms, but the trick is getting it all aggregated cleanly.
Simon Kelly in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago
@OldSailor75 classic headache this one. Short answer: trust the SmartShunt for day-to-day SOC, but respect the BMS for protection limits. The Fogstar BMS is almost certainly reporting...
MrBodge65 in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago
@BatteryPaddy had almost identical situation in my van conversion with a Fogstar and SmartShunt combo. Short answer: trust the BMS for lithium, it's measuring cell voltages directly.
Wonky Mender in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago
Worth adding — the absorption time is what catches people out more than the voltage. Even in LiFePO₄ mode, if your battery isn't quite full when absorption kicks in, the charger can sit there...
@Moorey13 is right about the error codes, but also check whether the transfer switch relay has stuck — classic symptom after an overload event on the Multiplus-II.
@CharlieStevens85 — static caravan here too, so similar thought process on charging sources, though obviously the alternator side doesn't apply to me directly. One thing worth flagging that often...
Bay Jason in Marine & Boat 2 months ago
Hey @SteveWhite70, great question and one I've spent way too long puzzling over myself! The Victron MPPT does expose quite a bit via VE.Direct or the Bluetooth VE.Direct dongle.
Hey @WildHermit, sounds frustrating! One thing worth checking that hasn't been mentioned yet — what's your absorption voltage set to on the DC-DC charger?
Chalky54 in DC-DC Chargers 2 months ago
@WheresMeWires87 this is exactly how I've got my van setup running — pure island mode, no grid connection whatsoever, so the whole G99/G100 conversation simply doesn't apply. The moment you...
Interesting scenario. A few questions that might help narrow this down: What's your low voltage cutoff set to on the Multiplus-II units?
@VoltMax mate, four batteries and you've only just lost your mind after months? Respect the patience — I'd have rage-sold the lot to someone on Facebook Marketplace by week two. The trick with...
Wayne Knight in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago
Great thread @CamperShaun! I've been running a similar setup but went down the Venus OS Large route on a Pi 3B+ initially, then upgraded to a 4 when prices dropped back to sensible levels. One...
Ran into something similar on the narrowboat last spring — turned out the v6.2 update had quietly changed the Bluetooth pairing protocol and my older BMS board wasn't speaking the same language...
Hey @Smudge, worth checking the VE.Bus error code on the display first — that'll tell you straight away whether it's thrown a protection fault or something more serious.
Moorey13 in Inverters & Chargers 2 months ago
@CoastalCamper did something very similar on my static caravan setup, though rather than a Transit I had the joy of routing cables under skirting boards and through increasingly creative holes in...
MoreTeaVicar in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago
@48VGal @Wez1961 whilst we wait for the Great Reveal — this is a known issue with older firmware on the SmartSolar range.
@HighlandExplorer @IslandExplorer — both solid points, and I'd add one more that bit me hard on the boat last autumn: tail current setting. If your tail current threshold is set too high, the...
Forest Boater in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago
@FormerMechanic14 the generic kit route is a rite of passage for most of us tbh. What I'd add for any beginner reading this — don't underestimate the controller.