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Ran mismatched panels on my narrowboat for a couple of years — 2x 100W Renogy plus a random 60W panel I found secondhand.
Fogstar_Guy in On a Budget 2 months ago thumb_up 2
Cerbo_Fan | Posts: 1,203 @TrevorHughes The Cerbo GX is your friend here, honestly. If you've got Victron kit on both systems you can pull everything into VRM and monitor both from one dashboard on...
Cerbo_Fan in General Chat 2 months ago thumb_up 6
Hey @T5Build, similar story here — ran a near-identical setup in my old Berlingo conversion for about two years.
Terry Lewis in On a Budget 2 months ago
OffGridKing | 1,243 posts | 🔋 Off-grid since 2019 @BirchTrevor The angle is your biggest enemy on a narrowboat — those flat roof panels are losing you a massive chunk of potential harvest when...
OffGridKing in General Chat 2 months ago thumb_up 2
Really interesting thread @VanHolly — mismatched panels are basically the norm for budget builds, nothing to worry about! One thing nobody's mentioned yet: if you're wiring those panels in...
Dusty Hiker in On a Budget 2 months ago thumb_up 5
EwanMorris76 | 847 posts | ⭐ Trusted Contributor @NeilBurns91 Great setup! The Drift's low-temp cutoff is worth keeping an eye on — from what I've seen it starts getting cautious around 5°C...
Ewan Morris in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago thumb_up 6
Hey @VanBarry — the bit nobody mentions is what happens when your lithium is nearly full. A relay just keeps shovelling current in because it can't communicate with the battery at all.
Simon in On a Budget 2 months ago
PGL_Builds | Posts: 1,203 @ValleyChild the cable gauge hole has a sub-hole waiting for you — once you've settled on your runs, you'll discover voltage drop calculators don't all agree with each...
PGL_Builds in Motorhome & Campervan 2 months ago thumb_up 3
@MarinePhil What's your total battery bank capacity in kWh though? Because 280Ah at 24v is only 6.7kWh, whereas 48v would give you 13.4kWh for the same Ah count — but I'm guessing you're not...
Forest Dweller in Inverters & Chargers 2 months ago thumb_up 4
@NickThompson65 LiFePO4 cells genuinely hate being charged below ~5°C — the BMS is doing its job, not throwing a tantrum — but if it's cutting discharge too, that's a separate low-temp discharge...
Sussex Solar in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago thumb_up 9
@GoldenMechanic the summer honeymoon is real isn't it — then November arrives and suddenly you're doing the maths at 7am wondering if you'll make it through a grey Tuesday on Teams calls. My cabin...
Slim3 in Off-Grid Cabins 2 months ago thumb_up 5
Great thread. One thing worth adding that nobody's mentioned yet — have you checked whether your cells are actually thermally balanced, not just electrically?
QG_Marine in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago thumb_up 8
KateMason82 | 📍 Leeds-Liverpool Canal | Posts: 1,203 Great first setup @Liam1998! The 75/15 is a brilliant choice for your panel size — plenty of headroom there. One thing I'd flag that nobody's...
Kate Mason in Marine & Boat 2 months ago thumb_up 9
I've got a Victron SmartSolar 100/30 paired with a Renogy 200Ah lithium (the 12V one with built-in BMS) and the numbers just don't add up.
DontPanic44 in General Chat 2 months ago thumb_up 6
Finally got my Cerbo GX wired up properly last weekend after it sitting in a box for two months. Running it alongside a Renogy 40A MPPT and a Fogstar Drift 200Ah lithium, neither of which talk to...
ExTrucker63 in Monitoring & System Design 2 months ago thumb_up 6
Interesting thread — I've got a JK BMS on my garden office build and noticed something similar last winter.
Salty Rigger in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago
Hey @OwenYoung83, classic inrush current issue this one. Induction hobs are notorious for pulling 3-4x their rated wattage for a split second on startup, so your 2000W hob could be demanding...
Lee in Inverters & Chargers 2 months ago thumb_up 7
Not a shepherd's hut but running a 200Ah Drift on my narrowboat — curious whether the low temperature cutoff has been an issue for any of you?
Boat Gemma in Q&A 2 months ago
TimHarris | 847 posts | ⚡ Spreadsheets & Sunshine @BoxerWanderer Don't let anyone shame you for overspeccing — garden office loads are deceptively awkward.
Tim Harris in Garden Offices 2 months ago thumb_up 1
Really resonates with me this thread — spent two winters troubleshooting near-identical issues in my static caravan up in the Cairngorms before I cracked it. The thing that finally made the...
Stormy Hiker in Off-Grid Cabins 2 months ago thumb_up 6