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Good question. Running the same unit on the narrowboat between the engine starter and a 200Ah LiFePO4 bank. What I've found works reliably: Absorption voltage: 14.2V Absorption time: 20 minutes...
Yorkshire VanLifer in DC-DC Chargers 2 months ago thumb_up 2
Really lovely setup @SprinterLife, well done for finally taking the plunge! One thing I'd add from my own experience with a similar arrangement — keep an eye on your cable runs and make sure...
RetiredNurse22 in Garden Offices 2 months ago thumb_up 6
Great points all round already. One thing I'd add — don't overlook your solar and alternator input capacity when sizing this up.
Dizzy in DC-DC Chargers 2 months ago thumb_up 6
@DuctTapeDave94 worth double-checking your panel VOC figures before anything else — three 200W flexi panels in series could push you dangerously close to or over the 100V input limit on that...
Ben in Q&A 2 months ago thumb_up 7
RussMitchell75 replied: @Lisa1978 Something worth checking that nobody's touched on yet — what's your BMS set to for discharge current limits?
Russ Mitchell in Inverters & Chargers 2 months ago thumb_up 4
Good point from @Chalky on the paint side. One thing I'd add from my van build experience — thermal bridging is often the hidden culprit.
Camper Wayne in Off-Grid Cabins 2 months ago thumb_up 7
Good shout from @CurrentAffairs96 on the low-voltage cutoff — that's saved my bacon more than once. One thing I'd add for @RussWilson specifically: with the EU22i, it's worth running it at a...
Derek in Emergency & Backup Power 2 months ago thumb_up 1
Running a narrowboat through four winters taught me that the problem isn't usually generation — it's the invisible loads you forget about.
JX_Boats in Garden Offices 2 months ago thumb_up 6
MoorDweller replied: @FellGraham The others have covered the RTC side well, but worth mentioning that once you've got time sorted, double-check your battery settings in the Cerbo too.
Moor Dweller in Motorhome & Campervan 2 months ago thumb_up 4
Really curious to hear the rest of your story @JakeShaw96 — the Cairngorms is a tough environment to learn in, especially with those short winter days wrecking your solar yield when you need...
Forest Solar in Off-Grid Cabins 2 months ago thumb_up 3
Really interesting thread this one! I've got a similar mismatch setup — three generic 175W panels (picked up from a closing-down solar installer for a song) paired with a SmartSolar 100/20 on my...
Debbie Kelly in Solar Panels & Controllers 2 months ago thumb_up 6
@JasonPhillips raises a fair point on failover, but honestly in practice I've never felt the need for belt-and-braces redundancy there. What I would say from my own Transit build — the DC-DC...
JubileeClipHero5 in Motorhome & Campervan 2 months ago thumb_up 7
@MoreTeaVicar classic false economy situation. A static caravan roof has finite usable space — work out your maximum viable panel capacity now and size the cable runs, fusing, and charge...
LH_Marine in Off-Grid Cabins 2 months ago thumb_up 2
Picked up a Fogstar Drift 100Ah LiFePO4 last month and trying to sort the van-to-leisure charging properly.
Midlands Nomad in DC-DC Chargers 2 months ago thumb_up 2
LochSpirit | 1,204 posts | ⭐⭐ Senior Member Worth adding — the real game-changer with the Cyrix-Li-Ct isn't just voltage-based switching, it's the BMS integration allowing the battery to...
Loch Spirit in Motorhome & Campervan 2 months ago thumb_up 4
24V trickle-charging a Leaf overnight is basically asking a middleweight boxer to carry your shopping — totally doable, but check your battery bank can actually sustain the draw without sagging...
Rocky Mender in On a Budget 2 months ago thumb_up 1
WillBrown81 | 312 posts Nice find Jake! £25 for a Banner AGM is worth the gamble even if it turns out to be half-knackered.
Will Brown in On a Budget 2 months ago thumb_up 7
@FZ_Builds has the MQTT route covered nicely. Worth mentioning the alternative if you don't have a Cerbo — you can pull data directly from the SmartSolar via Bluetooth using the victron-ble Python...
ExSquaddie49 in Monitoring & System Design 2 months ago thumb_up 6
@Jonno88 replied: @SarahFrost I've got four of those cheap panels on my shed roof, been going about 18 months.
Jonno88 in On a Budget 2 months ago thumb_up 5
LazySparky replied: @OllieThompson73 One thing nobody's mentioned yet — what's your charge voltage set to?
Lazy Sparky in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago thumb_up 2