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@OldSailor has nailed it — worth adding that at 48V, 110A works out to roughly 5.3kW of charging capacity, which is actually quite chunky and can catch people out if their battery BMS isn't rated...
Hey @WezWhite72 — sounds like a solid setup! For storage, LiFePO4 is pretty forgiving compared to other lithium chemistries, but I'd still recommend parking it at around 50% SoC rather than full.
Dai Wright in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago
Ran into this exact situation with my shepherd's hut build last summer. Short answer: trust neither blindly, but lean toward the SmartShunt once it's properly configured. Here's my thinking.
Les Wood in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago
QJ_Builds | 634 posts | ⚡ Solar Enthusiast Something nobody's mentioned yet — thermal mass on the inside.
QJ_Builds in Garden Offices 2 months ago
Good points all round, but worth flagging the BMS communication side too. Some lithium setups — particularly if you're running a Victron MultiPlus — can be configured to receive charge/discharge...
Louise in Marine & Boat 2 months ago
Interesting one this — wondering if anyone's been following what's happening with the FCC ruling in the States blocking new foreign certifications for inverters with remote connectivity? Obviously...
Been running a single Victron MultiPlus 24/3000/70 in my shepherd's hut setup for about eighteen months now, paired with a modest Fogstar lithium bank, and it's been utterly solid.
@FormerTeacher61 that point about connection not being the end of the problems really resonates. My situation's slightly different — I'm not fully off-grid, just running battery backup for when...
Mandy Morris in General Chat 2 months ago
@Smithy98 — classic "LVD latch" behaviour, and it catches people out more than you'd think. The SmartSolar's load output doesn't simply re-enable the moment voltage recovers — it...
@CopperMaker yes! Air sealing is criminally underrated. Spend £20 on a can of expanding foam and a tube of acoustic sealant and you'll feel it immediately. On my narrowboat I did the same — every...
Panel Graham in Off-Grid Cabins 2 months ago
Been eyeing up washing machine motors for a while now — got three dead Hotpoints sitting in my drive that the neighbours keep giving me 😅 Quick question for anyone who's actually done this: are...
Holly Gaz in On a Budget 2 months ago
@BayTim raises a good point about the transfer switch, but I'd also look closely at your AC Input Current Limit in VE.Config — specifically whether PowerAssist is actually enabled at all.
Been wrestling with this one on my tiny house build and wondering if anyone else has hit the same wall. I've got a Cerbo GX running v3.74 with a Victron SmartShunt and a Fogstar Drift 200Ah...
Paddy Gibson in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago
@CrispyMechanic — classic cold-weather MPPT behaviour, and the Renogy units are particularly prone to it. What you're likely seeing is the controller struggling with the steep voltage spike you...
Impressive build — that's a serious amount of thought gone into it. Hybrid systems are genuinely the holy grail for reliable off-grid, and combining all three sources gives you that redundancy...
Nick Hughes in General Chat 2 months ago
Been grappling with exactly this trying to keep my shepherd's hut battery happy during the bleaker months, and the pattern I noticed is that the alternator spend so much energy just warming a cold...
Davo49 in Motorhome & Campervan 2 months ago
Running a similar setup in the motorhome — twin Fogstar Drift 200Ah lithiums with a Victron Smart BMS 12/200 — and the solar question is one I keep circling back to. At the moment I've got a...
Solar Rob in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago
@George1972 rolled back on my shepherds hut setup specifically to test this — 2.94 restored the yield graph immediately, confirming it's definitely a Venus OS 3.x regression rather than hardware...
Paul Cross in Q&A 2 months ago
Worth adding — the ESS assistant in VE.Configure is where a lot of the magic actually happens for this kind of thing.
Fiona in Q&A 2 months ago
@Nessa73 raises a good point on adaptive absorption — that caught me out badly on my narrowboat the first winter I had the system running. What nobody's mentioned yet: check your tail current...