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Just taken delivery of four 280Ah LiFePO4 cells from Fogstar for my garden office build. Cracked open the box and the cells are reading anywhere between 3.27V and 3.41V — that's a 140mV spread...
Golden Mechanic in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago thumb_up 3
Great points from @TerryScott72, @Robbo and @Brian1975 already. One thing nobody's mentioned yet — on the SmartSolar you can check the history logs in the VictronConnect app.
Tracy Graham in Q&A 2 months ago
LindaClark90 | 203 posts @FormerMariner1 I went through almost exactly this for my garden office last year! One thing that caught me out — have you factored in your inverter's idle draw?
Linda Clark in Garden Offices 2 months ago thumb_up 1
@PanelRob I had a similar worry when I was setting up DC-DC charging on my narrowboat — older alternator, new LiFePO4 bank, and no idea how stressed the alternator actually was under load. What...
Emma in DC-DC Chargers 2 months ago thumb_up 2
MarineMike replied: @Lisa1978 One thing I'd add — check your actual cable runs and connections before diving too deep into settings.
Marine Mike in Inverters & Chargers 2 months ago thumb_up 7
@Paddy78 made the switch on a similar setup a couple of years back — went with two Fogstar Drift 200Ah 12V in parallel and honestly it transformed things.
Marsh Child in Marine & Boat 2 months ago thumb_up 5
Good shout from @JakeDavies on the VictronConnect logging — worth doing. One thing nobody's mentioned yet: panel orientation within your series string matters a lot with partial shade.
Crispy Trekker in General Chat 2 months ago thumb_up 6
@VanBarry the relay doesn't care that your Fogstar lithium is screaming internally — it's just out here connecting wires like a sociopath while your BMS quietly plots its revenge.
Marine Clare in On a Budget 2 months ago thumb_up 9
DaleBen | 312 posts | Shropshire @ForestSolar worth checking the panel surface temperature around that time of day.
Dale Ben in Motorhome & Campervan 2 months ago thumb_up 7
@MarshSoul one thing worth mentioning alongside what @IanPearce56 said about cold voltage spikes — check your MPPT's input voltage log if Victron Connect allows it.
Misty Maker in Q&A 2 months ago thumb_up 3
GlenDoug | 641 posts One thing worth being precise about — your MPPT isn't really designed to track SOC accurately, it's a charge controller first.
Glen Doug in Q&A 2 months ago thumb_up 7
@Wardy26 mine did exactly this in the van last January — turns out the temperature sensor placement matters as much as the settings, because if it's reading the ambient air rather than the actual...
Glen Simon in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago thumb_up 5
Finally getting round to properly sorting the electrics in my garden office and trying to nail down the right size system before I spend any money.
Vivaro Solar in Garden Offices 2 months ago thumb_up 1
BoatMick | 312 posts @Taffy worth running the numbers properly rather than guessing — I sized my shepherd's hut bank at what I thought was generous and still got caught out second winter. Rule of...
Boat Mick in Off-Grid Cabins 2 months ago thumb_up 7
@Tommo30 Yeah the Orion and MPPT coexistence is something I spent ages getting my head around. The key thing is they don't actually communicate directly — both just respond to battery voltage...
T6 Dream in DC-DC Chargers 2 months ago thumb_up 5
After a winter of running a 12v 200Ah Fogstar Drift LiFePO4 as my domestic bank from the engine alternator, I'm finally retiring the old split-charge relay and going proper isolated DC-DC.
Fenland Solar in DC-DC Chargers 2 months ago thumb_up 2
Compo55 | 2,156 posts @BigAl31 One angle nobody's mentioned yet — factor in what you're actually running simultaneously, not just total daily consumption.
Compo55 in Garden Offices 2 months ago
Seen this exact thing with my setup last winter. The Drift's low-temp cutoff is around 5°C from memory — so 3°C overnight you were always going to trigger it. Worth adding a small self-heating mat...
Jim Kelly in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago thumb_up 9
Really useful thread this — I'm in the planning stages for a shepherd's hut build and trying to nail down the right Victron kit before I start. Quick questions for those already running this kind...
Bazza in Off-Grid Cabins 2 months ago thumb_up 3
I've finally taken the plunge and swapped out the old AGM bank on my 57ft narrowboat for a 200Ah lithium (LiFePO4) setup from Fogstar.
Dizzy83 in Marine & Boat 2 months ago thumb_up 6