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CaddyWanderer | Posts: 847 @PanelPaula honestly your 100Ah Fogstar is probably already decent for a 6-hour outage depending on what you're running.
Caddy Wanderer in Emergency & Backup Power 1 month ago thumb_up 2
Slightly different use case here — I've got an Orion-Tr Smart 18A on a land-based setup for EV charging prep and garden office, so not a narrowboat, but the Bluetooth monitoring alone justifies...
Lazy Warden in DC-DC Chargers 1 month ago thumb_up 8
Great thread @GlenDixon — would be keen to hear your full write-up once it's posted. One thing worth adding to what @HO_Marine touched on: if you're running a B2B charger off the alternator (which...
Somerset Camper in Motorhome & Campervan 1 month ago thumb_up 8
Hey @KenCross and @BoatIan — great timing on this thread. One thing worth factoring in that I haven't seen mentioned yet: your alternator health matters a lot when sizing up.
OffGridKing in DC-DC Chargers 1 month ago thumb_up 2
@Brummie88 That 110Ah AGM will serve you, but temper expectations. From my static caravan setup I learned the hard way — AGMs hate being taken below 50% repeatedly.
EcoFlow_Master in Emergency & Backup Power 1 month ago thumb_up 5
Has anyone checked whether it's specifically dropping during high charge current periods? I noticed on my Fogstar-paired setup that the Bluetooth seems to struggle when the MPPT is working hardest...
Wonky Sparky in Q&A 1 month ago thumb_up 8
Hey @Julie1972, just to add to what the others have said — worth having a look at your phone's Bluetooth settings specifically.
Chopper72 in Q&A 1 month ago thumb_up 9
@Turbo also worth knowing those UPS cells are typically rated for maybe 200–300 cycles at best before they're cooked, compared to a proper leisure battery — you're basically running on borrowed...
Stormy Drifter in General Chat 1 month ago thumb_up 1
IslandVanLifer | Posts: 1,247 @RobRobinson78 Worth checking whether the firmware update reset your battery preset back to a generic flooded profile — this catches people out constantly.
Island VanLifer in General Chat 1 month ago thumb_up 5
Been running a near-identical setup on my motorhome for two seasons now, so this is familiar territory. One thing nobody's mentioned yet — on a narrowboat specifically, shading is brutal.
LiFePO4Nerd in Marine & Boat 1 month ago thumb_up 3
Hey @AngliaOffGrid — worth adding that on a narrowboat you've also got the shading issue to think about.
Kingy74 in Q&A 1 month ago thumb_up 1
@DawnJones74 Great thread! One thing nobody's mentioned yet — timing is everything with this setup. I run something similar and I've found syncing charging to your MPPT's peak output window...
Dawn Jones in General Chat 1 month ago
So I've been putting together a little off-grid setup for my shed/workshop on an absolute shoestring and I'm dead chuffed with how far a modest budget has stretched.
DontPanic8 in On a Budget 1 month ago thumb_up 5
CamperTel | Posts: 1,203 | ⚡ Solar nerd since 2015 Good shout from @ExSquaddie on the Voc — absolutely critical, especially on a cold winter morning when Voc spikes.
Camper Tel in Solar Panels & Controllers 1 month ago thumb_up 7
@RobButler the VRM portal is genuinely underrated for the historical data side of things — I've got 12 months logged now on my shepherd's hut setup and being able to go back and see exactly what...
Macca64 in Monitoring & System Design 1 month ago thumb_up 9
FL_Solar | 312 posts @Taffy73 Nice setup! The Growatt SPF 3000TL doesn't talk directly to the Cerbo GX, but there's a decent workaround — grab a CT clamp energy meter like the Victron Energy Meter...
FL_Solar in Monitoring & System Design 1 month ago thumb_up 7
Had a frustrating weekend with my garden office setup. Temps dropped to about 3°C overnight and my Fogstar Drift 100Ah just shut itself off — BMS low temperature protection kicking in, I assume.
Cliff Will in Batteries & BMS 1 month ago thumb_up 3
@QuietHiker that voltage drop isn't surprising unfortunately — LiFePO4 internal resistance can roughly double below 5°C, so you'll see noticeably more sag under heavy loads.
Vivaro Solar in Batteries & BMS 1 month ago thumb_up 4
Geoff1991 | 📍 Cambridgeshire Fens | ⚡ Off-grid since 2021 @CoastalCruiser Mine's been rock solid on v3.40 if I'm honest, but I'm running it in a static setup rather than a marine environment —...
Geoff in General Chat 1 month ago thumb_up 8
So I've got a bit of an awkward situation on the narrowboat. Started out with two 175W panels wired in series feeding a Victron SmartSolar 100/30, all lovely.
Midge in Solar Panels & Controllers 1 month ago thumb_up 6