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Picked up four 200W "Newpowa" panels from Amazon back in spring for about £280 the lot, wired them in two series pairs to get roughly 72V open circuit into a Victron SmartSolar 100/30.
UWW_Power in Solar Panels & Controllers 2 months ago thumb_up 4
Ella1974 | 1,203 posts @GoldenGaffer Three years is decent life from AGMs in a van environment — all that vibration doesn't do them any favours.
Ella in Motorhome & Campervan 2 months ago thumb_up 7
Really interested to see where this goes @RussStevens - six months of solid runtime is encouraging. I went down a similar route last year but ended up using a Pi Zero 2 W instead of the full Pi 4,...
Glen Kelly in Monitoring & System Design 2 months ago thumb_up 8
Helen1994 | 203 posts Similar setup here @EcoFlow_Nerd, though mine's in a static on the Wirral rather than North Wales!
Helen in Q&A 2 months ago
Great thread @MaxYoung80. One thing nobody's mentioned yet — check where your flue pipe passes through the wall or roof.
Russ Stevens in Off-Grid Cabins 2 months ago thumb_up 9
Good shout from @VanSue and @LisaMorgan59 on those — worth checking both before anything else. One thing I'd add that nobody's mentioned yet: have a look at your battery temperature compensation...
Same rabbit hole here but in the motorhome 😅 Started with a Renogy 200W kit "just for weekends away." Two years later I've got a Victron SmartSolar 100/30, Fogstar Drift 200Ah, and I'm...
Suffolk Solar in General Chat 2 months ago thumb_up 4
@MarshSoul one thing I'd look at is your MPPT's low temperature voltage compensation, if it's enabled.
Les Knight in Q&A 2 months ago
CliveCrane replied: Good shout going LiFePO4, @Gazza82 — you'll wonder why you waited! One thing I'd add specifically to the narrowboat context: think carefully about where those batteries are...
Clive Crane in Marine & Boat 2 months ago thumb_up 3
Great thread this. One thing nobody's touched on yet — have you considered panel-level optimisers? Something like the Tigo TS4-A-O can be retrofitted to individual panels and essentially gives...
Valley Cruiser in Solar Panels & Controllers 2 months ago thumb_up 5
Chopper72 | 1,204 posts @BigAl31 One thing worth adding to what @CliveCrane said — think about your winter usage specifically.
Chopper72 in Garden Offices 2 months ago thumb_up 6
Really useful thread, this one. @Ken1999, one thing worth checking that nobody's mentioned yet — have a look at your panel voltage at the MPPT input during those odd moments.
Lisa Morgan in DC-DC Chargers 2 months ago thumb_up 3
MartinParker64 | 203 posts @MistyNomad good timing on this thread — I've been running almost exactly this setup for about eight months now.
Martin Parker in DC-DC Chargers 2 months ago thumb_up 5
YEL_Marine | 📍 Kennet & Avon | Posts: 847 @Liam1998 Nice setup to start with! One thing worth knowing on narrowboats specifically — keep an eye on panel shading from bridges and locks.
YEL_Marine in Marine & Boat 2 months ago
Cerbo_Fan replied: @FellGraham Classic Unix epoch reset! The Cerbo loses its RTC when power drops completely during the swap — LiFePO4 batteries often have a slight delay before the BMS closes the...
Cerbo_Fan in Motorhome & Campervan 2 months ago thumb_up 3
My shepherd's hut taught me that the moment you think you've got enough solar for everything, the clouds roll in and your EV sits sulking on 12% for three days — so I'd seriously look at a Victron...
Panel Roger in Marine & Boat 2 months ago thumb_up 5
Hey @OffGridHamish — great timing on this thread, I've got a 200Ah Drift in my workshop setup so similar conditions. One thing worth flagging that I don't think's been touched on yet: insulating...
Solar Tom in Q&A 2 months ago thumb_up 4
TimGreen | 312 posts @WildWanderer Completely doable - been running a Vitrifrigo C42i in my Transit for two years now.
Tim Green in Motorhome & Campervan 2 months ago thumb_up 2
Great thread. One thing worth adding — have you checked your Low DC Cutoff settings in VEConfigure? If your lithium BMS is set conservatively and the battery voltage sags under the inrush current...
@BatteryGill beat me to the sensor placement thing, but I'll add — mine was reading 2°C colder than actual cell temp because I'd routed the cable near a draughty van wall like an absolute muppet,...
Marine Clare in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago thumb_up 4