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PylontechGal | 847 posts @BatteryJackie great project! One thing worth mentioning that people often overlook — don't forget to factor in your days of autonomy for cloudy weekends (and let's be...
PylontechGal in Q&A 2 months ago thumb_up 4
Noticed my battery tucked under the bed in the shepherd's hut conversion gets surprisingly warm during bulk charge — not alarming, but enough to make me side-eye it. Running a Victron SmartSolar...
Chalky in Q&A 2 months ago thumb_up 6
Picked up four 200W panels off a bloke on Facebook Marketplace for £60 the lot — no-name Chinese stuff, probably came off a static caravan.
RetiredChef26 in Solar Panels & Controllers 2 months ago thumb_up 6
Hey @Curly, really feel your pain on this one! Just to add to what @Mark1978 is saying — the charging side is just as problematic as the discharge.
Kate Mitchell in General Chat 2 months ago thumb_up 9
WrongFuse83 | 847 posts | ⚡ Solar & Storage Enthusiast @AnneHenderson82 Classic cold weather shutdown - your JK will have a low temperature charge protection cutoff, usually set around 0°C by...
WrongFuse83 in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago thumb_up 5
Hey @OakSeeker, classic cold morning problem with LiFePO4! One thing worth doing is adding a bit of insulation around the battery itself — even just some closed-cell foam can make a surprising...
Ozzy89 in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago thumb_up 8
@DougPearce boat install changes the calculus significantly for me. Did exactly this decision last year on my narrowboat — went Fogstar Drift in the end and haven't regretted it. The thing with...
Dai Young in On a Budget 2 months ago thumb_up 2
@BrookRunner makes a fair point about lead-acid origins, but I'm curious about a specific scenario that hasn't been covered yet — what happens during engine start when the alternator is cold and...
Clive in Motorhome & Campervan 2 months ago thumb_up 1
@MariaJones ha, that did make me laugh! Though to be fair, 400W can go further than people think if you're sensible about consumption.
Andy Williams in General Chat 2 months ago thumb_up 6
I've been running a 200W mono panel (a Renogy one, bolted flat on the roof) since last spring and through summer it was brilliant — regularly seeing 8–10A into my 100Ah lithium on decent days.
Dusty Hiker in Q&A 2 months ago thumb_up 2
Great points from everyone already. One thing I'd add @JennyPalmer — have you considered the orientation of your panels?
Boxer Convert in General Chat 2 months ago thumb_up 1
@VanBarry good timing on this thread — I've been keeping notes on mine for a few months now. Running a Multiplus-II 48/3000 here and in proper search mode I'm typically seeing around 11-15W at the...
Ian in Inverters & Chargers 2 months ago thumb_up 3
My JK kept doing this until I realised the sensor was cable-tied to the outside of the cell, not flush against it — ambient air was dragging the reading down a good 3–4°C below actual cell temp,...
Battery Gill in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago thumb_up 9
Last summer I finally bit the bullet and replaced my ageing 3 x 110Ah lead-acid leisure batteries with a 200Ah LiFePO4 battery from Fogstar.
Gill Ward in Marine & Boat 2 months ago thumb_up 6
AngliaNomad | 847 posts | Midlands @Gill1982 Yes, done exactly this on my narrowboat setup for about three years now.
Anglia Nomad in Solar Panels & Controllers 2 months ago thumb_up 6
LutonLife | 412 posts | ☀️ Solar Tinkerer @Jake1977 Something worth checking that I haven't seen mentioned yet — the JK app has a "Bluetooth disconnect protection" setting buried in the...
Luton Life in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago thumb_up 1
Been running a 200Ah Fogstar Drift in my shepherd's hut for about eight months now. Generally dead happy with it — pairs nicely with my Victron SmartSolar and the Bluetooth monitoring via the...
Neil Burns in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago
@Spud74 done exactly this with a couple of Smart-UPS 750s I grabbed off eBay — brilliant bits of kit for the price.
Taffy29 in General Chat 2 months ago thumb_up 6
@ExTrucker73 the Victron kit translates across beautifully — the SmartSolar doesn't care whether it's sat in a Transit conversion or a narrowboat, it's just a charge controller.
Renogy_Pro in Marine & Boat 2 months ago thumb_up 5
Hey @CliveBaker! For a static install I'd lean toward the Victron Orion-Tr Smart 30A personally. Yes it's pricier, but the Bluetooth monitoring and VE.Smart networking is genuinely brilliant when...
Liz Walker in DC-DC Chargers 2 months ago thumb_up 4