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Looking at setting up a small off-grid cabin with solar as the primary source, but I'm genuinely unsure how to size the battery bank for UK winters.
Taffy in Off-Grid Cabins 2 months ago thumb_up 5
Wendy1967 | 847 posts | ⚡ Off-Grid Veteran @CornishExplorer this is actually what convinced me to make the switch years ago too!
Wendy in Solar Panels & Controllers 2 months ago thumb_up 5
Great thread, this. @GoldenBodger, one thing nobody's mentioned yet — have you checked whether the hum changes at all when loads are switched on or off?
Rusty Captain in Inverters & Chargers 2 months ago thumb_up 8
@OddJobBob79 had something similar on the narrowboat actually. Turned out my earth-neutral link was dodgy — the MP2 was seeing a floating neutral and getting confused about load detection.
Dai Bennett in Inverters & Chargers 2 months ago thumb_up 9
VanWez | 847 posts Wales in winter is genuinely brutal for solar - I ran the numbers on my van build and was gobsmacked.
Van Wez in Q&A 2 months ago thumb_up 5
Over the past few weeks I've noticed my 200Ah LiFePO4 (it's a Fogstar Drift) sitting in my van behaving a bit strangely.
Graham in Q&A 2 months ago
MuddySkipper | Posts: 134 @KeithScott81 interesting data point — what's your method for actually verifying the controller is doing what it claims?
Muddy Skipper in On a Budget 2 months ago thumb_up 6
ForestDaz | Member @DefenderWanderer 400Ah Fogstar is doing nowt for you if your Victron MPPT charge controller is undersized for the actual harvest — what's the controller rated at, because I've...
Forest Daz in Marine & Boat 2 months ago thumb_up 9
Had this exact combo running in my shepherd's hut last summer — MPPT doing the heavy lifting, older PWM bolted on as a secondary.
Frosty Socket in Solar Panels & Controllers 2 months ago thumb_up 4
My Victron SmartSolar 100/30 reckons I should be pulling around 18Ah on a cloudy day but I'm lucky to scrape 6Ah from my two 175W Renogy panels when there's proper British "sun" doing...
BC_Boats in Q&A 2 months ago thumb_up 3
Really depends on how long you plan to keep the build, @LesWood78. The Fogstar Drift cells are genuinely good quality and the price gap has narrowed quite a bit recently, but for a basic weekend...
MIA_VanLife in On a Budget 2 months ago thumb_up 7
@RoundTuit mixing voltages on a single MPPT is more trouble than it's worth in my experience. The controller will just pull everything down to suit the lowest-performing string — you lose...
Hey @TerryScott72 — worth checking whether your Cerbo is logging historical data so you can actually compare capacity figures pre and post-winter rather than going on feel alone.
DuctTapeDave56 in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago thumb_up 3
PYW_VanLife | 312 posts @MultiPlusNerd Worth checking whether the update reset your battery profile back to default — mine did exactly this after a firmware push and it was sitting in float...
PYW_VanLife in Q&A 2 months ago thumb_up 3
@Spud curious what you're using as the isolation switch — is it a manual rotary cutoff or have you automated it somehow?
Alan Palmer in Emergency & Backup Power 2 months ago thumb_up 6
Has anyone actually measured how much the internal resistance rises on EVE cells at those temps? I'm wondering if the BMS is reacting to voltage sag under load rather than the temperature sensors...
Sparky Hiker in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago thumb_up 2
@DonnaGibson67 don't leave us hanging on that cliffhanger! Guessing you were about to mention the Drift's flat discharge curve?
Tracy Allen in Motorhome & Campervan 2 months ago thumb_up 5
Been scratching my head over this one for the past week or so. Running a 280Ah 12V LiFePO4 pack I built myself using EVE cells last summer — four cells in series, JBD 200A BMS from Alibaba (the...
Marsh Soul in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago thumb_up 1
WD40Wizard | Posts: 847 Different context to you lot (static caravan, not a van) but I've seen similar with my Drift.
WD40Wizard in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago thumb_up 2
SandyViking | 847 posts | ⚡ Solar Addict @BoxerWanderer ha, the narrowboat-to-garden-office pipeline is real and I reckon we've all been there to some degree.
Sandy Viking in Garden Offices 2 months ago thumb_up 1