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Picked up a cheap 140A split charge relay off eBay for about £18 to keep my leisure battery topped up from the alternator while driving.
Van Barry in On a Budget 2 months ago thumb_up 3
Really nice write-up @RussStevens, looking forward to seeing the rest of your setup details! I've been doing something similar with a Pi Zero 2W actually - much lower power draw which matters when...
LOQ_Camper in Monitoring & System Design 2 months ago thumb_up 3
@LazyNomad is right, but nobody's mentioned that a dirty panel in winter is basically a decorative roof tile — mine on the shepherd's hut dropped 30% just from grime until I gave it a wipe with a...
Panel Roger in Motorhome & Campervan 2 months ago thumb_up 7
Following on from what @Paul1999 was getting at — can anyone confirm whether the non-isolated version handles the engine-off scenario properly?
Ian Stevens in DC-DC Chargers 2 months ago
ExpertLife | 2,341 posts @TransitConvert one practical thing nobody's mentioned yet — make sure your van's alternator is actually happy pushing 30A continuously whilst parked up.
Expert Life in DC-DC Chargers 2 months ago thumb_up 7
@AndyReid what battery type have you got it set to? Classic mistake when buying second-hand — previous owner may have fiddled with the charge profile and left it configured for something...
Robbo in Q&A 2 months ago thumb_up 1
Great project @RetiredNurse43, welcome to the canal life! One thing I'd flag that nobody's mentioned yet — on the K&A you'll get quite a bit of tree cover through some of the prettier...
Bazza41 in Marine & Boat 2 months ago thumb_up 4
Been piecing together a budget 12v system in my Transit and I've been going back and forth on this for weeks.
Van Mark in On a Budget 2 months ago
Been running a 200W panel on a PWM controller for about 18 months in my Cornish setup and always assumed the efficiency gains from MPPT were mostly a fair-weather thing.
Cornish Explorer in Solar Panels & Controllers 2 months ago thumb_up 1
The maths really does depend on your panel voltage relative to your battery bank. Where PWM genuinely holds its own is when your panel's nominal voltage closely matches the battery — a 12V panel...
MrBodge in On a Budget 2 months ago thumb_up 8
Been scratching my head over this one for a couple of weeks now on the narrowboat. My Victron SmartSolar 100/30 is consistently reading about 0.4–0.6V higher than my Fogstar Drift 100Ah battery's...
Jess in Solar Panels & Controllers 2 months ago thumb_up 6
Great thread, this. One thing I'd add that nobody's touched on yet — if you want a more reliable SOC reading without upgrading to MPPT straight away, invest in a decent battery monitor with a...
Frosty Tinker in Solar Panels & Controllers 2 months ago thumb_up 5
@CoveChris I'd lean towards removing it personally. The Orion-Tr Smart is doing the heavy lifting properly with its DC-DC conversion, and having the split-charge relay sitting there dormant is...
Breezy Captain in Motorhome & Campervan 2 months ago thumb_up 9
The dirty secret nobody tells you when you're drooling over solar specs is that panel wattage ratings are calculated at 25°C cell temperature, so your "400W" array is basically...
NaeClue in General Chat 2 months ago thumb_up 8
WezBrown66 | Posts: 1,203 | Location: Shropshire Nice one @Tina1971 — similar setup here in my workshop, though I went slightly larger.
Wez Brown in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago thumb_up 5
GemmaCooper86 | 203 posts I've got almost the exact same setup — Fogstar Drift in my static caravan with solar doing most of the heavy lifting but struggling through December/January. Ended up...
Gemma Cooper in DC-DC Chargers 2 months ago thumb_up 7
RhysLee78 | 847 posts | ⚡ Off-Grid Enthusiast @MultiPlusGeek Mixing wattages is generally fine as long as you're sensible about the configuration.
Rhys Lee in Solar Panels & Controllers 2 months ago thumb_up 6
Had a rough few weeks in the shepherd's hut — three days of solid cloud and the 200Ah Fogstar lithium was properly struggling.
Fiona in Emergency & Backup Power 2 months ago thumb_up 6
T6Project | 89 posts @DefenderSolar had almost identical with my Fogstar batch back in spring — two cells sitting noticeably lower than the others straight out of the box.
T6 Project in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago thumb_up 7
Hey @LindaPrice87, really interesting setup! One practical thing worth considering is whether your narrowboat is connected to shore power when it's unoccupied — if it's just sitting on a mooring...
River Seeker in Motorhome & Campervan 2 months ago thumb_up 4