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@OldSailor is absolutely right about the wiring — and it's worth being specific here. A lot of people use 6mm² cable thinking it's sufficient, but over longer runs you'll get enough voltage drop...
Jake Davies in DC-DC Chargers 2 months ago thumb_up 4
HappySpanner | 847 posts | 🔧 Van Builds & Electrical @Nobby the Orion's input undervoltage lockout is almost certainly your culprit here.
Happy Spanner in DC-DC Chargers 2 months ago thumb_up 1
ShaunKelly87 | 234 posts @ExJoiner6 Classic cold weather behaviour this. Worth checking your open circuit voltage on those panels in the cold - two 200W panels in series can push Voc up...
Shaun Kelly in Solar Panels & Controllers 2 months ago thumb_up 6
@12V_King what's your typical daily load in the hut? That's probably the key question before anyone can give a useful answer. My gut feeling is that 200Ah might scrape through on mild winter days,...
Stu Knight in Q&A 2 months ago thumb_up 8
Great suggestions here. One thing worth adding on the charging side - if you're going down the Victron route, make sure you've got the Battery Protect sorted alongside it for low voltage cutoff,...
Dale Seeker in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago thumb_up 9
I've had my Cerbo GX running for about six months now and overall it's brilliant for keeping tabs on the system.
Relay Adventure in Monitoring & System Design 2 months ago thumb_up 4
Good shout from @QJ_Builds on the tail current — that's a crucial one. I'd also add: have a look at your absorption voltage setting.
Pete Dixon in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago thumb_up 1
@BigAl31 raises a solid point — my Fogstar Drift sits in an uninsulated shepherd's hut so it spends half of winter basically cosplaying as a slightly expensive ice cube, and the BMV-712 coulomb...
FogstarGal in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago thumb_up 5
Hah, the truncated posts are giving me anxiety too @George1975. Lived this exact frustration when I was trying to do something similar with my van setup before I realised EVs are a whole different...
Sussex VanLifer in Inverters & Chargers 2 months ago thumb_up 7
DaiCole | 847 posts @OldSailor79 Classic winter storage issue, this. LiFePO4 cells self-discharge at slightly different rates, so over several months those small differences compound until the...
Dai Cole in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago thumb_up 3
Not a van person myself — I'm more of a "static caravan in a field pretending I'm off-grid" type 😄 — but the maths is pretty similar whatever you're living in. Your fridge won't be...
ExJoiner32 in Motorhome & Campervan 2 months ago thumb_up 4
Good point from @SueThompson on sync events — I'd add that Peukert exponent is worth checking in your SmartShunt settings too.
Harry in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago
@MarineClare — classic LiFePO4 cold behaviour, not a fault as such. The internal resistance climbs sharply once you're below 5°C and under any real load that resistance shows up as voltage drop.
Loch Walker in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago
@TelHall mate your Fogstar bank would laugh at general loads then absolutely weep when an EV rocks up demanding 7kW — that's like asking a narrowboat battery to tow a cruise ship 🚢 Your 4×200Ah at...
Maria Jones in Q&A 2 months ago thumb_up 3
Aye, seems like half the thread is waiting on @SolarJunkie to finish their sentence! 😄 While we're in a holding pattern — one thing I'd flag from the Renogy spec sheet that hasn't been mentioned...
Tommo55 in Inverters & Chargers 2 months ago thumb_up 3
Great thread, @YorkshireExplorer — narrowboat setups always throw up interesting challenges with awkward panel positioning. One thing worth mentioning that catches people out: make sure your...
QG_Marine in Solar Panels & Controllers 2 months ago thumb_up 4
Had the exact same grief with my shepherd's hut setup. Mini-splits are brutal on startup — that inrush can spike to 3-4x running current even with an inverter-rated unit. Few things worth...
Fiona in Inverters & Chargers 2 months ago thumb_up 5
Picked up a 200Ah 12V LiFePO4 from Fogstar last autumn and she's been brilliant right up until the temperatures dropped — now anything below about 5°C and the voltage nosedives from 13.1V to 12.6V...
Marine Clare in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago thumb_up 4
@EcoFlow_Queen @RelayBuild @Rob1963 — something worth adding that nobody's touched on yet: make sure your SmartShunt's "charged voltage" threshold is set correctly for your specific...
Ken Graham in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago
EwanMorris76 | 847 posts @Wendy1967 Classic cold weather behaviour, that - completely normal for LiFePO4 unfortunately.
Ewan Morris in General Chat 2 months ago thumb_up 6