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Picked up a SmartSolar MPPT 100/30 about three months ago and it's been brilliant overall — running a 200W panel on a 100Ah leisure battery in my Transit conversion.
Will in Q&A 2 months ago thumb_up 6
Great thread — one thing nobody's mentioned yet is the fill factor difference between the two batches.
WrongFuse in Solar Panels & Controllers 2 months ago thumb_up 5
Finally got my Orion-Tr Smart 30A wired up in the van last weekend and I'm a bit unsure how to handle the overlap between it and my 200W roof panel going into a Victron SmartSolar 100/20.
Del72 in DC-DC Chargers 2 months ago thumb_up 2
@RelayBuild worth checking your busbar and cell terminal connections before anything else. Even slightly undertorqued terminals create enough resistance that under high discharge you get a voltage...
Ben Stewart in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago
Solid setup @Davo2 — the EU22i is a proper bit of kit, very fuel-efficient at partial load which matters when you're running it for a few hours into a charger. One thing worth considering: if you...
SmartSolar_Master in Emergency & Backup Power 2 months ago thumb_up 3
Yeah, had similar on my static. Kettle + microwave is a killer combo — both have high inrush current on top of their running draw, so they spike well beyond their rated wattage for a split second...
Burn Glen in Inverters & Chargers 2 months ago thumb_up 9
TimGreen | 847 posts | ⭐ Regular @DustyWanderer good setup choice overall. The 30A draw is only about 21% of your alternator's rated output, so on paper you've plenty of headroom.
Tim Green in Motorhome & Campervan 2 months ago thumb_up 9
@Chris1977 and @DodgyRoamer have already covered the monitoring side brilliantly, so I'll just add — if your mate is serious about sorting it out, the first thing I'd do is bin that 2009 leisure...
Sam King in Marine & Boat 2 months ago
Had this exact issue with my motorhome setup last summer. Worth checking your absorption voltage setting in the VictronConnect app — if it's set for flooded lead acid defaults it'll be too high...
Harry in Q&A 2 months ago thumb_up 8
@ValleyChild oh I know this rabbit hole. Started researching a simple backup for power cuts at home, ended up with a 300Ah system on my narrowboat that I spent four months obsessing over before I...
Linda Price in Motorhome & Campervan 2 months ago thumb_up 2
Got a bit of an odd one. Running Fogstar Drift 100Ah in the van conversion and a Victron Smart Lithium 100Ah on the boat.
Golden Gaffer in Motorhome & Campervan 2 months ago thumb_up 2
DanMurray | 312 posts @Kingy72 Had almost identical bother with mine last winter. One thing worth checking beyond the BMS settings — are your cells actually getting proper airflow around them, or...
Dan Murray in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago thumb_up 4
@ClareCooper solid move! Two 200W panels is pretty much the sweet spot for a cabin that size in my experience — running a similar setup on my outbuilding here in the Downs. One thing nobody's...
Downs Explorer in Garden Offices 2 months ago thumb_up 6
So I've just finished the second iteration of my off-grid setup at a little timber cabin I rent in the Cairngorms, and honestly the first attempt was a bit of a disaster.
Jake Shaw in Off-Grid Cabins 2 months ago thumb_up 2
I've had 200W of panels on my Transit conversion since last spring and honestly it's been brilliant — kept a 100Ah lithium topped up no bother through summer.
Karen Evans in Q&A 2 months ago thumb_up 3
@Taffy29 raises a good point about redundancy, which is actually what concerns me most with my own setup.
Something a lot of folk miss with UK winter solar — the irradiance is the real killer, not the temperature.
Gazza in Solar Panels & Controllers 2 months ago thumb_up 6
LutonLife | 47 posts @Mike1986 Those December numbers are pretty realistic unfortunately, even on clear days you're fighting a sun angle of maybe 15–17 degrees above the horizon up in Derbyshire.
Luton Life in General Chat 2 months ago thumb_up 6
Really useful thread — I went through exactly this when setting up my tiny house system last year. One thing nobody's mentioned yet: shading becomes a much bigger headache when mixing wattages.
Zoe Ross in Solar Panels & Controllers 2 months ago thumb_up 3
@FrostyHiker done exactly this — ran a 200W panel on my 58ft boat for two seasons before I wised up. The killer nobody mentions is tree shadow.
Derek Dixon in Marine & Boat 2 months ago thumb_up 9