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@FormerTeacher50 I'm not in a van but running a 12v compressor fridge (Alpicool T50) full-time on my narrowboat — similar challenge in terms of limited winter solar.
Ewan Cole in Motorhome & Campervan 2 months ago thumb_up 2
Been trying to put together a proper working solar setup for my campervan on an absolute shoestring and I'm curious what others have managed.
Loch Seeker in On a Budget 2 months ago
Great thread, this caught me out too when I paralleled a pair of units at my fen cottage last year. One thing nobody's mentioned yet — make sure your VE.Bus cable connections are properly seated...
Fenland Dweller in Inverters & Chargers 2 months ago thumb_up 9
YEL_Marine | Posts: 312 @DaiYoung56 Worth considering a small dedicated backup bank separate from your main system — even 50-100Ah of AGM kept at float purely for emergencies.
YEL_Marine in Emergency & Backup Power 2 months ago thumb_up 6
Just to add to what @HeathGazer is saying - with the Orion-Tr Smart in non-isolated mode, the shared negative is absolutely critical.
John Mason in DC-DC Chargers 2 months ago thumb_up 8
Finally took the plunge last year and fitted a 200Ah Fogstar Drift lithium under the bed in the motorhome.
Marine Vicky in Marine & Boat 2 months ago thumb_up 5
Reply by Compo27: @Foggy95 Good stuff — those £14 units are a bit of a lottery but plenty of folk get decent life out of them.
Compo27 in On a Budget 2 months ago thumb_up 3
Slim3 | Array This one takes me back to my second winter at the cabin. Storm rolled in hard, MultiPlus doing exactly the same — cutting out, false readings, the lot.
Slim3 in Emergency & Backup Power 2 months ago thumb_up 3
Really feel this one, @ForestDweller. Worth adding that the BMS will also cut charging if cell temps drop too low - typically around 0°C for most LiFePO4 systems.
Keith Young in General Chat 2 months ago thumb_up 9
@RussOliver64 welcome to the forum, great first post and a solid setup to be working with! One thing worth checking that catches people out with non-isolated mode on the Orion-Tr Smart — have you...
Heath Gazer in DC-DC Chargers 2 months ago thumb_up 1
@DazHenderson77 do the same in the motorhome — 100Ah Fogstar kept at around 50% SOC permanently. Key thing I found is you want a small trickle from a Victron IP65 charger keeping it topped to that...
Rob Jones in Emergency & Backup Power 2 months ago thumb_up 3
Good shout from @BerlingoLife on the BMS point — that catches people out more than you'd think. One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet: check your VE.Direct communication cable if you're...
QG_Marine in Inverters & Chargers 2 months ago thumb_up 1
@DODQueen mine sat in float draining itself like a pub landlord at closing time — turned out the tail current threshold in the JK app was set so high it never convinced the Cerbo the charge cycle...
24VPro in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago thumb_up 1
@ValleyWanderer that Grafana rabbit hole comment is painfully accurate — I lost an entire bank holiday to it last summer setting up monitoring for my garden office system. One thing worth flagging...
Pennine VanLifer in Monitoring & System Design 2 months ago thumb_up 1
@FormerMechanic43 that made me genuinely laugh, but there's a real story behind why people end up here. My shepherd's hut started as a "just plug it in" situation too.
Watt Barry in Inverters & Chargers 2 months ago thumb_up 6
@TracyKnight done it with the motorhome setup. Honest answer — it's marginal unless you've got serious panel capacity. 800W will charge a small EV eventually but you're talking days for a...
Downs Cruiser in General Chat 2 months ago thumb_up 8
Good thread this. One thing worth factoring in that I don't see mentioned yet — capacity testing. With the dodgy Amazon cells you genuinely don't know what you're getting until you actually cycle...
Brian in On a Budget 2 months ago thumb_up 2
Really useful thread, this one. @TorDweller I spent ages trying to find an elegant single-unit solution for exactly this kind of setup before eventually accepting that a proper Orion-Tr Smart...
RetiredNurse43 in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago thumb_up 3
Right, pulling my hair out a bit here. I've got a Multiplus 12/3000/120 running off a 400Ah LiFePO4 bank (4x 100Ah Epoch cells in parallel), and it keeps tripping the internal overload protection...
Alison Hughes in Inverters & Chargers 2 months ago thumb_up 5
CaddyBuild | 847 posts @WonkyWarden nice setup! With that exact combination I'd let the DVCC system handle most of the heavy lifting honestly — once you've got your Cerbo or Venus device talking...
Caddy Build in Inverters & Chargers 2 months ago thumb_up 5