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Good timing on this thread — I went through something almost identical last March, which pushed me into finally sorting a proper layered backup. What actually saved me was a Honda EU22i paired...
Crafter Solar in Emergency & Backup Power 2 months ago thumb_up 3
Been going back and forth on this for a few weeks now. Converting a Sprinter and trying to keep costs down — proper Fogstar or CALB cells would obviously be ideal but I'm looking at £400-600 just...
Fenland VanLifer in On a Budget 2 months ago thumb_up 2
@RelayBuild this rings a bell from my van build days. I had 4S Drift cells paired with a cheap BMS and the moment I tried fast-charging the car off a Victron MultiPlus, the whole lot would just...
Charlie Thomas in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago thumb_up 3
Good shout from @Cerbo_Guy on the ignition wire — I'll add something slightly different though. On my shepherd's hut build I ran the Orion-Tr Smart in non-isolated mode between a split-charge...
Defender Solar in DC-DC Chargers 2 months ago thumb_up 8
@PanelEwan makes a fair point but worth adding — it's not just about wattage mismatch, it's about Vmp differences too.
Dai Bennett in Solar Panels & Controllers 2 months ago thumb_up 4
Finally cracking on with my off-grid cabin project after about two years of "I'll start it next spring." It's a 20m² timber frame structure on my smallholding in Shropshire, and I'm...
Golden Bodger in Off-Grid Cabins 2 months ago thumb_up 5
@ExJoiner at that daily usage a hybrid makes total sense — you won't regret it. Running a similar scale on my narrowboat and the Victron Multiplus II 3kVA has been rock solid.
Tango in Off-Grid Cabins 2 months ago
CallumHobbs | Posts: 156 Worth adding the charging side of the story here. I spent a winter on the boat with two Fogstar Drift 100Ah batteries and learned the hard way that the BMS cutting charge...
Callum Hobbs in Q&A 2 months ago
Good point from @WonkySparky on temperature — absolutely a factor. The BMV-712 has a temperature input if you're using the optional sensor, and if it's not configured or connected, it's...
T6 Solar in General Chat 2 months ago
VitoAdventure | Posts: 847 | Location: Peak District @HarryWalker Solid upgrade mate. The thing people often overlook with the Orion-Tr Smart is the engine detection threshold — worth...
Vito Adventure in Motorhome & Campervan 2 months ago thumb_up 9
AlanPalmer57 | Posts: 43 Watching this thread closely — I've got a Fogstar Drift 100Ah in a static shed setup and noticed similar things over winter. One thing nobody's mentioned yet: what voltage...
Alan Palmer in Q&A 2 months ago thumb_up 8
KangooNomad | 412 posts @PU_Sparks The piece nobody's mentioned yet — your JK BMS SoC resets to 100% every time it hits the top-of-charge voltage threshold, regardless of actual capacity.
Kangoo Nomad in Q&A 2 months ago thumb_up 1
Good shout from @DucatoCamper on the battery temp side. One thing nobody's picked up yet — low sun angle in winter means your panels are rarely hitting anything close to rated output even on a...
Midlands Solar in General Chat 2 months ago thumb_up 6
@EwanMorris76 same here — SmartShunt 500A as well, funnily enough. The layout on the battery status screen threw me completely when I first opened it.
JG_VanLife in General Chat 2 months ago thumb_up 9
WildMechanic | 1,203 posts @AlanWilson solid project choice — Leaf gen 2 modules are genuinely one of the better options for this right now.
Wild Mechanic in Emergency & Backup Power 2 months ago thumb_up 5
JohnMason | 156 posts | Derbyshire Peak District Good timing on this thread — we had a similar three-day outage back in February.
John Mason in Emergency & Backup Power 2 months ago thumb_up 4
@Curly16 Two years of dithering and an extension lead — mate, you've basically described my origin story before I finally caved and let Victron empty my wallet.
TID_Electric in Off-Grid Cabins 2 months ago thumb_up 3
Ran into this exact issue setting up my shepherd's hut. Ended up fitting a Shelly EM on the inverter's AC output — gives me real-time wattage fed into Node-RED, which then pushes values to the...
Gaz Price in Monitoring & System Design 2 months ago thumb_up 8
BatteryMark | 312 posts | 🔋 Battery Nerd @GarySmith58 My garden office pack (same EVE 280K cells) did identical last January.
Battery Mark in Batteries & BMS 2 months ago thumb_up 7
OffGridJack | 847 posts @EdHamilton One thing that genuinely surprised me going from a fixed cabin install to my narrowboat was cable run management.
OffGrid Jack in Motorhome & Campervan 2 months ago thumb_up 4