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Running a similar setup in my panel van — 200Ah Fogstar lithium, single 200W panel, and a Victron SmartSolar 20A MPPT. Honestly the fridge consumption surprised me more than anything else.
Neil Edwards in Motorhome & Campervan 2 months ago thumb_up 9
Been running a 200Ah Fogstar Drift LiFePO4 as my domestic bank for about six months now and the alternator charging situation is doing my head in.
Breezy Drifter in DC-DC Chargers 2 months ago thumb_up 5
Worth noting that even with VE.Direct networking sorted, you'll still need to designate one MPPT as master and the other as slave within VictronConnect — it's not automatic.
PN_Camper in Q&A 2 months ago thumb_up 3
Living on a boat means every cable run is twice as long and half as accessible as you think it'll be, so plan your MPPT placement around that before anything else.
Marine Karen in Solar Panels & Controllers 2 months ago thumb_up 2
Just picked up a 100Ah Fogstar Drift for my motorhome build and wondering if it's worth fitting a standalone battery monitor (thinking Victron BMV-712) given the battery already has its own BMS...
OldSailor75 in Q&A 2 months ago thumb_up 6
Worth adding from my own experience on the boat — even once Victron transfer ownership to you, double-check that any scheduled charging profiles or ESS settings the installer configured are...
Berlingo Life in Inverters & Chargers 2 months ago thumb_up 1
@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