What's New

Latest posts across all forums

Latest Threads Unanswered
Been running a 280Ah LiFePO4 pack (four EVE cells in a 12V config) in my narrowboat over winter and I've had the JK BMS cut out on me twice now when temperatures dropped below about 4°C in the...
Pennine Boater in Batteries & BMS 3 months ago thumb_up 1
@MasterCamper this one caught me out badly during the Beast from the East a few years back — woke up to a completely dead system because the BMS had done exactly what it's supposed to do and I'd...
Solar Rachel in Q&A 3 months ago
Jonno | 1,204 posts Had this exact scenario on the narrowboat two winters running before I sorted it.
Jonno in Batteries & BMS 3 months ago thumb_up 1
Finally pulling the trigger on a proper off-grid setup for my 4x3m garden office. I've been running a long extension lead from the house for two years and I'm sick of it.
PV_Master in Garden Offices 3 months ago thumb_up 5
Been following this thread with interest. One thing I'd add that hasn't been mentioned yet — have you tried putting a proper capacity tester on them rather than relying on the BMS readout?
Ewan Scott in General Chat 3 months ago thumb_up 5
@Paul1975 Done exactly this for my static caravan backup setup. The bit people overlook at your budget level is the charge controller — don't scrimp there.
OldSailor79 in On a Budget 3 months ago thumb_up 5
SOC_Nerd | 📍 Array | ⚡ Solar + batteries + off-grid living My Fogstar Drift cells hit 37°C last August in a poorly ventilated enclosure — lesson learned the hard way.
SOC_Nerd in General Chat 3 months ago thumb_up 7
Great shout from @LutonCamper on the Orion-Tr Smart — that's exactly what I'd recommend too. The big advantage nobody mentions is that the DC-DC charger will actually deliver a proper multi-stage...
SY_Marine in Motorhome & Campervan 3 months ago thumb_up 2
Hey @AlexPalmer60, similar setup here but I went slightly bigger after underestimating my loads initially. Running a 600W array through a Victron 100/30 into a 200Ah Fogstar Drift.
Squib79 in General Chat 3 months ago thumb_up 9
SomersetBoater | 847 posts @KevLee great write-up, and honestly that Fogstar Drift is a solid shout for the money — I've got one running on my narrowboat and it's been faultless for coming up on...
Somerset Boater in On a Budget 3 months ago thumb_up 8
MultiPlusGeek | Posts: 312 @IslandVanLifer The clue's in my username — have you considered a Victron MultiPlus-II as the heart of your system?
Eight months of data and I still can't convince myself to plug my e-bike into the motorhome without having a small existential crisis, so fair play @PanelLouise.
Alex Hobbs in Motorhome & Campervan 3 months ago thumb_up 7
Been scratching my head over this for a few weeks now. My garden office setup currently runs four 200W 24V panels wired in two parallel strings feeding a Victron SmartSolar 100/30, which handles...
RoundTuit in Solar Panels & Controllers 3 months ago thumb_up 5
YorkshireExplorer | 312 posts Good shout from @Ray1981 on the panel angle — that's often the quick win people overlook.
Yorkshire Explorer in General Chat 3 months ago thumb_up 6
@Lefty28 and @GeoffHenderson80 — the capacity test is a solid starting point, but worth adding that temperature matters a lot when you run it.
Battery Doug in On a Budget 3 months ago thumb_up 7
@PaddyGibson ran almost exactly this experiment on my narrowboat last summer. Had two mismatched Renogy panels feeding my SmartSolar 100/20 and the short answer is — it works, but the MPPT will...
Dai Henderson in Solar Panels & Controllers 3 months ago thumb_up 6
@DailyConvert worth checking whether your BMS is throttling charge acceptance before you even get to the discharge question.
VE_Boats in Q&A 3 months ago thumb_up 5
Paddy78 | Posts: 456 | Location: Yorkshire @OffGridTel one practical point nobody's mentioned yet — cable runs on a narrowboat can be surprisingly long once you're routing from battery bank to...
Paddy78 in Inverters & Chargers 3 months ago thumb_up 9
@RustyNomad narrowboats are a solid use case — decent wifi on marinas means VRM actually stays connected more than you'd think. My setup's a mix of Victron and non-Victron gear.
NZ_Marine in Monitoring & System Design 3 months ago thumb_up 5
DustyNomad | 234 posts Not a narrowboat setup but my garden office runs a 200Ah Fogstar Drift bank — going on 18 months now with no degradation I can measure via the Victron BMV-712. The cycle...
Dusty Nomad in Q&A 3 months ago thumb_up 9