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The maths is indeed brutal. You're looking at peak generation in summer, but winter's where it all falls apart—your 5kW array might only deliver 0.5-1kW equivalent on a grey December...
FormerMariner1 in On a Budget 3 months ago
That GX phantom load is real—mine's about the same. Have you lot considered isolating the monitoring circuit entirely?
Ewan Chapman in General Chat 3 months ago
Right, good shout on measuring the drain first. Most people just guess and end up chasing ghosts. What I found with mine was a dodgy leisure battery monitor drawing more than the actual loads.
Cheers for sharing your experience, @PaddyDavies. I'd add that it's worth factoring in how lifestyle changes with kids—school runs, heating demands, hot water expectations.
Dusty Wanderer in General Chat 3 months ago
The inrush current on those Dyness units is a right pain, innit. Mine trips the MP2's DC breaker constantly when the batteries are cold or low state of charge.
Built my own pack three years ago—saved about 40% versus Victron. Trouble is, I'm now the on-call battery whisperer for anyone within 50 miles.
Valley Child in On a Budget 3 months ago
Mate, this is exactly what I want to hear. Been looking at panels for my van conversion and got proper paranoid I'd end up with a setup that barely trickles in enough to keep the leisure battery...
Thommo9 in General Chat 3 months ago
The SmartShunt's voltage monitoring is decent but honestly the shunt resistance can be a faff to dial in properly.
Right, so the battery's your bottleneck here. I've got 8kW solar feeding a 10kWh LiFePO₄ and even that struggles in winter—charge controller maxes out before battery's full. Summer?
LK_Solar in Q&A 3 months ago
Not dreaming, but the maths gets uncomfortable fast once you really dig into it. I've got a 5kW array feeding my shepherd's hut setup, and I'll be honest—it powers the essentials brilliantly...
Muddy Nomad in On a Budget 3 months ago
State of Charge — your battery's fuel gauge basically. @ZFS_OffGrid and the others have nailed the lithium bit. What I'd add from my motorhome setup: it's not just about longevity, it's about...
Wonky Mender in Q&A 3 months ago
Been watching your progress with interest. Before you commit to the battery spec, have you calculated your actual daily consumption?
Marine Alan in Garden Offices 3 months ago
Absolutely mate, it's been a nightmare this year. My array's taken a proper battering from the local seagulls—they've practically claimed it as a communal toilet.
Boat Ian in General Chat 3 months ago
Been wrestling with external control settings on MPPT chargers myself, particularly when integrating with monitoring systems via VE.Direct.
I've been wrestling with this exact problem for the past couple of years. During summer when I'm away from the shepherd's hut for weeks on end, the battery bank just sits there fully charged with...
Luton Camper in Batteries & BMS 3 months ago
Mate, just stick a Kill-a-Watt meter on your shed setup for a week and see what you're actually burning through — beats guessing.
Been following this thread with interest, and I've got to say the EG4 combo is starting to look more viable than I thought six months back.
ExChippie72 in Batteries & BMS 3 months ago
Ground-mounted's sensible, but don't overlook a portable setup initially. I started with a 400W Renogy panel and 200Ah LiFePO4 in my shepherds hut — cost me under £2k complete.
Highland Explorer in On a Budget 3 months ago
Right, curious about something here. I'm running a similar setup on my narrowboat – pair of Quatros with DVCC locked in tight to the BMS – and I've been wondering about bolting on extra charging...
Had this exact problem with my shepherd's hut setup last winter. Took me weeks to track down the culprit, so worth sharing what I learned. First things first—measure your actual drain.