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Anyone else running a Victron MultiPlus in a garden office? Sizing question inside

@FormerMariner24 worth knowing the 24/1200/25 will handle a kettle just about but it'll be working hard — I learned this the hard way in my static.

ExSquaddie in Inverters & Chargers 3 months ago thumb_up 3

What's everyone's minimum viable battery reserve for riding out a 3-day grid outage in winter?

PanelRoger | 1,203 posts | Array My shepherd's hut survived a similar 3-day blackout last February on 200Ah of Fogstar lithium — but I'll be honest, by day three I was rationing the kettle like it...

Panel Roger in Emergency & Backup Power 3 months ago thumb_up 4

Swapped out my split charge relay for a B2B charger — worth every penny or overkill?

So I've been running a 100Ah AGM leisure battery in my Transit-based camper for a couple of years, fed by a basic split charge relay off the alternator. It's always been...

Oak Tel in Motorhome & Campervan 3 months ago thumb_up 6

Anyone else running a Victron SmartSolar in a shepherd's hut through winter? Seeing weird float behaviour

Moorey79 | 📍 Yorkshire Dales | ⚡ Off-grid since 2019 @Lefty I had almost identical behaviour with my setup last winter.

Moorey79 in Solar Panels & Controllers 3 months ago thumb_up 5

Anyone else struggling to get decent winter output from roof-mounted panels on a static caravan?

The shallow roof angle is the real killer in winter. My cabin panels are mounted on a ground frame I knocked together from 40mm steel box section — adjustable tilt, so I steepen them up around...

Rusty Tinker in Solar Panels & Controllers 3 months ago thumb_up 1

Anyone else keep a "lifeboat battery" completely separate from their main bank?

TrevorRoberts75 | Posts: 112 @OhmsLaw7 That BMS hiccup scenario is exactly why I keep a dedicated 20Ah AGM completely isolated from my main Victron/Fogstar setup — nothing shared, no clever...

Trevor Roberts in Emergency & Backup Power 3 months ago thumb_up 3

Orion-Tr Smart 30A vs 18A — worth the extra for a 200Ah lithium bank?

Jason1992 | 1,203 posts @VanJim one thing worth mentioning that I haven't seen flagged yet — check your alternator.

Jason in DC-DC Chargers 3 months ago thumb_up 5

Anyone else had their JK BMS trip out randomly on a warm day — 16S 280Ah LiFePO4 build

@MuddyRigger mine did exactly this in the garden office last July — blamed the Victron, blamed the cells, blamed my life choices, turned out the JK's temperature sensor had shifted off the cell...

SolarNut in Batteries & BMS 3 months ago thumb_up 1

Anyone else running a split-charge relay alongside a DC-DC charger — or is it overkill?

Good question @SamKing. I ran a similar combo briefly and honestly the DC-DC charger alone is the right tool for the job with lithium — it handles the charge profile properly and protects your...

Will in Motorhome & Campervan 3 months ago thumb_up 9

Anyone else finding cheap 100Ah lithium drop-ins a bit hit and miss lately?

Really feel for you @BrambleHermit — had almost the exact same experience about eighteen months ago with a pair from a marketplace seller.

Holly in General Chat 3 months ago thumb_up 6

Considering a small 12V system for my fishing cabin — where to start with battery sizing?

Really useful thread — just went through this exact process for my own backup setup so hopefully I can add something. One thing nobody's mentioned yet: think carefully about your worst-case...

Partner Nomad in Off-Grid Cabins 3 months ago thumb_up 3

Anyone actually saving money with second-hand Victron kit or is it a false economy?

My £60 second-hand Victron BMV-712 from a bloke dismantling his camper has outlasted two brand-new cheaper alternatives I foolishly tried first — Victron kit just refuses to die, which is...

Lazy Ranger in On a Budget 3 months ago thumb_up 9

Anyone else had issues with JK BMS cutting out under load on LiFePO4 builds?

RussMitchell75 | Posts: 847 | Location: Derbyshire @Declan1985 Had exactly this with my 150A JK last summer.

Russ Mitchell in Batteries & BMS 3 months ago thumb_up 2

Anyone else had their JK BMS throw a low temp charge fault in winter even with heating pads fitted?

ShortCircuit56 | 634 posts @ExFirefighter59 One thing nobody's mentioned yet - what's your low temp charge cutoff actually set to in the JK app?

ShortCircuit56 in Batteries & BMS 3 months ago thumb_up 4

Anyone actually running EV charging off solar on a tight budget — what's the realistic minimum setup?

Been mulling this over for a while. I've got a static caravan with a decent south-facing roof and I'm trying to work out whether I can charge my EV (a Nissan Leaf, 40kWh) from solar without...

Bay Jason in On a Budget 3 months ago thumb_up 1

Confused by MPPT controller dropping to PWM-style behaviour in winter — anyone else seen this?

Reply by AshDawn: @FETGeek — classic winter head-scratcher this one! What you're likely seeing is the battery voltage sitting so close to your panel voltage on cold mornings that the MPPT simply...

Ash Dawn in Solar Panels & Controllers 3 months ago thumb_up 9

Anyone actually running a garden office on a tight budget solar setup?

Been powering my garden office for about 8 months now on a pretty barebones system — 200W of Renogy panels, a 30A PWM controller (yeah I know, MPPT next time), and a single 100Ah Fogstar Drift...

WrongFuse96 in On a Budget 3 months ago

Anyone else running a Victron MultiPlus on a static van? Struggling to size it correctly

@YorkshireCamper worth looking at your peak/surge loads not just running watts — that's what caught me out initially.

Trevor Roberts in Inverters & Chargers 3 months ago thumb_up 7

Mixing 12V and 24V panels on same MPPT — anyone actually done this long-term?

RhysPalmer | Posts: 312 | 📍 Wales The key thing nobody's mentioned yet — check your Voc figures carefully before mixing.

Rhys Palmer in Solar Panels & Controllers 3 months ago thumb_up 7