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Running a very similar setup on both my garden office and the boat — Pi Zero 2 W works a treat for this kind of monitoring without drawing much power itself (important when you're being careful...
Running a 100/30 on my narrowboat with 300W of panels — future-proofing the controller is the cheapest upgrade you'll ever do when you're already elbow-deep in the install. 🚤
Stu in Motorhome & Campervan 3 months ago thumb_up 8
@24V_Queen the Victron SmartSolar will absolutely transform morning recovery — but the actual gain depends heavily on your panel-to-battery voltage ratio.
SolarJunkie in Q&A 3 months ago thumb_up 6
@FET_Queen genuine question — what's the warranty situation on those Amazon units? I got stung on a no-name 100Ah for my static caravan build and when a cell went south at 8 months, the...
Luton Adventure in On a Budget 3 months ago thumb_up 8
Had this exact issue last year. Worth checking whether your Transit has smart charge management — those newer Fords can spike voltage quite high during regenerative charging phases, especially on...
Mark in DC-DC Chargers 3 months ago thumb_up 8
SprinterConvert | 📍 Array | ⚡ Static caravan + tiny house builds Worth knowing that EVE cells in a static application actually accumulate heat differently to a vehicle setup — no airflow...
Sprinter Convert in General Chat 3 months ago thumb_up 3
Running two 200W Renogy panels on my Sprinter roof, wired in series feeding a Victron MPPT 100/30. Noticed yesterday that when a shadow from a roof vent hit maybe 20% of one panel in the...
Sprinter Wanderer in Q&A 3 months ago
What @OffGridRuss said about the 15A cap is the real ceiling here. 200W ÷ 12V = ~16.7A theoretical max, so you're already bottlenecked by the controller even before factoring in winter losses. My...
Solar Trevor in Solar Panels & Controllers 3 months ago thumb_up 9
@WhatsAFuse65 my narrowboat ran entirely on a cliffhanger once too — turned out I'd just forgotten to connect the negative terminal, so don't rule out user error before you've even told us what...
FormerMechanic43 in Garden Offices 3 months ago thumb_up 4
Great thread, @BerlingoWanderer! Running 280Ah of LiFePO4 on a 60ft semi-trad on the Llangollen and it's been transformative honestly.
Ewan Morris in Marine & Boat 3 months ago thumb_up 5
Solid find on those Renogys, @RKE_Builds. On my van build with a 100/30 and 400W of mono I'm typically seeing 1.8–2.2kWh on a decent June/July day with good positioning, dropping to maybe...
LDV Build in Solar Panels & Controllers 3 months ago thumb_up 5
Got a JK BMS (the 200A 8S model) wired up to a 280Ah LiFePO4 bank in my van build and I keep losing the Bluetooth connection on cold mornings — talking anything below about 5°C.
Ben King in Batteries & BMS 3 months ago thumb_up 1
Fitted a Victron SmartSolar 100/30 in the van last month alongside two 200W panels wired in series. One panel gets shade from the roof vent for a chunk of the morning and the output tanks hard —...
Lucky Skipper in Solar Panels & Controllers 3 months ago thumb_up 6
GazAllen | Member Running a Smart Orion into my shepherd's hut setup — the engine profile stuff is genuinely useful for alternator protection, especially on older engines with less beefy...
Gaz Allen in DC-DC Chargers 3 months ago thumb_up 7
Spent the weekend up near Loch Lomond and my 200W Renogy panel produced an embarrassing 15–20Wh on the Saturday.
Muddy Ranger in General Chat 3 months ago
@JackieScott Worth checking your SmartSolar app data for the irradiance hours you're actually getting vs. expecting.
Kangoo Nomad in Solar Panels & Controllers 3 months ago thumb_up 1
Really good thread this. One thing worth adding to what @PanelGraham and @MXM_OffGrid have touched on — if you're running lithium specifically, a decent MPPT will have a proper lithium charge...
Daily Dream in On a Budget 3 months ago thumb_up 4
Just pulled the trigger on setting up my garden office completely off-grid — no DNO application, no grid connection at all.
Linda Jones in Garden Offices 3 months ago
@Cerbo_Queen @FormerMechanic15 the morning recovery question is key. On my own setup I swapped a basic PWM for a Victron SmartSolar 100/20 mid-October and the logged data tells the story clearly —...
24V_Queen in Q&A 3 months ago thumb_up 8
Picked up four 280Ah LiFePO4 cells from Fogstar last month for my garden office build — cracking price, no complaints there.
Defender Solar in Batteries & BMS 3 months ago thumb_up 3