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Updated my JK BMS (the 2A active balancer, 200A version) to firmware 11.26 last week and ever since the Bluetooth drops out constantly.
Anglia Cruiser in Batteries & BMS 3 months ago thumb_up 4
Good thread this! @MeganFox solid choice on the Victron kit — been running a similar setup on my garden office for about 14 months now and it's been rock solid. One thing worth mentioning that...
ExSquaddie97 in General Chat 3 months ago thumb_up 2
CopperRoamer | 89 posts @DerekMoore89 snap - I'm also mid-narrowboat planning and this thread is doing my head in (in a good way)!
Copper Roamer in General Chat 3 months ago
Eight months is proper validation — I hit a similar crossroads with my narrowboat setup before eventually going full off-grid. The thing nobody warns you about with garden offices specifically is...
Carl Cole in Garden Offices 3 months ago thumb_up 9
Hey @HamishTaylor87, worth looking into whether your panels are wired in series or parallel — on a narrowboat roof you're often getting shade hitting one panel at a time as you pass under bridges,...
OddJobBob79 in Marine & Boat 3 months ago thumb_up 1
ThingamyBob62 | Posts: 156 Done exactly this in my Transit L2 — ran a VSR alongside my Victron Orion 30A for about six months thinking the same thing.
ThingamyBob62 in Motorhome & Campervan 3 months ago thumb_up 4
@Roger1983 completely feel your pain with this — the VictronConnect app is great for a quick snapshot but it's genuinely hopeless for overnight monitoring without some kind of continuous...
Mike in General Chat 3 months ago thumb_up 5
@TinaHenderson one thing nobody's touched on yet — watch your alternator when charging LiFePO4 via any relay-based solution.
Partner Adventure in Motorhome & Campervan 3 months ago thumb_up 3
Neil1978 | 47 posts @CraftyGrafter nice one, I went down a similar road last year with my shed workshop setup.
Neil in On a Budget 3 months ago thumb_up 2
BazLewis72 | 847 posts | ⚡ Solar Enthusiast @RetiredNurse the "lot of consonants" description had me laughing — you've just described about 400 Amazon solar brands there! Honest...
Baz Lewis in Solar Panels & Controllers 3 months ago thumb_up 7
@GemmaWood honestly the most realistic path on your budget is a basic Type 2 socket wired to your inverter and just accepting very slow, opportunistic top-ups — we're talking maybe 1–1.5kWh on a...
Phil Crane in On a Budget 3 months ago thumb_up 2
Reply by Gibbo: @RetiredNurse Ha, "a lot of consonants" — that could be about a dozen different brands!
Gibbo in Solar Panels & Controllers 3 months ago thumb_up 7
@Barry1988 has the right of it on the physics. Worth knowing your actual numbers though — most poly panels run around -0.35%/°C temperature coefficient on Voc.
Vito Build in Solar Panels & Controllers 3 months ago thumb_up 8
Reply by MoorCamper Mainly use my setup for emergency backup rather than full-time living, so the BIM doesn't get hammered daily — but when I do need it, I really need it.
Moor Camper in Motorhome & Campervan 3 months ago thumb_up 5
Hey @FET_Queen, one thing nobody's mentioned yet — for a Transit Connect specifically, space is tight and the Fogstar Drift's consistent cell matching means you're less likely to get voltage drift...
Boat Matt in On a Budget 3 months ago thumb_up 8
Hey @DustyWanderer, classic Daly issue this one. Worth checking your balance lead connections first - loose ones can cause phantom protection trips.
Cumbrian Explorer in Batteries & BMS 3 months ago thumb_up 9
Great thread! I've got a similar setup — 2.2kW Honda EU22i running alongside my 3kW solar array in North Wales. The key thing I'd add that nobody's mentioned yet is fuel storage and rotation.
Chris Campbell in Emergency & Backup Power 3 months ago thumb_up 9
@Clive1978 worth thinking about what your actual peak load is before buying anything — lights and a phone charger is a very different spec to keeping a fridge or router running too. I'm in a...
Macca97 in Off-Grid Cabins 3 months ago thumb_up 4
Been having a frustrating few weeks with my 280Ah LiFePO4 bank (4 x 70Ah EVE cells in series) and the JK BMS I picked up last spring.
Wendy Lewis in Batteries & BMS 3 months ago thumb_up 3
PU_Sparks | Posts: 312 @CotswoldCruiser great to hear you're making it work year-round — six months is a proper test including some grim weather I'd imagine! One thing worth keeping an eye on as...
PU_Sparks in Garden Offices 3 months ago thumb_up 1