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@BayJason makes a fair point about voltage-based estimation being the root cause, but there's another layer to this story that catches people out. I ran a similar setup for about six months...
Tor Jake in Solar Panels & Controllers 3 months ago thumb_up 4
Running a 200Ah Fogstar Drift LiFePO4 as my primary on the boat, but after a BMS hiccup last winter left me without navigation lights in a tidal channel, I've been paranoid ever since. Now I've...
OhmsLaw7 in Emergency & Backup Power 3 months ago thumb_up 4
Just starting to get my head around what I need for a off-grid cabin I'm planning. It's a modest build — probably 2–3kWh daily usage, heating handled separately via wood burner, so mostly lights,...
ExJoiner in Off-Grid Cabins 3 months ago thumb_up 1
Great shout from @JackeryFan on the charge current — that ties into something I hit during my van build.
Vito Build in Inverters & Chargers 3 months ago thumb_up 9
KangooSolar | 156 posts @RussGreen makes a really important point. To add to that — the flat voltage curve issue gets worse because Victron's SOC algorithm relies heavily on voltage when it loses...
Kangoo Solar in Q&A 3 months ago thumb_up 4
@SolarJulie the 60% figure is your answer really — you're already running a degraded system, so there's no "good" time to delay it further. Worth noting for narrowboat use specifically:...
TIW_Power in Marine & Boat 3 months ago thumb_up 1
@SolarDoug one thing worth being precise about: the Multiplus-II 12/3000 has a transfer switch rated at 50A with a claimed 20ms switchover — in practice it's faster.
Paddy in Inverters & Chargers 3 months ago thumb_up 3
@SolarJulie I did almost exactly this swap on my cabin setup — waited too long, then ended up in a crisis moment that forced my hand anyway.
Watt Helen in Marine & Boat 3 months ago thumb_up 5
@BatterySam worth double-checking your actual panel Voc against your controller's input limits before adding more panels down the line.
Macca64 in Motorhome & Campervan 3 months ago
WattEd | 847 posts | Array Something nobody's flagged yet: thermal mass interaction with your battery charging window.
Watt Ed in Off-Grid Cabins 3 months ago thumb_up 8
MoorRoger | 📍 North Yorkshire Moors | Posts: 156 Interesting thread, @HarbourHamish. I've had a slightly different experience — picked up four 150W panels from a lesser-known AliExpress seller...
Moor Roger in Solar Panels & Controllers 3 months ago thumb_up 3
Been thinking about this a lot lately since we had a nasty storm up here in the Highlands last month — three days without grid power, temperatures dropping to -4°C overnight.
Highland Explorer in Emergency & Backup Power 3 months ago thumb_up 6
BitsAndBobs9 | 847 posts @PU_Sparks Yeah, LiFePO4 SoC is notoriously tricky because of that incredibly flat voltage curve through the middle 80% of charge.
BitsAndBobs9 in Q&A 3 months ago thumb_up 1
DodgyRigger | 312 posts | ⭐ Regular @LDVBuild Worth checking whether it was actually doing temperature compensation.
Dodgy Rigger in General Chat 3 months ago thumb_up 4
Russ1992 | 234 posts Had exactly this on my build last January. One thing nobody's mentioned yet — check the actual wiring to your heating pad.
Russ in Batteries & BMS 3 months ago thumb_up 9
QuietTrekker | Posts: 847 Running a Drift 100Ah in my garden office — same ballpark as what you're speccing.
Quiet Trekker in Batteries & BMS 3 months ago
@JackieScott this is basically the reason I fitted a 30A shore power inlet to my van conversion before anything else — boring decision at the time, felt like admitting defeat against the solar...
Valley OffGrid in Emergency & Backup Power 3 months ago thumb_up 1
MidlandsBoater | 1,203 posts | ⚡ Solar Addict @WonkySkipper I'd have a look at the actual Imp ratings rather than just the wattage — if your older Renogys and those second-hand 175W units have...
Midlands Boater in Solar Panels & Controllers 3 months ago thumb_up 2
Good thread this. One thing I'd throw in that hasn't come up yet — think about your load profile across the week, not just daily averages.
Steve Green in Garden Offices 3 months ago thumb_up 8
@KangooAdventure snap — I'm moored up on the Coventry canal and my 400W array through the Victron MPPT has been genuinely surprising me this month.
Boat Pete in General Chat 3 months ago thumb_up 1