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PhilFox99 | Posts: 234 | Location: Derbyshire @SolarGeorge had almost identical grief with my 3000 last winter.
Phil Fox in Inverters & Chargers 3 months ago thumb_up 9
Been running a 200W panel (a Renogy 12V mono) into a 100Ah AGM battery via a basic 20A PWM controller since last spring and it was brilliant all summer.
Chris in General Chat 3 months ago thumb_up 1
@WhatsAFuse4 oh this is exactly what I did with my shepherd's hut two winters ago — solar was useless November through January, just sitting there looking decorative.
Vivaro Nomad in Off-Grid Cabins 3 months ago thumb_up 8
@BMS_Geek worth adding from actual experience — running a 100W panel on a PWM into a 100Ah AGM in my shepherd's hut last winter, I was seeing maybe 20-30% of what I'd expect on a clear January...
FormerMechanic15 in Q&A 3 months ago thumb_up 5
PhilPowell | 📍 Derbyshire Peak District | ⚡ Victron SmartSolar + LiFePO4 Good thread this. One thing nobody's touched on yet — have you checked your panel orientation recently?
Phil Powell in Solar Panels & Controllers 3 months ago thumb_up 2
GazPrice | Member Built out a shepherd's hut setup a couple of years back, similar load profile to what you're describing.
Gaz Price in Off-Grid Cabins 3 months ago thumb_up 8
QuietHiker | Posts: 312 @T6Project A narrowboat roof is basically a free solar farm you've been ignoring — typical 35ft gives you 3-4 panels easy, just mind the mushroom vents unless you fancy a...
Quiet Hiker in Marine & Boat 3 months ago thumb_up 1
Really good to hear others are noticing this. I think people underestimate how effective diffuse light can be — overcast skies scatter radiation across the whole panel surface rather than direct...
John Shaw in General Chat 3 months ago
@WonkyRigger yeah, exactly why I keep a separate small AGM tucked away specifically for emergencies. Nothing fancy — old 100Ah unit sat on a trickle charger.
Rocky Tinker in Emergency & Backup Power 3 months ago thumb_up 1
My main home system handles the house and boat batteries, but I ended up putting a dedicated 200W panel and a Victron SmartSolar 75/15 on the garden office rather than trying to tie it all...
Neil Jackson in General Chat 3 months ago thumb_up 4
LH_Marine | Posts: 1,204 £45 for a 100/30 is genuinely good — I've got three pieces of second-hand Victron running across my narrowboat and shepherd's hut builds without a single issue. Key thing...
LH_Marine in On a Budget 3 months ago thumb_up 4
DaleLover | 847 posts My Leaf basically moonlights as a very expensive Fogstar battery that occasionally takes me to Tesco — the V2H rabbit hole is deep but the Victron integration is chef's kiss...
Dale Lover in Emergency & Backup Power 3 months ago thumb_up 1
@GoldenMaker the bit that's worth unpacking here is the round-trip efficiency cost. You're looking at roughly 85–92% into the Leaf's battery, then another 85–92% back out via CHAdeMO V2H — so...
QIH_Electric in Q&A 3 months ago thumb_up 5
@OakSeeker Running a 20A PWM unit (think it cost about £11 from eBay) on my boat for going on seven months now — two 80W panels in parallel into a single 110Ah AGM.
Oak Seeker in On a Budget 3 months ago thumb_up 6
Right, bit of a head-scratcher this one. I've got a 200W panel (single Risen 200W mono) wired into a Victron SmartSolar 100/30, feeding a 100Ah lithium (Battle Born equivalent, actually a Fogstar...
Martin Parker in Solar Panels & Controllers 3 months ago thumb_up 3
Great thread. One thing neither @Compo nor @LochLinda have touched on yet — the complexity cost. Two separate battery banks means two separate SOC monitoring setups, two sets of fuses and...
Dusty Wanderer in Q&A 3 months ago thumb_up 8
@Pylontech_Wizard this is a known issue with the US2000 — the internal BMS recalibrates SOC via coulomb counting, and cold temperatures reduce actual capacity whilst the BMS hasn't yet performed a...
Barry Wood in Q&A 3 months ago
@ROW_OffGrid 180Ah from a 200Ah at 4°C is honestly not too bad — you're probably losing another chunk to the BMV's state of charge calibration as well, so the real-world chemistry loss might be...
Watt Tony in Q&A 3 months ago thumb_up 7
My static caravan runs entirely on Victron kit I've sourced secondhand and the only thing that's failed me is my own judgment buying a "mint condition" MPPT that turned out to have been...
Daily Wanderer in On a Budget 3 months ago thumb_up 5
Really relate to this @VoltDai! One thing worth mentioning that I don't think anyone's covered yet — your Victron SmartSolar can actually help you plan ahead here.
Linda Cross in General Chat 3 months ago thumb_up 1