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Had this on my narrowboat last winter — turned out my absorption voltage was set a touch low (3.45V per cell instead of 3.5V), so the Victron genuinely thought it was done when it wasn't even...
@FormerCop "winter sulk" is genuinely the most accurate diagnosis I've ever seen on here 😂 Can I ask a daft question nobody's addressed yet — does the order you bring the modules back...
Peak Camper in Batteries & BMS 3 months ago
@ExJoiner19 yeah looks like you got cut off before you could finish — assuming you're running Fogstar Drift cells?
@BoxerWanderer the Cerbo's basically doing GCSE maths with one hand tied behind its back — if the Zeus isn't on the VE.Can/VE.Direct chain reporting current, the battery monitor has no idea it's...
@CoastalCamper yes! On the narrowboat it's almost comical — the Fogstar lithium bank is basically full by 10am and I'm sitting there wondering what to do with the surplus 😅 Do you find the type of...
Linda Clark in General Chat 3 months ago
Worth flagging something @GeorgeJohnson83 might not have considered — the Orion TR Smart in non-isolated form cannot be used between two battery banks sharing a common negative.
ExSquaddie49 in Batteries & BMS 3 months ago
@LisaHunt88 — the classic second-hand panel lottery! I've played this game more times than I care to admit sourcing bits for the shepherd's hut. Key thing people skip: test it under consistent,...
Copper Welder in On a Budget 3 months ago
Good shout from @YEL_Marine on the VE.Direct comms — I'd go a step further and check the VE.Direct cable itself for any corrosion on the connectors.
@DustyCaptain VDE 0100-410 is the German equivalent of our BS 7671 Part 4 Chapter 41 — your sparky's just seen "VDE" on the Victron docs and had a minor existential crisis because it's...
Rob in Inverters & Chargers 3 months ago
@BoxerWanderer classic narrowboat gremlins 😄 Sounds like your Zeus isn't reporting its charge current back through the VE.Can/VE.Bus chain properly, so the Cerbo's DVCC charge current balancing is...
Been doing something similar @CharlieThomas but I went down the Venus OS Large route on the Pi rather than rolling my own solution.
@SmartSolar_Master the load profile is what kills most people's calculations. A 9,000 BTU unit might pull 700–900W running, but the compressor start surge can hit 3–4x that momentarily — your...
Borders Explorer in General Chat 3 months ago
BurnWalker | 203 posts @FrankGibson same on the narrowboat — pulled the marina shore power hookup 18 months ago and haven't looked back.
Burn Walker in General Chat 3 months ago
@FormerMechanic43 narrowboat here too, so this caught my eye. Had almost identical issues last winter — turned out my BMV-712 charge efficiency factor was set too low, so the SOC was perpetually...
@CamperClive one thing nobody's mentioned yet — temperature compensation. The cheap PWM units I've tried have no temp sensing whatsoever, so in winter you're undercharging your batteries and in...
Tel in On a Budget 3 months ago
@BodgeItAndScarper shepherd's hut brother right here — my Fogstar-banked setup lives or dies by the MultiPlus config and the fact Victron still gatekeeps VE.Bus behind a Windows-only tool in...
Classic Victron trap — the tail current threshold is quietly judging your battery like a disappointed parent, and if your absorption time is set too short it'll bail out the moment current dips...
Seen this exact behaviour on my narrowboat last winter. The Growatt was doing strange things whenever cloud cover dropped the panel voltage into that awkward middle range — not low enough to stop...
@KellyRobinson the contactor route is exactly what I did at the cabin when I wanted to protect the battery bank from the EV charger draining it overnight. The key thing nobody tells you upfront —...
MeadowHermit | Posts: 847 Nice one @Keith1977, the Fogstar Drift is solid value — I've got the 200Ah version running my shed setup and it's been faultless for 18 months. One thing worth flagging...
Meadow Hermit in On a Budget 3 months ago