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DaleVicky | 203 posts Not a narrowboat myself, but I run lithium in a shepherd's hut and also charge an EV off the same bank — so I know a thing or two about demanding loads hitting a battery...
Dale Vicky in Marine & Boat 3 months ago thumb_up 3
QuietMaker | 203 posts @CrispySkipper This mirrors my shepherd's hut experience almost exactly. Running a Victron SmartSolar 75/15 paired with a Fogstar 100Ah lithium, and the MPPT's ability to...
Quiet Maker in Marine & Boat 3 months ago thumb_up 3
Cleggy51 | 312 posts @PennineCruiser Seen this crop up a few times now with the JK units. Worth checking whether it's actually dropping connection or just the app timing out — the JK app has a...
Cleggy51 in Batteries & BMS 3 months ago thumb_up 7
@DougLamb64 the Cerbo's a solid hub but yes, the non-Victron integration varies wildly depending on the device. On my narrowboat I'm running a Cerbo alongside a Fogstar Drift 200Ah battery — no...
Stu Campbell in Monitoring & System Design 3 months ago thumb_up 8
HamishLee | 312 posts @RustyCaptain I'm running almost identical setup in a similar-sized cabin near Dumfries — 400W solar, small Hobbit stove.
Hamish Lee in Off-Grid Cabins 3 months ago thumb_up 2
@HarbourHamish my AliExpress panels claimed 200W each, delivered roughly "enough to charge my Fogstar battery before the neighbours complain about my generator" — the Victron SmartSolar...
MultiPlusNerd in Solar Panels & Controllers 3 months ago thumb_up 3
@BorderCamper — I'm running a similar setup and the multi-installation VRM dashboard is genuinely useful once you get your head around it.
Marsh Child in Monitoring & System Design 3 months ago thumb_up 4
Been running a 48V DIY pack (8S EVE 280Ah cells, JK BMS 200A) in my shepherd's hut for about 18 months now and it's been solid.
SolarNotSure in Batteries & BMS 3 months ago thumb_up 4
GeorgeHarris | 312 posts @Gibbo53 one thing worth considering that hasn't been mentioned — check your van's alternator rating before settling on a charger amperage.
George Harris in DC-DC Chargers 3 months ago thumb_up 7
@PikeSeeker what's your cable run length from the battery to the Multiplus? A kettle will pull close to 13A at 12V (roughly 2800W burst) and even slightly undersized or long DC cables will cause a...
LB_Camper in Inverters & Chargers 3 months ago thumb_up 3
Good shout from @BurnGlen and @MarkAllen69 on those settings. One thing I'd add — on cloudy days your panel voltage can fluctuate quite a bit, which can confuse the MPPT into thinking absorption...
Alex Young in Q&A 3 months ago thumb_up 6
@CrispyRoamer in a shepherd's hut I've found the real killer is heating — even a small diesel or propane heater draws more than you'd think once you factor in the controls and ignition...
Heather Gazer in Off-Grid Cabins 3 months ago thumb_up 5
Hey @Dizzy, don't disconnect that controller just yet! Even on grim winter days you'll likely pull something useful — my experience is that cold temperatures actually improve panel efficiency...
Solar Paul in Q&A 3 months ago thumb_up 4
@MasterWanderer Three months of overcast is genuinely brutal on a static — the load profile is all wrong for it.
Breezy Hermit in Off-Grid Cabins 3 months ago thumb_up 5
SimonJohnson67 | Posts: 134 Had almost identical grief with my narrowboat setup. Worth checking the weak AC input setting in VEConfig — there's an option to tell the MultiPlus the generator is a...
Simon Johnson in Inverters & Chargers 3 months ago thumb_up 9
Running one in my setup for about 8 months now — totally viable but the maths matters. A 50W compressor fridge doesn't draw 50W constantly.
Dales Wanderer in Q&A 3 months ago
Decided to finally document what I've cobbled together on my mate's 57ft narrowboat after he begged me to "sort his electrics out" over a bank holiday — three days of cable runs and I...
BitsAndBobs in Marine & Boat 3 months ago
@Kate1970 genuinely curious — what's your battery capacity versus your daily consumption? Because I wonder if the solar is trickling something in but you're just burning through it faster than you...
EcoFlow_Nerd in General Chat 3 months ago thumb_up 2
Has anyone tried pairing the SmartSolar with a Victron BMV-712 or similar battery monitor to get coulomb counting instead of relying on voltage alone?
Ewan Cole in Solar Panels & Controllers 3 months ago thumb_up 4
NeilEdwards | Posts: 134 | Array Slightly different angle on this — has anyone looked at whether EV charging demand is making the low-temp issue worse?
Neil Edwards in Batteries & BMS 3 months ago thumb_up 9