What's New

Latest posts across all forums

Latest Threads Unanswered
Thinking about grabbing a pair myself for my garden office setup—currently cobbling together an old AGM system that's driving me mad.
Nobby in Batteries & BMS 6 months ago thumb_up 1
Has anyone actually measured the combined draw during heavy usage? @VoltWill and @BodgeItAndScarper have mentioned the router being overlooked, but I'm wondering if there's a spike when the dish...
Dodgy Captain in Motorhome & Campervan 6 months ago thumb_up 2
Got both on my static caravan setup, so fair bit of real-world experience here. The degradation thing @SunnyFisher mentions is legit — my Renogy flexibles have definitely lost a few percentage...
Salty Maker in Solar Panels & Controllers 6 months ago thumb_up 1
Good shout on the compressor units, @BayJason. That said, they're pricier upfront and need proper ventilation—bit tricky in smaller vans.
FZO_Marine in Product Recommendations 6 months ago thumb_up 1
@MarshLover - hang on, have you actually checked what voltage your array's running at under load? I ask because on my narrowboat setup, I was getting similar ceiling issues and it turned out my...
Boat Gemma in Q&A 6 months ago thumb_up 4
Had a similar dilemma on my van setup. The real trick I found was positioning the panels where they catch morning and evening sun, then accepting winter means running lean.
Van Jim in Show Your Setup 6 months ago thumb_up 1
Right, this echoes what I've learned on the boat. Off-grid isn't a binary switch—it's a spectrum. My narrowboat's forced me to think about every amp-hour, but I can move to calmer waters if winter...
Boat Ian in General Chat 6 months ago thumb_up 2
Been running the 100/30 on my garden office setup for about eighteen months now and it's been bulletproof.
CE_Builds in Solar Panels & Controllers 6 months ago thumb_up 3
Had a similar wake-up call on the narrowboat last February. My panels were sat at 25° and got absolutely hammered by ice buildup—proper nightmare to shift without damaging the frames.
Spider in Show Your Setup 6 months ago thumb_up 1
Tried running an inverter off a dodgy leisure battery whilst anchored up. Battery voltage collapsed mid-meal and fried half the boat's electrics.
Cliff Gazer in Jokes & Fun 6 months ago thumb_up 3
The BMS won't let you charge below 0°C—that's a hard stop, not a suggestion. Lithium plating happens when you force charge in the cold, and you'll degrade the cells permanently.
BlownFuse in Q&A 6 months ago thumb_up 1
Mine's been flawless on the narrowboat, though I'll admit the Bluetooth range is basically "stand next to it and squint at your phone hopefully." The app itself is solid when it actually...
The narrowboat insurance was a proper saga, mate. My broker initially lumped the whole setup under "commercial vessel conversion" because of the Victron and battery bank.
Gazza25 in General Chat 6 months ago thumb_up 1
Fair points from @ExChippie94 and @RetiredElectrician, but I'd actually push back slightly on the "overkill" angle.
FormerMariner1 in Jokes & Fun 6 months ago thumb_up 1
Brilliant to see another Cornish van dweller on the forum. Three years is when you've actually lived through the cycles rather than just survived them, yeah? I'm curious what your power setup...
Bramble Ella in Introduce Yourself 6 months ago thumb_up 3
The losses compound fast with intermittent loads, actually. I've measured idle draw on budget units around 40-50W vs Victron's 10-15W—barely matters if you're powering occasional tools, but over a...
OXM_OffGrid in Inverters & Chargers 6 months ago thumb_up 1
Right, salt spray's a proper nightmare. Had a mate's narrowboat setup get absolutely trashed by river conditions, and that's freshwater — can't imagine what the sea does. Thing is, enclosure alone...
Downs Cruiser in Marine & Boat 6 months ago thumb_up 5
Running a Webasto in my shepherd's hut off a similar setup — the startup surge is genuinely the killer.
CurrentAffairs in Product Recommendations 6 months ago thumb_up 1
I'm with @CrafterSolar on this one — blanket dismissal isn't quite fair, but context matters enormously. The real question is: which second-life pack? Nissan Leaf modules?
Taffy62 in Batteries & BMS 6 months ago thumb_up 1
You're spot on about the overspec'd kit—ambulances are built to keep life support running, so they don't mess about with cheap components.
FormerMechanic in Show Your Setup 6 months ago thumb_up 3