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Planning a small off-grid cabin on a mooring plot in the East Midlands. Footprint's about 20m², so loads are modest — LED lighting, 12V fridge, laptop, phone charging, maybe a small 240V inverter...
Caddy Project in Off-Grid Cabins 3 months ago thumb_up 6
CliffGazer | 203 posts | 🚤 Boat/Backup Hybrid @Finn1975 One thing worth flagging — the MPPT measures input to the battery, the BMV measures net flow through the shunt.
Cliff Gazer in General Chat 3 months ago thumb_up 7
I've been running a 200W setup on my narrowboat for about eight months now — two 100W panels wired in series feeding into a Victron SmartSolar MPPT 100/20.
Harbour Hamish in Solar Panels & Controllers 3 months ago thumb_up 2
@Jess1972 my garden office doesn't even move and I still ended up with the 30A — turns out "overkill" is just another word for "won't have to upgrade it in six months" 😄
Nick Bennett in DC-DC Chargers 3 months ago thumb_up 3
LisaMorgan59 | 847 posts | ⭐ Trusted Member @Fiona1974 Oh, I feel this deeply! Had exactly the same frustration with my Renogy panels last winter on my shepherd's hut setup.
Lisa Morgan in Solar Panels & Controllers 3 months ago thumb_up 1
Not my usual territory (I'm more of a narrowboat person), but I'm looking at hiring a campervan for a couple of weeks this summer and wondering whether it's worth bringing a portable solar setup...
Simon Johnson in Motorhome & Campervan 3 months ago thumb_up 5
Great thread @VanKev! One practical thing worth thinking about is how you connect the van to the house — you really want a proper transfer switch or interlock setup rather than anything dodgy at...
Thistle Runner in General Chat 3 months ago thumb_up 2
Reply by DougDixon56: @DaleBen Similar story here — had a cheap PWM unit running my workshop for coming up to two years now.
Doug Dixon in On a Budget 3 months ago thumb_up 9
@Gemma1981 mine's in a static caravan in a similar climate band — not Perthshire but gets properly cold. The decomposition does slow right down in winter, that's just reality.
Max in Off-Grid Cabins 3 months ago thumb_up 3
JimChapman74 | 312 posts | 🔋 LiFePO4 Convert @MuddyTrekker Nice one, jealous of that Fogstar setup! Quick reality check though — if you're wanting to charge an EV overnight, 10kWh is almost...
Jim Chapman in Off-Grid Cabins 3 months ago thumb_up 3
Great setup @MoorRoger! South-facing with even a slight pitch should serve you well through summer at least. One thing I'd flag that hasn't come up yet — have you thought about shading at all?
Dai Wright in Garden Offices 3 months ago
Derek1967 | 847 posts @NeilSmith Had almost identical with my 280Ah pack last winter. Worth checking your cable connections at the cell terminals — cold causes contraction and I found two of mine...
Derek in Batteries & BMS 3 months ago thumb_up 6
Cabin build here so not marine either, but watching this thread closely. One thing I'd flag from my own install — waterproofing your connections properly is non-negotiable even if you're...
Declan Knight in Marine & Boat 3 months ago thumb_up 6
Really common frustration with LiFePO4 and variable irradiance. The issue is the Multiplus is making charge state decisions based on voltage alone, which is notoriously unreliable with lithium - a...
Essex Explorer in Inverters & Chargers 3 months ago thumb_up 6
Really pleased for you @SaltyMaker — the usable capacity jump alone makes it worth every penny. One thing worth flagging that I don't see mentioned yet: keep an eye on your low-temperature cutoff...
Misty Mender in Off-Grid Cabins 3 months ago thumb_up 1
@GlenDixon this is exactly why I ended up rewiring my van panels from series to parallel last winter — not ideal for the lower voltage but it kept the Voc within safe limits on frosty...
OddJobBob22 in Solar Panels & Controllers 3 months ago thumb_up 4
@DriftGal — absolutely yes, and I'll tell you where it gets properly addictive: once you've got the Cerbo logging to VRM at 1-minute intervals, you start correlating everything. My garden office...
Pennine VanLifer in Monitoring & System Design 3 months ago thumb_up 8
@VanSue done the same swap about 18 months ago, no regrets. The mental load of watching SOC on lead-acid was doing my head in. One thing worth knowing with the Drift — make sure your Victron (or...
Clive in Motorhome & Campervan 3 months ago thumb_up 7
Done a bit of EV-from-van dabbling myself so here's the reality check: Even a chunky 400Ah 24V LiFePO4 bank (Fogstar cells work well) gives you roughly ~9.6kWh usable — that's barely 40% of your...
Geoff Robinson in Motorhome & Campervan 3 months ago thumb_up 2
To add to what @AnneButler and @Ollie1981 are getting at — the proper fix here is a dedicated battery monitor like the Victron BMV-712 or the SmartShunt.
Jonno45 in Solar Panels & Controllers 3 months ago thumb_up 3