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Hey @Fiona1974, totally familiar with this — shepherd's huts are a tough ask in winter given the typically compact roof space limiting your array size. A couple of things worth checking: what's...
Great points from @SOC_Wizard and @DailySolar already. One thing worth checking on your SmartSolar is the battery temperature compensation settings — if your battery bank is sitting in an unheated...
Anglia Cruiser in Q&A 3 months ago thumb_up 6
@RogerHobbs one thing worth flagging that often gets overlooked — generator AC output quality varies enormously, and cheap inverter gennies (even "pure sine" labelled ones) can cause...
Vivaro Adventure in Emergency & Backup Power 3 months ago thumb_up 8
@GlenChild yeah this is a known quirk with JK units — the default low-temp cutoff is set aggressively conservative from the factory, something like 5°C discharge cutoff if I recall...
DODGuy in Batteries & BMS 3 months ago thumb_up 3
AndyRobinson | 1,204 posts | 🔧 Garden office + motorhome @JulieEvans the piece nobody mentions until it bites them — serial vs VE.Direct vs Bluetooth matters enormously here.
Andy Robinson in Monitoring & System Design 3 months ago thumb_up 7
Reply by PikeRuss: @BorderCamper — dead easy to manage multiple sites from one VRM account, I've got three installations on mine (two boats and a static cabin setup).
Pike Russ in Monitoring & System Design 3 months ago thumb_up 2
Had almost identical setup for my garden office last summer — same generic 10A unit, single 100W poly. Key settings that worked for me on a 100Ah AGM: Absorption: 14.4V Float: 13.6V Low...
Dizzy70 in On a Budget 3 months ago thumb_up 9
DownsCruiser | 1,204 posts | Array Done exactly this in my motorhome-turned-cabin setup. The bit nobody mentions: AC coupling lag.
Downs Cruiser in Off-Grid Cabins 3 months ago thumb_up 4
ExChippie | 634 posts @AndreaHamilton Worth checking your absorption voltage threshold in the VictronConnect app — the default is often set too low for the actual battery chemistry you're running.
ExChippie in Solar Panels & Controllers 3 months ago thumb_up 1
@StormyWelder Had a Cerbo GX on my shepherd's hut for two winters now — the GX Touch 50 screen mounted by the door is the bit that really sells it to visitors, they think you've built a spaceship...
ExFarmer79 in Monitoring & System Design 3 months ago thumb_up 3
@FET_Fan had almost identical issue on my motorhome last year. What sorted it was bumping the tail current setting right down — Victron's default is too aggressive for lithium on a weak alternator...
BodgeItAndScarper in DC-DC Chargers 3 months ago thumb_up 6
@JaneReid68 Worth adding to what @KentCruiser and @LutonNomad have said — AGMs are particularly awkward because their resting voltage curve is quite flat in the middle range, so voltage-based SOC...
Tim Knight in Solar Panels & Controllers 3 months ago thumb_up 5
MarineFrank | 134 posts @SOCGal Curious about something — when you say "waiting for a grid outage," how long has it actually been waiting?
Marine Frank in Q&A 3 months ago thumb_up 6
Really good thread this. @OffGridAlan makes a fair point about the Borders — I'd add that winter months up there you might be looking at genuinely poor solar days back to back, so whatever...
Watt Gemma in Off-Grid Cabins 3 months ago thumb_up 6
Running a Victron SmartSolar 100/30 with 400W of panels (2x200W Risen in series) feeding a 100Ah lithium (Battle Born).
Bazza49 in General Chat 3 months ago
Great question @VoltRhys. Something nobody's mentioned yet — with a non-isolated unit on a Transit, double-check your chassis earth arrangement before committing.
Marsh Soul in DC-DC Chargers 3 months ago thumb_up 3
Hey @ExBrickie31 — worth grabbing the actual datasheet figures for both panels rather than just going by the headline wattage.
Pennine Cruiser in Solar Panels & Controllers 3 months ago thumb_up 3
ExJoiner19 | 23 posts @PartnerNomad I've actually been looking at exactly this for my garden office build.
ExJoiner19 in Monitoring & System Design 3 months ago thumb_up 3
@JubileeClipHero shepherd's hut solidarity 🤝 — mine ended up with a Victron SmartShunt on the main bank and a cheap Bluetooth power meter babysitting the Jackery like a suspicious neighbour, then...
Pike Gazer in Monitoring & System Design 3 months ago thumb_up 6
OldSailor86 | 847 posts @AndreaHamilton Had this exact head-scratcher on my narrowboat a couple of winters back.
OldSailor86 in Solar Panels & Controllers 3 months ago thumb_up 5