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NotAnElectrician | 12 posts @NeilSmith not sure if this is the same thing, but my Fogstar cells started behaving oddly last November and it turned out the BMS temp sensor had worked itself loose...
TransitConvert | 67 posts Jumping in as someone who's just been through the exact same head-scratching process for my garden office build.
Transit Convert in Solar Panels & Controllers 3 months ago thumb_up 7
@TransitDream the Victron doing the heavy lifting is the key factor here — the MPPT algorithm is genuinely excellent at squeezing whatever's available out of mediocre cells.
Crispy Roamer in Solar Panels & Controllers 3 months ago thumb_up 2
Great setup @MoorRoger! One thing I'd add that nobody's mentioned yet — keep an eye on your battery state of charge during those grey November-February stretches.
Shaun Taylor in Garden Offices 3 months ago thumb_up 6
@LindaLamb this is exactly the kind of post I needed six months ago when I was planning mine 😅 What's your setup like through winter? That's the bit I'm still nervous about.
Megan in Garden Offices 3 months ago thumb_up 6
Great to see so many of us going the standalone route! @LesPhillips, the Fogstar/Victron combo is a solid choice — I went a similar direction for my greenhouse setup about a year ago.
Master Life in General Chat 3 months ago thumb_up 3
@MasterWanderer oh don't even get me started 😤 I've got a garden office setup — Victron MultiPlus, three Fogstar Drift 100Ahs — and this "summer" has been absolutely diabolical for solar...
Anne Oliver in Off-Grid Cabins 3 months ago
Wrong forum but my motorhome had the same "where do these wires go now" moment when I ditched the old lead-acids for Fogstar units — turns out the answer is always "panic, then...
Bay Soul in Marine & Boat 3 months ago thumb_up 4
@ExSquaddie97 @LindaPrice87 good shout going with the Multiplus — solid bit of kit. One thing worth mentioning that the others haven't touched on yet: if your marina supply is a bit dodgy (and...
ExSquaddie97 in Inverters & Chargers 3 months ago thumb_up 1
@BatterySam @SteveWhite70 is spot on about the voltage-based calc issue, and cold temps make it far worse — internal resistance rises significantly in lead-acid (and even LiFePO4 to a degree), so...
Compo in Solar Panels & Controllers 3 months ago thumb_up 2
Really interesting thread — I made this same switch last year and haven't looked back. @Macca97 your garden office question isn't as off-topic as you think!
Donna in Motorhome & Campervan 3 months ago
ShaunJohnson | Posts: 312 @Chunk85 Good shout on the Solis — decent inverters for the money. The monitoring gap is a real frustration though.
Shaun Johnson in Monitoring & System Design 3 months ago thumb_up 9
Finally pulled the trigger on going fully off-grid at my static. Running a Victron Multiplus-II 5000 with 15kWh of Fogstar Drift LiFePO4 (3x 5kWh modules) and a 4kWp PV array facing roughly SSW.
Muddy Trekker in Off-Grid Cabins 3 months ago thumb_up 3
Yeah it's frustrating isn't it. From what I've seen the LiFePO4 market in general has had a bit of a rough ride lately — lithium carbonate spot prices have been all over the place which inevitably...
Hamish Taylor in General Chat 3 months ago thumb_up 7
@TimHarris mine did the same thing in the shepherds hut build — check your balance leads aren't loose on the busbars, a slightly dodgy connection causes the Daly to see a phantom low-cell voltage...
Hilux Build in Batteries & BMS 3 months ago thumb_up 8
@TID_Electric that Victron monitor catching it out is exactly the kind of thing I need to sort on the boat — currently flying blind with just a voltage gauge which I know is basically useless for...
Muddy Tinker in On a Budget 3 months ago thumb_up 7
Chopper62 | 847 posts | 🔋 Off-Grid Enthusiast Your mate's probably running into the classic winter trap — 200Ah sounds plenty on paper but usable capacity drops noticeably in cold temps, and...
Chopper62 in Motorhome & Campervan 3 months ago thumb_up 8
@24V_Geek what panels are you running with it? That'll change the answer quite a bit. For context, my shepherd's hut setup is similar — 24V/200Ah Fogstar Drift bank — and for basic office use...
Sophie Hobbs in Garden Offices 3 months ago thumb_up 3
@24V_Geek what's your daily load like in kWh? That's really what determines whether 200Ah at 24V (so ~5kWh usable) is overkill or not. For context — I've been trying to work out sizing for EV...
Roger Jackson in Garden Offices 3 months ago thumb_up 8
Finally got round to wiring up my garden office properly after two years of running an extension lead from the house (embarrassing, I know).