What's New

Latest posts across all forums

Latest Threads Unanswered
Stumbled into this forum section after spending the weekend on a friend's narrowboat on the Cam. He's running a fairly basic 12V setup — two 100Ah lead-acid starter batteries (not leisure...
BlownFuse in Marine & Boat 3 months ago thumb_up 4
Interesting to see how these cells are performing across different setups. I've been watching the Fogstar Drift range for a while — currently running Victron-based system with older LiFePO4 cells...
Chalky12 in Batteries & BMS 3 months ago thumb_up 9
@ExFarmer21 ha, the Tesco car park method is genuinely underrated 😄 I actually did a proper load profile last spring before upgrading my leisure battery bank.
QLE_VanLife in Monitoring & System Design 3 months ago thumb_up 8
@GlenDixon classic cold-morning Voc creep issue — panels in series in Scotland during winter can push well beyond their nominal Voc rating when temperatures drop significantly below 25°C (the STC...
LDV Camper in Solar Panels & Controllers 3 months ago thumb_up 2
I've got a single 200W mono panel flat-mounted on the roof of my Transit (so no tilt, just lying flat), and I'm trying to work out if it's even worth running the solar controller through the...
Dizzy in Q&A 3 months ago thumb_up 4
@TH_OffGrid yeah this is a known headache with the budget PWM units — the voltage sensing is often poorly calibrated to begin with, and cold temps make it worse.
Boat Pete in Q&A 3 months ago thumb_up 6
@WelshVanLifer panel temp makes a bigger difference than most people realise — they're actually more efficient in cold, crisp winter air than on a scorching August afternoon.
Bay Pete in General Chat 3 months ago thumb_up 6
Same situation on my shepherd's hut actually — Cerbo GX keeping an eye on everything. The bit nobody mentions is the DVCC settings becoming a proper headache when chemistries don't agree on charge...
T6 Wanderer in Monitoring & System Design 3 months ago thumb_up 8
@VivaroProject series wiring on a narrowboat is always going to bite you — one bridge shadow kills the whole string.
Clive Knight in Motorhome & Campervan 3 months ago thumb_up 3
@TimHarris had the exact same thing happen with my Daly 100A on the cabin build. Turned out to be the BMS hitting its short-circuit protection threshold momentarily under high inrush current —...
Watt Andrea in Batteries & BMS 3 months ago thumb_up 4
@JimWilliams71 one thing worth adding to what @DorsetSolar is getting at — even once you've sorted the sensing config, make sure you've got proper temperature compensation set up as well.
Copper Warden in General Chat 3 months ago thumb_up 5
PW_Sparks | 1,203 posts @CrafterSolar Great setup! One thing worth keeping an eye on through winter is your MPPT's low-temperature charging behaviour with the Fogstar.
PW_Sparks in Off-Grid Cabins 3 months ago thumb_up 7
Great thread. @BaySeeker makes a solid point about duty cycle — worth adding that in a UK garden office context, you're also fighting the solar irradiance issue for roughly 6 months of the year.
Paddy in Garden Offices 3 months ago thumb_up 2
@BarryBennett familiar territory here — I ran a DCC50S in my Vivaro before upgrading to a standalone Victron Orion-Tr Smart + separate MPPT. The DCC50S combines both charging sources internally,...
Vivaro Adventure in Motorhome & Campervan 3 months ago thumb_up 2
@BarryWood had exactly this on the Mabel Rose last summer. Clamp meter was reading higher than the Victron's logged yield, and I went down a proper rabbit hole over it. Turned out my clamp meter...
Jonno in Q&A 3 months ago thumb_up 5
BrambleHermit | 203 posts @Rodney58 The flat voltage curve on LiFePO4 is the real culprit here — between roughly 20% and 80% SOC it barely moves, so voltage-based estimation is practically...
Bramble Hermit in General Chat 3 months ago thumb_up 8
OBT_Solar | 834 posts | West Yorkshire @ShedGenius79 Solid choices all round. One thing I'd add that hasn't been mentioned yet — keep an eye on your alternator health if you're doing lots of short...
OBT_Solar in Motorhome & Campervan 3 months ago thumb_up 1
Great thread. One thing I'd add to what @HeatherOllie and @Lefty31 have already covered — source matters enormously.
JackeryFan in On a Budget 3 months ago thumb_up 1
@BrianKnight86 and @DodgyDrifter have the voltage side covered, so I'll focus on the wattage mismatch itself. Done this exact thing on my van build — mixed a 200W with two 175W panels on a Victron...
Tommo in Solar Panels & Controllers 3 months ago thumb_up 7
Robbo41 | 412 posts @GafferTapeKing19 Good setup mate. One thing worth mentioning that catches people out with statics in winter - condensation inside the battery compartment can be a real issue...
Robbo41 in Off-Grid Cabins 3 months ago thumb_up 1