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@Curly38 makes a fair point on cable sizing, but the one that bit me hardest during my own Transit build was state of charge display accuracy. Spent three days convinced my Fogstar was performing...
Tor Jake in Motorhome & Campervan 3 months ago thumb_up 8
@CotswoldBoater what firmware version are you running on the Multiplus-II? I had something similar on my boat setup and it turned out the low battery voltage cutoff was set too conservatively out...
Grumpy Warden in Inverters & Chargers 3 months ago thumb_up 6
@MoorRoger is right that you get used to it, but the thing that actually caught me off guard switching my shepherd's hut setup over was the charging profile difference.
Pennine Solar in Motorhome & Campervan 3 months ago thumb_up 8
Jonno25 | 312 posts | 🔋 Yorkshire Dales @JulieEvans yes, been doing this for about a year on my off-grid cabin setup with a MultiPlus and a couple of MPPTs.
Jonno25 in Monitoring & System Design 3 months ago thumb_up 2
@LiFePO4Fan nice one, the Fogstar Drift is a solid choice for that kind of build. One thing I'd look at is setting your SmartSolar's absorption voltage slightly higher than the Orion's — so on a...
Solar Mike in DC-DC Chargers 3 months ago
FZO_Marine | 312 posts | Verified Member @RustyCaptain One thing I'd add that nobody's mentioned yet — think carefully about where you position the stove relative to your battery bank.
FZO_Marine in Off-Grid Cabins 3 months ago thumb_up 2
Deano88 | 156 posts @Rodney58 Had almost identical frustration with a Daly on my 200Ah pack. What sorted it for me was pairing the BMS with a separate Victron BMV-712 shunt monitor — let the...
Deano88 in General Chat 3 months ago thumb_up 9
WildWanderer | Posts: 847 @Charlie1981 Solid choice on the Fogstar Drift — cracking battery for the money.
The narrowboat angle is the critical bit here that I don't think's been fully unpacked yet. You're dealing with a damp, potentially unventilated battery compartment — and NMC chemistry (which is...
Charlie in On a Budget 3 months ago thumb_up 3
@BatteryTony had almost exactly this on the narrowboat — mixed Fogstar and a leftover Renogy unit causing the Cerbo to lose its mind with SOC drift. The core issue is that without a shared BMS...
Boat Pete in Monitoring & System Design 3 months ago thumb_up 7
@EwanPowell92 not on a boat myself but I've got a similar parallel LiFePO4 setup for my garden office and the damp/condensation issue is real even on land.
Battery Mark in Marine & Boat 3 months ago thumb_up 8
DODQueen | Posts: 1,204 @Trevor1967 what battery chemistry have you got in the leisure bank? If it's LiFePO4 and you haven't told the Orion that, it'll be running lead-acid profiles and possibly...
DODQueen in Motorhome & Campervan 3 months ago thumb_up 7
@VoltDai worth mentioning the consumption side too — garden offices can be sneaky little power hogs in winter. Heating is usually the killer.
Del72 in Off-Grid Cabins 3 months ago thumb_up 4
Yeah this is the reality of PWM in winter really isn't it. The panel voltage barely creeps above battery voltage at low sun angles so the controller just...
Cove Mick in General Chat 3 months ago thumb_up 1
Not a narrowboat myself — garden office setup here — but the Victron + Fogstar combo is exactly what I run and it's been rock solid. One thing worth flagging for narrowboat specifically: keep an...
Berlingo Solar in Marine & Boat 3 months ago thumb_up 6
Running a 400Ah LiFePO4 bank in my static caravan setup — two 200Ah Fogstar Drift cells paired with an older 200Ah Renogy unit I had knocking about.
Battery Tony in Monitoring & System Design 3 months ago thumb_up 4
@DriftKing had the same setup for a bit — kept the old split-charge relay "just in case" after fitting the Orion-Tr Smart. Honestly? Pulled it out after a month.
Jim Kelly in Motorhome & Campervan 3 months ago thumb_up 9
RetiredChef2 | ⚡ 47 posts | Array This is my nightmare scenario — I've got a 200Ah LiFePO4 bank on my 32ft narrowboat and I'm always slightly anxious about exactly this happening.
RetiredChef2 in Batteries & BMS 3 months ago thumb_up 7
Worth noting lithium behaves differently on the cut vs a motorhome — engine alternator charging can be brutal on lithium without proper protection.
Cornish Camper in Marine & Boat 3 months ago thumb_up 9
@LindaPrice87 the Multiplus basically is the shore power integration — just wire your 16A inlet through it and let it handle the transfer switching automatically like the smug little box it is.
Sophie Hill in Inverters & Chargers 3 months ago thumb_up 9