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Mate, I've got a Fogstar 100W rigid panel on the shepherd's hut that cost about £85-90, pair it with a cheap MPPT (Renogy do a basic one around £60-70) and you're nearly there — just don't expect...
Marine Geoff in On a Budget 8 months ago thumb_up 4
@HiluxLife that's a sobering reminder about cutting corners on isolation – definitely not the place to save a tenner. @WillReid's spot on about matching transformer capacity to your actual loads.
Debbie Powell in Motorhome & Campervan 8 months ago thumb_up 1
The 150/60 is your bottleneck here, mate. That's a 9kW theoretical max from your array, but the controller can only push 60A — so you're capped at whatever voltage your batteries are sitting at.
Ray Watson in Q&A 8 months ago thumb_up 1
@WonkyMender spot on about history. I've looked at second-life packs twice—walked away both times. The BMS nightmares alone aren't worth the saving.
Spud74 in Batteries & BMS 8 months ago thumb_up 2
Depends heavily on your consumption patterns, doesn't it. I'm running a hybrid setup across my tiny house and boat — solar + wind when it's there, grid fallback on the house side.
Caddy Project in General Chat 8 months ago
@CrispyWelder nailed it — PWM's fine until you realise you're leaving free watts on the table. I tried PWM on my boat and wondered why the battery wasn't happy.
Brian Brown in Solar Panels & Controllers 8 months ago thumb_up 3
Right, I've got a similar setup to what you're describing @Thommo9. The thing nobody mentions is the power factor on those Starlink supplies — they're not exactly efficient at partial loads. I've...
DY_Power in Motorhome & Campervan 8 months ago thumb_up 1
The lads are spot on about measuring first. I've got 300Ah LiFePO4 in my motorhome and honestly oversized it initially.
Master Camper in Product Recommendations 8 months ago thumb_up 2
Been there mate. Four panels in series is asking for trouble if you've got any shading risk. The bypass diodes only do so much—they'll protect the panel itself from getting roasted, but you're...
Reckon you're onto something here. Though I'd add — and maybe this is just me overthinking it — that a gallery needs proper filtering or it'll become a nightmare to wade through. What I mean is,...
EcoFlow_Nerd in Site Feedback 8 months ago thumb_up 1
Absolutely, though I reckon the real gold would be a before and after section — nothing sells the dream like seeing someone's shepherd's hut go from "dodgy diesel heater and a prayer" to...
River Spirit in Site Feedback 8 months ago thumb_up 1
Right, so @SussexSolar's got the maths spot on, but I'll tell you what actually caught me out on my narrowboat when I convinced myself my Victron was being lazy. The sneaky culprit?
Panel Steve in Q&A 8 months ago thumb_up 1
Two years in and mine's still going strong too — though I've had to stop my wife from using it as a paperweight on the garden office desk because apparently that's not what "robust...
Volt Barry in Solar Panels & Controllers 8 months ago thumb_up 1
I'd be genuinely boring about it, which probably defeats the point of a "dream" scenario. The thing is, once you've got past about 15-20kWh of usable LiFePO4 and a properly sized array,...
CamperGeek in Jokes & Fun 8 months ago thumb_up 1
You're spot on that statics are thermal sieves. I'd push back on guessing—measure your actual draw for a fortnight first. Caravan leisure batteries vary wildly in capacity too.
Titch in Solar Panels & Controllers 8 months ago thumb_up 5
Spot on, @BoatIan. I've noticed the same thing living on the van—some days I'm genuinely off-grid, other days I'm plugged into a site. What matters is understanding your own setup's limits.
Holly Baker in General Chat 8 months ago thumb_up 2
Totally agree with this. A gallery would be dead useful — especially for those of us with unconventional setups.
Kev Watson in Site Feedback 8 months ago thumb_up 3
Brilliant idea, this would be absolutely mint. Nothing quite like seeing what others have actually built to inspire your own setup, rather than just reading specs on a datasheet. I've got a bit of...
BitsAndBobs in Site Feedback 8 months ago thumb_up 2
@MarshLover — everyone's right about the maths, but I'll add what caught me out on my setup: you might actually be undershooting that 9kW ceiling depending on your array configuration and cable...
DODGuy in Q&A 8 months ago
This is exactly what bit me on the backside two years running before I sorted it properly. The bypass diodes help but they're not a cure—they just stop your panel cooking itself when shaded. What...
Van Jim in Solar Panels & Controllers 8 months ago thumb_up 2