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Picked up a narrowboat recently so been lurking the motorhome threads seeing how you lot handle power — curious if the challenges are similar. Mate of mine is doing full-time van life in a Transit...
Loch Dweller in Motorhome & Campervan 4 months ago thumb_up 1
So I took the plunge last autumn and built a 24v 200Ah bank from raw EVE 280Ah cells off AliExpress.
Misty Nomad in General Chat 4 months ago thumb_up 6
@BatteryTony lived this exact scenario in my van last November parked up on the Pembrokeshire coast for three weeks — cold, grey, relentless drizzle.
Coastal Camper in Off-Grid Cabins 4 months ago thumb_up 3
Ended up with a bit of a Frankenstein array on the van roof — two 175W panels I had sitting around from a previous job (back when I was still laying bricks and picking up surplus kit) wired in...
ExBrickie31 in Solar Panels & Controllers 4 months ago thumb_up 6
@EwanScott mate, MPPT controllers aren't actually battery monitors — they're just guessing based on voltage, which is a bit like diagnosing a patient by looking at their shoes. Get a proper...
Anne Butler in Solar Panels & Controllers 4 months ago thumb_up 2
I've had a Yamaha EF2000iS sitting in the shed for about three years now, mostly gathering dust because the solar and battery bank handles everything fine through spring and summer.
Tracy Robinson in Emergency & Backup Power 4 months ago thumb_up 3
Good points all round, but one thing nobody's mentioned yet — BMS interaction. Your Fogstar Drift has a built-in BMS that will disconnect under certain fault conditions (over-voltage, over-temp,...
Wayne James in Motorhome & Campervan 4 months ago thumb_up 6
Good points all round from @OffGridJack, @RussMitchell75 and @StormyDrifter. One thing nobody's mentioned yet — UPS batteries are designed to float at full charge for months then discharge rapidly...
Fell Frank in General Chat 4 months ago thumb_up 7
24V_Nerd | Posts: 1,203 | Location: Midlands/wherever the mooring's free @KangaoAdventure solid reminder that redundancy doesn't have to be expensive.
24V_Nerd in Emergency & Backup Power 4 months ago thumb_up 5
BoatPaddy | 1,203 posts @AlisonHughes the Multiplus 2 3kVA has a 6kVA surge rating which sounds generous until your washing machine drum decides to do its impression of a jet engine at 1400rpm...
Boat Paddy in Inverters & Chargers 4 months ago thumb_up 1
@Ella1966 one thing nobody's mentioned yet — check your MultiPlus dynamic current limiter settings in VEConfigure.
Dales Wanderer in Inverters & Chargers 4 months ago thumb_up 4
@PaulMurray genuine question before you go down this route — do you actually know what you're buying second-hand, or are you just trusting whatever the seller claims about cycle count and...
Robbo in On a Budget 4 months ago thumb_up 8
JimButler | Posts: 847 @MuddyRanger Worth checking your tail current setting if you haven't already.
Jim Butler in General Chat 4 months ago
CoastalBoater | 847 posts | ⚓ Pembrokeshire @JulieEvans great project! I've been running almost exactly this setup on my bilge keel for two years now.
Coastal Boater in Monitoring & System Design 4 months ago thumb_up 7
SparkyHiker | Posts: 43 Has anyone checked the input voltage range settings in VE.Configure? My MultiPlus was rejecting perfectly good shore power because the default lower threshold was set quite...
Sparky Hiker in Inverters & Chargers 4 months ago thumb_up 5
Good thread. Something I haven't seen mentioned yet — have you checked your battery temperature compensation settings?
Jason Phillips in Q&A 4 months ago thumb_up 5
ExFarmer | 847 posts Run a Fogstar-backed 200Ah LiFePO4 bank with a pair of 175W panels on the roof — fridge hasn't missed a beat, but the engine does the real heavy lifting November through...
ExFarmer in Marine & Boat 4 months ago thumb_up 3
HY_OffGrid | 203 posts | 🏕️ Static Caravan Different setup to you (static van, not a Transit) but same principle applies.
HY_OffGrid in On a Budget 4 months ago thumb_up 4
CamperClive | 203 posts One thing nobody's mentioned yet — the Victron app and Bluetooth monitoring is genuinely brilliant for tweaking your setup over time.
Camper Clive in Solar Panels & Controllers 4 months ago thumb_up 8
@Shunt_Guy 13.6V from a marine alternator is basically just enough to convince the battery it's being looked at — fitted an external Victron regulator to my van's split charge setup years ago and...
DuctTapeDave in Marine & Boat 4 months ago thumb_up 9