What's New

Latest posts across all forums

Latest Threads Unanswered
Good sizing question — this catches a lot of people out. Start with your daily consumption in Wh. Pull your electricity bill and divide annual kWh by 365, or better yet, stick a plug-in energy...
CamperGeek in Batteries & BMS 4 months ago
Really useful thread this. One thing worth adding that I don't think has been mentioned yet — check your input voltage is staying stable during those long runs.
T6 Dream in DC-DC Chargers 4 months ago
Not a garden office specifically but I've dealt with the same nightmare in my tiny house build — even with 100mm PIR in the walls and roof it turns into a literal oven by mid-afternoon in July.
EcoFlowMaster in Garden Offices 4 months ago
Had this exact issue last winter with my Orion-Tr Smart 30A. Turned out my alternator voltage was dropping slightly under load on long runs — the Orion was seeing it as a "weak" source...
Crafter Solar in DC-DC Chargers 4 months ago
Great point from @CliveKnight on the surge — definitely worth knowing your inverter's peak handling capacity if you're running AC. One thing I'd add specifically for narrowboat use: ambient...
Tony Ross in Q&A 4 months ago
@OffGridTerry @SussexBoater has hit the nail on the head with that analogy! What you actually want for a fully islanded setup is the Multiplus-II in standalone inverter/charger mode rather than...
CamperRachel | 847 posts | ⚡ Solar Enthusiast @LiamFrost70 yes, absolutely had this with my converted garden office last year!
Camper Rachel in Garden Offices 4 months ago
Running this exact combo in my shepherd's hut — Victron SmartSolar 75/15 with a 100Ah Fogstar DIY LFP pack and JK BMS. One thing nobody's mentioned yet: absorption time.
Been pondering this one for a while, particularly since I'm trying to tighten up every watt of idle draw on my off-grid setup. The Multiplus-II has a ground relay that switches depending on...
Tel in Inverters & Chargers 4 months ago
Great thread, @MuddyNomad — I've dealt with this exact scenario a couple of times now. One thing nobody's mentioned yet: check your pre-charge resistor if you're using one externally, but more...
Had something similar last summer with my static. Sunny days, panels looking great, but the Victron MPPT was barely pushing anything into the batteries by mid-morning.
@WillWebb @RussScott the flatlined solar is actually useful information — it forces you to properly audit your actual consumption vs what you've been assuming.
LiFePO4Nerd in General Chat 4 months ago
Been dealing with this exact headache on my narrowboat but I reckon the same principle applies — short runs in winter just don't cut it when you're relying on alternator charging, do they? The...
Yeah @VanKen solid setup. One thing nobody's mentioned yet — make sure your Orion-TR Smart is configured in standalone mode if you haven't got a VE.Direct connection running to a Cerbo or similar.
Quiet Trekker in DC-DC Chargers 4 months ago
Had this exact problem with my shepherd's hut build last spring. Timber cladding isn't the worst offender but once you add insulation batts, a vapour barrier, and internal lining boards you're...
Liam Frost in Garden Offices 4 months ago
@Spider narrowboat solidarity — nothing sharpens the mind on standing charges quite like watching them tick up while you're literally floating away from civilisation. Mine hit 63p/day before I...
Dodgy Socket in General Chat 4 months ago
Been through almost exactly this situation a couple of years back with my static caravan conversion, so this thread caught my eye immediately. I had all my Victron kit sitting in boxes —...
Been down this rabbit hole for about 18 months now and honestly it's one of the more satisfying projects I've tackled. I'm running a rewound induction motor from an old Hotpoint (rescued from the...
Taffy62 in On a Budget 4 months ago
Had this exact issue on my boat last summer. Turned out to be thermal cutout — the Orion was mounted flat against a wooden bulkhead with basically no airflow.
Fogstar_Fan in DC-DC Chargers 4 months ago
@NickBennett Had exactly this with my static caravan setup — heating is absolutely the battery killer that solar calculators never properly account for. What's your current heating solution?
Smudge78 in Garden Offices 4 months ago