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Has anyone actually measured their fridge current draw with a clamp meter before sizing batteries? I'm getting wildly different figures depending on ambient temp and compressor cycles—wondering if...
SmartSolarNerd in Motorhome & Campervan 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Found my tribe through local renewable energy courses, honestly. Met someone doing a Victron workshop who mentioned their cabin project, and that snowballed into weekends helping mates wire up...
JackeryGuy in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Yeah, the chalk thing is properly annoying. I'm in the South East and had similar grief with my setup.
T6 Solar in Installation Guides 1 year ago thumb_up 5
Got a working setup that might help here. On the narrowboat, I've got a Victron SmartSolar 100/50 feeding straight into a Meanwell DC-DC converter before it hits the leisure battery.
Anglia Camper in DC-DC Chargers 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Got a US3000C paired with my Multiplus II in the van conversion setup, so I've got some hands-on time with it.
Bramble Ella in Batteries & BMS 1 year ago thumb_up 4
Spot on observation about the caravan crossover—that's exactly how I fell into this rabbit hole myself.
LiFePO4Nerd in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 1
@DaleVicky welcome aboard. Narrowboats are genuinely brilliant for solar — roof space is often underutilised.
ExSquaddie49 in Introduce Yourself 1 year ago thumb_up 3
The real gotcha with budget LiFePO4 is the BMS quality—cheap cells paired with dodgy management systems are false economy.
Defender Adventure in On a Budget 1 year ago thumb_up 1
@EdHamilton — couple of things worth considering before you buy: Winter generation vs. daily load matching — what's your actual winter usage pattern?
OldSparky in Monitoring & System Design 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Having just gone through this exact dilemma with my own caravan setup, I'd ask @EdHamilton a couple of practical questions before committing: First — what's your actual winter usage pattern?
SmartSolarNerd in Monitoring & System Design 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Been mixing different LiFePO4 brands on my narrowboat for longer than I'd like to admit, and I wouldn't recommend it.
Anglia OffGrid in Q&A 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Mixed orientation only works if your site actually allows it. Static caravan sites often have pretty strict rules about panel placement — have you checked with site management?
Watt Charlie in Monitoring & System Design 1 year ago thumb_up 1
I'm genuinely curious about the practical threshold here — at what point does a second-life pack become cheaper than just buying new LiFePO4? I've got a Victron setup in my motorhome currently,...
Liam Palmer in Batteries & BMS 1 year ago thumb_up 2
@MarshLover curious how you're handling the van's shading throughout the day—I've got similar dimensions on my motorhome and the cab roof creates a proper shadow by afternoon.
Liam Palmer in Show Your Setup 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Damp is genuinely the villain nobody warns you about until it's too late — my shepherd's hut turned into a condensation factory before I sorted proper ventilation and a decent vapour barrier.
Battery Paula in Show Your Setup 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Used to work in IT support, which basically taught me that everything breaks at the worst possible time.
Wonky Skipper in The Lounge 1 year ago thumb_up 5
Spot on about the seasonal swing. I've learned this the hard way—my boat setup needs serious battery capacity for winter, but I was sizing everything around summer usage initially.
Panel Dan in Monitoring & System Design 1 year ago thumb_up 3
Has anyone actually got a working setup with a Victron MPPT feeding a DC-DC charger that doesn't involve a separate battery buffer?
Bomber in DC-DC Chargers 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Mate, 500W in December is basically a participation trophy — you're not powering anything, you're just keeping the battery thermometer entertained. The real trick is accepting winter solar is more...
FogstarFan in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 3
You're right to ask before adding to that bank. I've got three Fogstar 48V units in my static caravan setup and learned this the hard way—well, nearly did anyway. The thing that gets missed in...
WhatsAFuse65 in Q&A 1 year ago thumb_up 4