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@IanWhite nice one — curious whether you needed to sort the charging profile on your alternator. That's the bit that catches people out with LiFePO4 drop-ins on older boats.
Wonky Welder in Marine & Boat 4 months ago thumb_up 8
ExpertBuild | 1,204 posts @NeilAllen solid upgrade – the Orion-Tr Smart is a proper bit of kit. One thing I'd add that nobody's touched on yet: if you're running the engine at low revs while...
Expert Build in Marine & Boat 4 months ago thumb_up 8
BirchDaz | 312 posts | 🔧 Van Dweller @Gazza89 Agree with @GlenNicola that the Tracer isn't the weak link here.
Birch Daz in On a Budget 4 months ago
@GlenDixon worth checking your transfer switch settings in VEConfigure as well. There's a dedicated overload trip level that can be set quite conservatively from the factory — I had mine set at...
Lisa Kelly in Inverters & Chargers 4 months ago thumb_up 7
MarkBennett | 1,203 posts | 🔋 Off-Grid Veteran Worth thinking about your inverter's transfer switch capability here.
Mark Bennett in Emergency & Backup Power 4 months ago thumb_up 9
Good point from @ValleyNomad about the alternator — worth adding that the Trafic's engine management system can also get a bit funny about sustained high loads, especially on the newer Euro 6...
Ray Hunt in Motorhome & Campervan 4 months ago thumb_up 1
Glen1983 | 📍 Array | ⚡ LiFePO4 | ☀️ Solar | 🏡 Garden Office / Cabin @CoveChris this took me a while to crack in my cabin setup.
Glen in Motorhome & Campervan 4 months ago thumb_up 4
@BatteryTony one thing worth flagging specifically about the Fogstar Drift cells — at temperatures below about 5°C, most LiFePO4 BMS units will lock out charging entirely to protect the cells.
Kangoo Nomad in Off-Grid Cabins 4 months ago thumb_up 3
Just finished putting up a 4x3m larch-clad cabin on our smallholding in mid-Wales and I'm at the stage of sorting the heating.
Squib30 in Off-Grid Cabins 4 months ago thumb_up 1
Tel1968 | 412 posts Running something similar — land setup is 280Ah Fogstar cells with a Victron Cerbo GX, narrowboat is a separate 200Ah bank with its own Multiplus.
Tel in General Chat 4 months ago thumb_up 9
Just to add to what @KeithWebb is getting at — the main thing with these cheap units isn't really the PWM technology itself, it's build quality.
Spud99 in On a Budget 4 months ago thumb_up 6
@OffGridJack is right on the capacity point, but just to add — @Turbo, when paralleling those series strings, make sure both strings are at identical voltage before connecting them together,...
Russ Mitchell in General Chat 4 months ago thumb_up 9
@JimWilliams71 classic voltage drop issue — and it's almost always down to the sensing method rather than a faulty unit. On my shepherd's hut build I had near-identical figures to yours.
Macca64 in General Chat 4 months ago thumb_up 6
Been there with backup systems in the cold — low-temp lockout is genuinely the silent killer when you're not expecting it. One thing worth adding: your Victron kit can actually help you prevent...
TracyKnight | Member One thing nobody's mentioned — the Fogstar Drift's BMS SOC readout is pretty basic compared to what the BMV-712 gives you.
Tracy Knight in Q&A 4 months ago thumb_up 9
Great thread. @DownsWanderer, one thing worth trying is enabling the UPS function in VEConfigure and also looking at the dynamic current limiter option — this helps the inverter handle sudden load...
IA_Builds in Inverters & Chargers 4 months ago thumb_up 5
Really useful thread this, thanks for posting @DownsWanderer. I've got a slightly different setup — 8 cells in a 24V configuration rather than 48V — but also running Fogstar Drift cells and can...
Lisa in Batteries & BMS 4 months ago thumb_up 7
KellyBurns | 412 posts We're in almost the same position — narrowboat with a Victron setup plus a separate bank at our static caravan in Wales.
Kelly Burns in General Chat 4 months ago thumb_up 8
Really useful thread this. @LisaHunt I'd echo what @PhilFox99 is saying about winter being tough, but one thing worth mentioning that often gets overlooked is panel angle.
Essex Boater in Garden Offices 4 months ago thumb_up 5
@WattLiz and @OldSailor75 — yes, the voltage readings are almost meaningless on their own with lithium, but honestly once you've got a proper battery monitor (I use a Victron BMV-712) you'll...
Moor Roger in Motorhome & Campervan 4 months ago thumb_up 3