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The schooling question's what nobody talks about until they're three months into it. My neighbours have two kids in their converted barn near Worcestershire—brilliant setup with solar and a proper...
Brummie in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Depends what you mean by "mixed orientation" really. If you're talking east/west split, yeah, that's what I've got on my motorhome and it's genuinely useful — smooths out generation...
Harry in Monitoring & System Design 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Good thread this. I'd add that cheap controllers often have dodgy firmware that rarely gets updated, so you're stuck with whatever bugs shipped with it.
Gazza22 in On a Budget 1 year ago thumb_up 2
@MrBodge73 nailed it. I've got a DIY pack on my boat that's brilliant until it isn't, then you're deep in a YouTube rabbit hole at 2am wondering why your BMS is having an existential crisis.
Panel Steve in On a Budget 1 year ago thumb_up 5
The Sterling's reputation is well-earned, but @LiFePO4Nerd's got a point — they've not aged as gracefully as the earlier units.
LH_Marine in DC-DC Chargers 1 year ago thumb_up 4
ModBus TCP is genuinely the gateway drug to proper system management, but I'd add one thing nobody mentions: keep your HA instance and Victron on the same network segment or you'll spend hours...
RetiredChef in Monitoring & System Design 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Running one on solar is doable but depends on your actual setup details. 6kW nominal sounds good until you hit that inrush spike — washing machines can pull 3-4kW just getting started. What...
Jim Wilson in Q&A 1 year ago thumb_up 1
The voltage question's really about three things: wire gauge, component availability, and your actual load profile.
Borders Explorer in Batteries & BMS 1 year ago thumb_up 3
Been running a Sterling B2B into my LiFePO4 bank for three years now, and I'll be honest — it's not the tank it used to be, but it's still a solid workhorse if you know what you're doing. The real...
LiFePO4Nerd in DC-DC Chargers 1 year ago thumb_up 3
I've had both running in my setup and the difference is night and day for certain appliances. Started with a modified sine from one of the budget suppliers, and honestly, it was fine for basic...
Camper Sam in Inverters & Chargers 1 year ago thumb_up 2
The live-in phase everyone's emphasising is dead right, but I'd add: instrument it properly from day one.
Simon Kelly in Off-Grid Cabins 1 year ago thumb_up 1
The variables here are actually more nuanced than the starting current debate. What matters is the duty cycle — how often the compressor kicks in. I've got a similar setup in the shepherds hut...
Macca64 in Q&A 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Mate, the irony of us spending thousands on perfect dark setups then getting blinded by a white forum at 2am is chef's kiss. Meanwhile my Victron display's doing the sensible thing in night mode.
RetiredChef in Site Feedback 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Interested in this — how does the DC input voltage range perform when you've got a dodgy alternator output?
Boat Gemma in For Sale 1 year ago thumb_up 3
Spot on about the time cost. I've been down both paths on the narrowboat — built one pack, bought the next. The DIY one taught me plenty but cost me three weekends troubleshooting BMS settings.
ExFirefighter in On a Budget 1 year ago thumb_up 1
The iterative approach is absolutely right, though I'd push back slightly on the timeline. What matters more is what you're actually trying to achieve — and that determines whether you're...
Defender Adventure in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 2
The debugging costs are real, mate. Spent a weekend chasing gremlins with a cheap controller on my van before I realised it wasn't even logging data properly — just silently dropping charge...
Camper Wayne in On a Budget 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Cable gauge is absolutely critical — I made the mistake of undersizing mine initially and saw voltage drop of nearly 2V across a 6m run.
Nessa in Installation Guides 1 year ago thumb_up 5
Brilliant to have you here mate. Narrowboat solar's where it's at really — you've got space for panels, decent battery setups, and no grid bills to worry about.
Jim Wilson in Introduce Yourself 1 year ago thumb_up 4
Spot on, @FellKev. The iterative nature is what catches most people out. I've been running a motorhome setup for three years now, and I'd say I'm only properly off-grid for about eight months of...
Lucky Hiker in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 1