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Ha, @SussexSolar's nailed it. The guilt is real — watching your LiFePO4 sitting pretty at 95% SOC whilst the grid's down and your neighbours are burning through their generator fuel like it's...
The battery drain is the real wildcard nobody talks about enough. Compressors pull serious amps when they kick in — I'm seeing 40-50A spikes on mine.
Marine Gaz in Motorhome & Campervan 1 year ago thumb_up 2
The split array approach actually saved our motorhome setup during those long Scottish winter months. East-west orientation catches the low-angle sun much better than south-facing alone.
Island OffGrid in Off-Grid Cabins 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Winter solar? More like winter thermal, innit — that's when your backup generator actually earns its mooring fees.
Salty Mechanic in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Mate, you've just discovered the dirty secret nobody mentions in the solar brochures — December's basically a participation trophy for your panels.
OffGridGeek in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Sticking with your Fogstars is definitely the right call here. The real issue isn't just the BMS disagreeing — it's that you lose any warranty support the moment you mix brands.
Salty Hiker in Q&A 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Yeah, winter on a boat's brutal. 2.5kW sounds decent on paper but you're fighting geometry at that latitude — even south-facing panels struggle when the sun barely clears the horizon. A few things...
BodgeItAndScarper in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Spot on about the proper crimper—I made the mistake of borrowing a mate's generic one and got inconsistent pressure. Invested in a dedicated MC4 tool and never looked back.
Tor Jake in Installation Guides 1 year ago thumb_up 2
I'm running HA with a Victron MultiPlus II and honestly the real game-changer for me was setting up proper automations around low battery warnings.
Marsh Lover in Monitoring & System Design 1 year ago thumb_up 4
Cheers for the detailed feedback, all of you. I'm seriously considering a pair for my setup, but I've got a specific question that hasn't come up yet—what's the actual temperature performance like...
Copper Sparky in Batteries & BMS 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Winter's been a real wake-up call for me on the boat. I've got about 2.5kW of panels spread across the roof, but come December the output drops to something laughable — sometimes less than 500W...
Bay Tim in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 2
The real kicker is what happens when you factor in grid outages as a bonus feature rather than a cost.
OffGrid Hamish in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Yeah, this resonates. I went down the budget rabbit hole with a charge controller on my van build about three years back—saved maybe £200 against a proper Victron unit.
Border Camper in On a Budget 1 year ago thumb_up 2
The chalk problem is real. I learned this the hard way with my shepherd's hut — spent an afternoon thinking I'd gone mad watching resistance readings that wouldn't budge. What actually shifted...
Mate, if you're on chalk you might as well be hammering it into concrete — I've got three rods in my cabin and still get dodgy readings on the megger.
Right, I'll add a different angle here. Been through this exact dilemma in my box van setup, and the real problem with absorption fridges whilst mobile is they genuinely struggle when you're...
Boxer Camper in Motorhome & Campervan 1 year ago thumb_up 1
The compressor peak draw thing is exactly why I've ended up with a Fogstar 40L in my static—sits nicely at around 35-40A worst case, and the battery bank's sized to handle it without drooping the...
Good shout on the depth, @IanHenderson79. I'd add that if you're on clay or chalk (which half the UK seems to be), you might need to go deeper or consider multiple rods.
Heath Gazer in Installation Guides 1 year ago thumb_up 1
The mixed orientation thing — yeah, I've been there. Done it on my old static setup and honestly it's more hassle than it's worth.
FormerMechanic in Monitoring & System Design 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Right, here's what I've learned doing this on my static caravan setup. The basics Your earthing rod needs to go minimum 1.5m into the ground — deeper if your soil's poor.
Ian Henderson in Installation Guides 1 year ago thumb_up 2