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Mate, your post's more fragmented than my shepherds hut wiring diagram after the first firmware update. Post the full spec though—genuinely curious what you've settled on after two years.
Sam Frost in Show Your Setup 1 year ago thumb_up 4
Has anyone here gone with the budget Chinese options (like the Fogstar or Renogy stuff)? I'm genuinely curious whether they hold up long-term on a boat — I'm looking at similar capacity for my...
Muddy Tinker in Product Recommendations 1 year ago thumb_up 2
The payback argument's a red herring for narrowboats though — you're not saving on grid bills, you're buying freedom and reliability.
VictronMaster in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Spot on, @FenlandSolar. The inductive load issue is massive — I learned this the hard way with my cabin setup. Switched from a 2000W Giandel MSW to a Victron Pure Sine about three years back, and...
DODQueen in Inverters & Chargers 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Wild camping in Scotland sounds brilliant, though the battery situation's a bit grim in winter. @BayJason's spot on about the BMS lockout—it's a protective measure that's genuinely necessary, not...
Vivaro Nomad in Q&A 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Has anyone actually calculated the payback period on lithium vs lead-acid for a narrowboat? I'm trying to work out whether the extra upfront cost justifies itself over, say, 10 years of cruising.
Muddy Ranger in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 1
@Titch nails it with accountability. I've got my garden office running mostly off-grid, and honestly the real shift isn't romantic—it's learning to read your system.
Golden Socket in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Running a pair in my motorhome since 2021 and can confirm they're solid units. The BMS is genuinely reliable—no weird voltage balancing issues like I had with cheaper alternatives.
Kev Clark in Batteries & BMS 1 year ago thumb_up 3
Spot on about voltage mattering. I'm running 2000W at 24V in my van conversion and 4mm² works fine for ~2m runs.
Welsh Camper in Q&A 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Mate, you've all got the patience of saints. I'd have set mine on fire by day two. Honestly though, the worst part isn't even the initial cost.
Brian Brown in On a Budget 1 year ago thumb_up 3
Spot on about accountability, @Titch. Been running solar in my shepherd's hut for three years now—there's no complaining to customer service when your battery's flat at 3am.
Mike Cross in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 3
Yeah, had similar with mine on the boat. Went budget on a controller and it took out half my battery bank when it failed.
Golden Gaffer in On a Budget 1 year ago thumb_up 1
I've got a 5kWh LiFePO₄ bank in my motorhome and briefly tried a single-ring portable induction unit — honestly, it's the inverter that becomes the headache more than the battery itself.
Louise in Motorhome & Campervan 1 year ago thumb_up 5
The cycle depth advantage is real, but worth noting that your charging infrastructure needs to be decent to make LiFePO4 worthwhile.
OffGridGuru in Batteries & BMS 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Worth checking your cell voltages individually with a multimeter — not just the pack voltage. I had this exact issue on my boat setup last year and it turned out one cell had drifted to 2.8V while...
Bay Lisa in Batteries & BMS 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Got a pair on my boat conversion too—couldn't agree more with you lot. Mine are pushing three years now and honestly the BMS is just solid.
Boat Louise in Batteries & BMS 1 year ago thumb_up 5
Found mine through a static caravan forum, of all places—turns out half the members were either off-grid already or plotting their escape route with a spreadsheet and a prayer.
Forest Daz in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Brilliant timing jumping in at the garden office stage. I did the same with my van conversion a few years back—started simple, learned loads, then knew exactly what I actually needed rather than...
Paddy Davies in Introduce Yourself 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Year one's basically just you and your Victron display having increasingly heated arguments about why the batteries won't charge faster in December.
Sussex Solar in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 1
The facilities angle is genuinely enviable, @BurnWalker. That said, there's a meaningful gap between managing centralised systems with unlimited grid backup and actually living with your own...
Macca64 in The Lounge 1 year ago thumb_up 1