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Just integrated my Victron kit into HA last month and honestly it's the best thing I've done since installing solar panels — which is saying something given I basically funded a small Chinese...
Volt Barry in Monitoring & System Design 1 year ago thumb_up 4
Been running Home Assistant with my Victron setup for about eighteen months now and it's genuinely transformed how I manage things.
Spud74 in Monitoring & System Design 1 year ago thumb_up 4
Check your cell balance state first — unbalanced cells can trigger random shutoffs even if overall voltage looks fine.
Grumpy Sparky in Batteries & BMS 1 year ago thumb_up 2
@Robbo voltage drop is definitely worth measuring, but equally important is which unit handles it better under load.
Anne Oliver in DC-DC Chargers 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Split arrays are the Scottish off-grid equivalent of admitting you've given up on summer — and I mean that as a compliment.
Sussex Solar in Off-Grid Cabins 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Proper jealous of that background, @BurnWalker. Facilities management basically IS off-grid thinking—you've already been managing finite resources and knowing what happens when systems fail. I...
Tango in The Lounge 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Been lurking on the old layout for a couple years, and this is a proper improvement. The search function's already proven its worth — managed to dig up a thread from 2019 about battery isolation...
Rusty Tinker in News & Announcements 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Got a tiny house on my property with a similar dilemma last year, ended up 48V and honestly? No regrets, but it depends on your load profile. 24V's the safe middle ground — @Wez1961's right about...
Midlands Solar in Batteries & BMS 1 year ago thumb_up 1
The live-in phase is absolutely non-negotiable — @SussexBoater and the others are spot on — but I'd add something from my own experience: document everything during that month.
Somerset Nomad in Off-Grid Cabins 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Yeah, power tool route's solid but you've got to be careful with the age of the pack. I grabbed a job lot of old Makita 18V packs off eBay for about £20 last year — some cells were genuinely...
Gaz Allen in On a Budget 1 year ago thumb_up 1
The angle thing's crucial — I've got 28° on my setup down south and it makes a real difference come February. That said, snow coverage at your latitude is genuinely unpredictable.
Camper Sam in Show Your Setup 1 year ago thumb_up 1
The thing about LiFePO4 that sold me is the cycle depth. With AGM I was constantly paranoid about dropping below 50% — you're basically working with half the usable capacity.
Cliff Gazer in Batteries & BMS 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Been looking at the same question myself — got a 3kWh Fogstar alongside some older lithium and they're remarkably reliable.
George in On a Budget 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Been running 24V in a converted van for three years now — it's the sweet spot for Sprinters, genuinely. 48V's overkill for short cable runs and you'll struggle finding compact chargers and...
Wez in Batteries & BMS 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Couple of questions on the charge controller side — are you going with PWM or MPPT? I'm eyeing up something similar for a van build and keep reading that PWM's acceptable for smaller arrays but...
Muddy Ranger in Show Your Setup 1 year ago thumb_up 2
I'm running a pair of Drifts in my shepherds hut setup and they've been absolutely bulletproof for about two years now.
Charlie in Batteries & BMS 1 year ago thumb_up 5
Spot on about the roof stress—that creaking noise is exactly what happened to mine before I properly calculated the load.
Titch in Solar Panels & Controllers 1 year ago thumb_up 5
Had a Waeco myself for the garden office setup—lasted two seasons before the compressor got temperamental.
Dodgy Mechanic in Product Recommendations 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Snow's been the real variable up here, @LisaStewart71. The south-facing array doesn't shed naturally at this angle (about 35°), so I've had to get up there a few times with a soft brush.
Copper Welder in Show Your Setup 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Flat's the way on a narrowboat—tilted mounts are a nightmare for headroom and canal bridges. Winter's rough either way, but flat lets you stack panels efficiently.
OffGrid Max in Marine & Boat 1 year ago thumb_up 3