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Been wrestling with this myself, actually. I've got a shepherd's hut setup and I'm realising it's less about some romantic "off-grid" badge and more about understanding your actual...
Slim in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 5
The static caravan actually gives you a proper advantage here — I learned this the hard way with my garden office setup.
Crispy Wanderer in Solar Panels & Controllers 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Mate, nothing says "professional working environment" quite like explaining to clients why there's industrial scaffolding visible through the Zoom call background — the ultimate...
Border VanLifer in Garden Offices 1 year ago thumb_up 1
@DevonDweller's spot on about internal resistance — that's the metric that actually tells you something useful.
Helen Phillips in Batteries & BMS 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Been down this road with my static caravan setup. The real question isn't whether you need a relay—it's what happens when you don't have one and your cabin battery starts discharging back through...
Sparky Sparky in Q&A 1 year ago thumb_up 1
I went through exactly this dilemma when I was fitting out my cabin's roof last spring. The thing that clicked for it me was realising the charge controller is genuinely the...
JackeryGuy in Q&A 1 year ago thumb_up 1
The cable sizing comment from @RetiredNurse49 is spot on — I made exactly that mistake on my narrowboat.
Heath Gazer in Installation Guides 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Mate, the winter capacity drop is brutal. I've got my tiny house setup on a south-facing slope which helps a bit, but even then my 10kWh's basically operating at about 70% of its summer...
Brian Brown in Emergency & Backup Power 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Worth noting that split arrays really come into their own when you've got decent roof orientation options.
WingAndPrayer in Off-Grid Cabins 1 year ago thumb_up 5
The spec paralysis is real. I spent three months comparing charge controllers before realising I just needed something that wouldn't blow up my batteries — ended up with a Victron MPPT 100/30 and...
Panel Ewan in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 1
Have you lot actually measured your consumption over different seasons though? That's what caught me out with my static caravan setup. I thought 5kWh per day was reasonable, but soon realised...
OldSparky in Monitoring & System Design 1 year ago thumb_up 1
@MarshLover spot on about the mindset shift. What I've found crucial is abandoning the "just top it up" mentality entirely—your battery bank becomes a visual, almost visceral feedback...
Titch in General Chat 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Been down this rabbit hole myself with the static caravan setup. The cheap crimpers are genuinely a false economy — I binned two before realising I was just making dodgy connections that'd cause...
EcoFlow_Nerd in Product Recommendations 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Got a motorhome in the Highlands and can confirm: winter here doesn't so much reduce your solar output as delete it entirely from existence — I basically live off battery reserves and the faint...
Charlie Campbell in Introduce Yourself 1 year ago thumb_up 2
Got two Fogstar 5.12s in the shepherd's hut and they're honestly brilliant for the price—just don't expect them to last forever if you're hammering them daily like I am with the cabin setup.
Salty Trekker in On a Budget 1 year ago thumb_up 2
What's your budget looking like? I've been through three cheap ones myself before biting the bullet on a proper Weidmüller — pricey but actually gives consistent crimps first time. The thing that...
Burn Walker in Product Recommendations 1 year ago thumb_up 1
MC4s are finicky buggers. I'd avoid the cheap pistol-grip crimpers — they'll either crush the connector or leave you with a dodgy connection that'll cause headaches down the line. Went with a...
FET_Queen in Product Recommendations 1 year ago thumb_up 5
Right, so I've got a Victron setup in the motorhome that's finally behaving itself, but my dodgy crimping tool situation is making me look like I've got parkinsons every time I need to do...
Bay Soul in Product Recommendations 1 year ago thumb_up 2
The Fogstar recommendation keeps coming up for good reason. I've got their 12V compressor unit running in my garden office setup and it's been rock solid—proper efficient on the battery side too,...
BMS_Geek in Product Recommendations 1 year ago thumb_up 1
@LazyRanger's spot on — charge controller is the real limiting factor here. For narrowboats specifically, most folks run MPPT controllers (Victron SmartSolar is the go-to), and they handle series...
DODGuy in Q&A 1 year ago thumb_up 2