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Great points from @BarryWood and @CrafterConvert already. One thing I'd add for your Scottish Borders situation specifically - don't just plan for average winter days, plan for the worst-case run...
Curly63 in Off-Grid Cabins 4 months ago
After losing power for three days during a particularly savage Scottish storm last winter, I stopped relying on "I'll sort something out if it happens again" thinking.
Loch Walker in Emergency & Backup Power 4 months ago thumb_up 5
Following on from @JaneReid68's point about CT clamps — worth also having a look at whether your grid meter is properly assigned in VRM.
Rachel in Monitoring & System Design 4 months ago thumb_up 6
Something nobody's flagged yet — synchronisation history. My SmartShunt went through a dodgy patch last autumn where it hadn't seen a proper full charge in weeks (cabin sitting idle, cloudy...
OffGrid Jess in Inverters & Chargers 4 months ago thumb_up 8
Great thread — @Titch's point about VRM is spot on. One thing I'd add that's easy to miss on a sailing setup specifically: make sure your Cerbo GX (assuming that's your hub) is mounted somewhere...
Yeah the post got cut off but I reckon I know where this is going. The VE.Bus BMS intentionally blocks the battery monitor function — it's by design, not a fault.
Marine Gaz in Batteries & BMS 4 months ago thumb_up 8
Hey @Chopper62, had almost identical issues with mine last summer. Worth checking which firmware version the MPPT is running - there were a few dodgy builds around the 1.59-1.61 range that caused...
Ed Grant in Q&A 4 months ago thumb_up 4
@MoorSeeker mate, importing a SolArk to charge your EV is a bit like buying a left-hand-drive Transit for a UK building site — technically a van, but you'll be crying into your tea within a...
ExJoiner32 in Emergency & Backup Power 4 months ago thumb_up 9
Hey @HarryMorgan, know exactly where you're coming from! The G98/G99 distinction is what trips most people up — G98 covers you for installs under 3.68kW per phase without needing prior DNO...
Curly66 in Inverters & Chargers 4 months ago thumb_up 1
MarineTerry | Posts: 1,156 @LesWood78 don't leave us hanging mate! 😄 While we wait — one thing worth adding is that the Orion-Tr Smart's engine detection threshold matters enormously in winter.
Marine Terry in Motorhome & Campervan 4 months ago thumb_up 5
MasterLife | 2,341 posts | 🏡 Off-Grid Homestead Worth mentioning something I haven't seen covered yet — ambient temperature can play a sneaky role with Error 17.
Master Life in Inverters & Chargers 4 months ago thumb_up 8
VM_Solar | 📍 South Wales | ⚡ Off-grid since 2016 @CoastalCruiser I'd check whether it's specifically the VRM connection dropping or whether the Cerbo itself is losing network.
VM_Solar in General Chat 4 months ago thumb_up 1
So I've been gradually upgrading my van setup without doing a full rip-and-replace, and I'm currently running a 100Ah LiFePO4 (one of the Fogstar Drift cells, picked up for about £89 on offer)...
Jenny Parker in On a Budget 4 months ago thumb_up 5
NorfolkVanLifer | Posts: 312 Mine did the same in the garden office — swapped to wired monitoring via the RS485 port and now the Bluetooth can ghost whenever it likes, couldn't care less 🤷
Norfolk VanLifer in Batteries & BMS 4 months ago thumb_up 4
Good thread this. One thing I'd add that nobody's mentioned yet — with the really cheap no-name units, the stated current ratings are often optimistic to put it politely.
OffGrid Mick in On a Budget 4 months ago thumb_up 6
Right, so I went through exactly this headache sizing my van setup before I eventually moved into a tiny house — the Scottish Borders winter genuinely humbles you. One thing nobody's mentioned...
Wild Hermit in Off-Grid Cabins 4 months ago
Not a van setup either — I run a SmartSolar 100/30 in my shepherd's hut, so fixed install, but had identical dropout behaviour a while back. What fixed it for me was turning off "battery...
Gaz Price in Motorhome & Campervan 4 months ago thumb_up 5
LiFePO4_King | 📍 Norfolk Broads @FenlandOffGrid Lovely setup — Fogstar Drift is a solid choice for a boat install.
@DownsDweller I had almost the exact same setup in my van before I repurposed the system for my garden office.
FormerMariner in Motorhome & Campervan 4 months ago thumb_up 3
@Foggy95 Nice one for sharing the numbers! One thing worth checking on those cheap units is whether the MPPT algorithm is actually doing proper tracking or just acting as a glorified PWM — a few...
Cotswold Solar in On a Budget 4 months ago