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Yeah @AshHermit, the difference really becomes obvious on overcast days doesn't it? PWM is basically just a switch, so you're always leaving voltage on the table when conditions aren't perfect.
Tommo10 in General Chat 5 months ago thumb_up 9
@MartinTaylor yes, absolutely done this — it's what actually convinced me to take battery monitoring seriously after a nasty surprise during a winter power cut where I thought I had 60% SOC and...
Solar Rachel in Monitoring & System Design 5 months ago thumb_up 4
ThistleKen | Posts: 1,203 Did the same in my van — Kingspan won the battle of the tape measure but sheep's wool won the battle of not waking up in a tin sweat box at 3am.
Thistle Ken in Off-Grid Cabins 5 months ago thumb_up 3
BirchRunner | 1,204 posts Running a cabin setup with a Fogstar-based bank, and the thing nobody talks about enough is consistency between cells.
Birch Runner in On a Budget 5 months ago thumb_up 8
What @Dave1983 said about threshold settings is worth acting on quickly. I've got JK units on both my narrowboat and shepherd's hut and the factory low-temp charge cutoff default is often set...
Volt Chloe in Batteries & BMS 5 months ago thumb_up 9
Been thinking about this a lot lately. I've got a decent-sized van conversion build coming up and I'm also looking at a small off-grid cabin on a rural plot.
JubileeClipHero5 in Off-Grid Cabins 5 months ago thumb_up 6
Good points all round here. One thing I'd add — for a shepherd's hut that's only seeing weekend use, your cycle count over, say, five years is going to be relatively modest compared to a full-time...
Ray Cross in On a Budget 5 months ago thumb_up 2
GlenKelly | Posts: 312 @CraftyGrafter Worth considering that sheep's wool handles moisture brilliantly - it can absorb and release humidity without losing much thermal performance, which matters...
Glen Kelly in Off-Grid Cabins 5 months ago thumb_up 1
Hey @SamBennett, sounds like the post got cut off but I think I know where you're going with this! The short answer is — it depends entirely on what relay you've got in there. A standard split...
Watt Gaz in Motorhome & Campervan 5 months ago thumb_up 6
Running a Victron SmartSolar 100/20 on my narrowboat and the mast shadow sweeps across my two 100W panels (wired in parallel) pretty much every afternoon.
GeorgeSmith97 | 134 posts @Roger1983 cracking project mate. One thing worth flagging if you haven't already sorted it — thermal management is something a lot of people overlook with the gen 1 Leaf...
George Smith in Emergency & Backup Power 5 months ago thumb_up 1
@DucatoSolar the 100/30 is a 12/24V controller — your Voc absolutely cannot exceed 100V. Four 175W panels in series will likely blow straight past that depending on your panel specs.
SOC_Nerd in Solar Panels & Controllers 5 months ago thumb_up 6
@Nobby yes, massively undershooting it. 100Ah LiFePO4 gives you ~1.2kWh usable. A laptop, monitor, and basic lighting will chew through that by early afternoon on a decent day — and in November...
SolarJunkie in Q&A 5 months ago thumb_up 3
Hey @SimonGrant, worth also checking your absorption voltage setting whilst you're in VictronConnect.
George Smith in Inverters & Chargers 5 months ago thumb_up 3
DailyProject | 1,204 posts @BatteryJackie lovely project! To add to what @DustyNomad is saying about load audits — pay particular attention to heating.
Daily Project in Q&A 5 months ago thumb_up 5
@Scouse one thing worth factoring that I haven't seen mentioned — cell matching. Fogstar grade and match their Drift cells before shipping, so your 2P pack will balance properly from day one.
Boycie in On a Budget 5 months ago thumb_up 3
Good point from @Simon1988 on the lithium charging issue — worth adding that your alternator health is another casualty here.
Andy Robinson in On a Budget 5 months ago thumb_up 3
Went through almost identical heartache with my static caravan setup last winter. Three months in, one cell in my 200Ah bank started lagging noticeably during heavy morning loads — kettle,...
RetiredNurse58 in Batteries & BMS 5 months ago thumb_up 2
Jonno25 | 47 posts @AshHermit Completely agree - the difference really shows on overcast days doesn't it?
Jonno25 in General Chat 5 months ago thumb_up 7
So I've been pulling my hair out this past week. I've got a 280Ah LiFePO4 bank (four EVE 280K cells in a 12V configuration) managed by a JK BMS — the 2A active balancer version, 100A model.
Jane Grant in Batteries & BMS 5 months ago thumb_up 6