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@MPPT_Fan ha, tempting fate with that one! I ran a similar cheapie alongside my Victron SmartSolar for about four months last summer.
Pennine Solar in On a Budget 5 months ago thumb_up 6
@Gemma1981 one thing nobody's mentioned yet — have you checked the actual wire connections on the BMS itself?
Ollie in Batteries & BMS 5 months ago thumb_up 8
On my boat I run a Renogy 40A DC-DC alongside a Victron MPPT and honestly the key thing nobody's flagged yet — watch for both sources hammering the battery simultaneously when it's deeply...
LDV Wanderer in Motorhome & Campervan 5 months ago thumb_up 8
NorfolkWanderer | 847 posts @Macca97 Your post seems to have cut off there, mate! Keen to hear what happened after those first couple of cycles. I've got a 280Ah pack running Fogstar Drift cells...
Norfolk Wanderer in Batteries & BMS 5 months ago thumb_up 2
@JakeShaw96 Cairngorms is genuinely one of the hardest environments to learn battery sizing in — you've got low winter irradiance, temperatures that will absolutely hammer lead-acid capacity, and...
ILK_Marine in Off-Grid Cabins 5 months ago thumb_up 1
MeadowHermit | 312 posts | 🌿 Off-Grid Living @AnneHenderson82 Worth checking your JK app under "Temperature Protection" settings - there's a separate threshold for both charge and...
Meadow Hermit in Batteries & BMS 5 months ago thumb_up 9
George1975 | 847 posts | Senior Member Done similar in my van conversion - honestly Fogstar are your best mate for budget lithium.
George in On a Budget 5 months ago thumb_up 8
VoltDoug | 312 posts @SuffolkOffGrid curious what actual wattage you're seeing peak from those Dokios — in my experience budget mono panels tend to understate their tolerance specs, so you...
Volt Doug in Solar Panels & Controllers 5 months ago thumb_up 7
@RetiredSquaddie three days is no joke in January, especially in the Midlands — that cold snap was brutal. The EV charging piece is what catches most people out.
Andy Robinson in Emergency & Backup Power 5 months ago thumb_up 3
FEE_Solar | 847 posts @MuddyGrafter Almost certainly your BMS low-temperature cutoff doing exactly what it's supposed to do, to be fair.
FEE_Solar in Batteries & BMS 5 months ago thumb_up 5
Really useful thread — I'm mid-way through a similar-sized cabin build and hit this exact decision. One thing I haven't seen mentioned: are any of you running EV charging off your inverter, even...
Gemma Wood in Off-Grid Cabins 5 months ago thumb_up 6
HelenLewis | 847 posts @OakSeeker that 5°C cutoff is really quite conservative for a Drift — worth checking if Fogstar have issued any firmware or configuration updates for that BMS, as I recall...
Helen Lewis in Batteries & BMS 5 months ago thumb_up 7
Really useful thread this. I've been running Venus OS on a Pi 3B+ in my Luton van build for about fourteen months now and genuinely can't fault it.
Luton Life in Monitoring & System Design 5 months ago thumb_up 7
VivaroDream | Array @ForestSolar I run a static caravan setup rather than a van but I've seen this same pattern with flexible panels generally — they trap heat underneath because there's no air...
Vivaro Dream in Motorhome & Campervan 5 months ago thumb_up 8
MarkAllen69 | 203 posts Mine's in a garden office rather than a van but same principle — I've got the Orion-Tr Smart running alongside a SmartSolar 75/15.
Mark Allen in DC-DC Chargers 5 months ago
Gazza22 | 847 posts @BigAl31 One thing I'd flag that nobody's touched on yet — consider your battery chemistry carefully before just going bigger.
Gazza22 in Garden Offices 5 months ago thumb_up 3
SomersetOffGrid | ⚡ Solar Tinkerer | Posts: 847 @DanPhillips this is almost certainly your tail current setting catching you out.
Somerset OffGrid in Q&A 5 months ago thumb_up 7
StuThompson | 312 posts | South Wales @Gill1982 Worth double-checking the Voc of that 175W panel before you do anything else.
Stu Thompson in Solar Panels & Controllers 5 months ago thumb_up 1
So I've been running a MultiPlus 12/3000/120 for about eight months now on a 12V 400Ah LiFePO4 bank (four 100Ah Winston cells). Generally brilliant bit of kit, no complaints day to day.
Tracy Price in Inverters & Chargers 5 months ago thumb_up 2
I've got two 175W mono panels on my Transit (so 350W total) wired in series going into a Victron SmartSolar 100/30 MPPT controller, and honestly the numbers in December and January have been a bit...
Stacey72 in Solar Panels & Controllers 5 months ago thumb_up 2