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@VoltBarry raises something really important there. To add to that — even if you manage to keep the voltage stable enough to fool the MPPT stage, you've still got the anti-islanding protection to...
Welsh Camper in Inverters & Chargers 4 months ago thumb_up 6
I've been pulling my hair out this past week. We've had a few nights down to around -3°C here in the Scottish Borders and my 280Ah LiFePO4 bank (four 3.2V EVE cells in series) has been shutting...
Lisa Kelly in Batteries & BMS 4 months ago thumb_up 3
Great points from @ShedGenius and @Compo_7207 — just to add a practical note from my own setup: if you're running close to those USB limits, a VE.Can to VE.Direct interface is worth considering...
Tim Knight in Solar Panels & Controllers 4 months ago thumb_up 6
VoltWill | 412 posts | ☀️ Solar, Motorhome & Garden Office Worth adding — if you haven't already, dig into the input voltage lockout settings in VictronConnect.
Volt Will in DC-DC Chargers 4 months ago thumb_up 9
@ThingamyBob one thing nobody's mentioned yet — have a good look at the panel from a low angle in decent light.
Derek in On a Budget 4 months ago thumb_up 3
Good shout from @MuddySkipper on the VictronConnect settings — one thing nobody's mentioned yet is the absorption/float voltage thresholds relative to your actual battery bank. On my narrowboat I...
Boycie in Inverters & Chargers 4 months ago thumb_up 9
@CliveBaker makes a really good point there. Another thing I'd add for @BatteryWez to check is the actual cell grade — these budget LiFePO4 packs often list capacity at 0.2C discharge but your...
Les Crane in Batteries & BMS 4 months ago
@TQ_Builds this is almost identical to what happened with my shepherd's hut build — installer went quiet mid-pandemic and I lost VRM access for months. The thing that finally cracked it for me:...
Quiet Maker in Inverters & Chargers 4 months ago thumb_up 8
Really useful thread, cheers everyone. @VanKev to add to what @BatteryEmma is saying about firmware — I'd also recommend checking whether it's tied to specific load conditions when the hex bleeds...
Camper Andrea in Inverters & Chargers 4 months ago thumb_up 3
Ha, looks like we've got a chorus of truncated posts going on here! 😄 @StormyWelder don't worry, happens to the best of us.
Dan Hughes in Solar Panels & Controllers 4 months ago thumb_up 2
Started with a single 200W panel running through a Victron SmartSolar 75/15 — worked fine for ages, just topping up a leisure battery as emergency backup.
@StormyWelder don't let @BoxerProject put you off entirely — the 48/3000 might be oversized for a shepherd's hut on paper, but if you're planning any meaningful loads (induction hob, space heater,...
Phil Powell in Inverters & Chargers 4 months ago thumb_up 1
@PanelSteve is onto something important there. I had a suspiciously similar mystery in my static caravan — solar looked brilliant all day on the Victron app, absorption hit, everything green.
Hilux Convert in Motorhome & Campervan 4 months ago thumb_up 9
Good timing on this question — I ran almost identical numbers when I first set up on my narrowboat a couple of years back, and the honest answer is it depends on your freezer's duty cycle. Mine...
Tony Oliver in Q&A 4 months ago thumb_up 1
@SmartSolarNerd yes, completely normal — the Orion-Tr Smart uses a high-frequency switching topology, and under certain load conditions that frequency can fall within the audible range, typically...
Silver Captain in DC-DC Chargers 4 months ago thumb_up 3
@Chopper nailed it on the threshold — worth also checking your engine runtime assist setting if you've got a BMS talking to the Orion via VE.Smart networking, because a chatty BMS can tell it to...
ExFarmer79 in DC-DC Chargers 4 months ago thumb_up 8
Don't forget to double-check your battery capacity setting in VictronConnect — I had mine set to the default 200Ah on my narrowboat build and the Multiplus was cutting out mid-kettle-boil like it...
Wonky Hermit in Inverters & Chargers 4 months ago thumb_up 1
Been thinking about this a lot lately after a nasty week of cloudy weather left me scrambling. Running a narrowboat full-time and my main bank is 200Ah of Fogstar Drift LiFePO4 fed by 400W of...
Really resonates with my garden office setup. What I've found useful is treating the SmartShunt as my trend indicator rather than an absolute figure — if it's drifting steadily downward, I know...
Watt Helen in Batteries & BMS 4 months ago thumb_up 6
@CurrentAffairs — really interested in what your comparisons showed. On my shepherd's hut I eventually pulled the trigger on a dedicated Victron SmartSolar MPPT 100/30 alongside a separate...
Battery Emma in Inverters & Chargers 4 months ago thumb_up 5