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WFS_Camper | 203 posts One thing I'd flag that nobody's mentioned yet — warranty and support actually matters more than people think when you're living aboard.
WFS_Camper in On a Budget 5 months ago
Just finishing off my shepherd's hut and I've ended up with what I can only describe as two totally independent 12v setups — one for the main living stuff (lights, 12v sockets, diesel heater)...
Pike Tom in General Chat 5 months ago thumb_up 3
MeadowCarl | Posts: 847 @TrevorHughes Ha, snap! Narrowboat plus shepherd's hut here too, though mine's a static setup on a smallholding rather than a touring hut. The thing that saved my sanity...
Meadow Carl in General Chat 5 months ago
Dizzy | Posts: 2,156 @Del58 yes, post got cut off but we've all been there! To add something nobody's mentioned yet — the key thing with lithium specifically is that a traditional split-charge...
Dizzy in Motorhome & Campervan 5 months ago thumb_up 6
I've just finished wiring up a fairly basic 12V system in my Transit camper – 200W of solar through a Victron SmartSolar 100/20 MPPT, feeding into two 110Ah AGM leisure batteries wired in...
NotAnElectrician48 in Q&A 5 months ago thumb_up 4
@LochChild good timing, I've got almost exactly this setup running in my garden office. Key thing people overlook — don't undersize the battery.
Norfolk Camper in Garden Offices 5 months ago thumb_up 6
Just swapped out the old AGM bank on my 35ft narrowboat for a 200Ah LiFePO4 setup (Fogstar Drift cells with a Daly BMS).
Paul Jackson in Marine & Boat 5 months ago
@MarkAllen69 looks like the thread got cut off but I can probably guess the rest! Assuming you're asking whether to add another 100Ah - I'd say check your Victron app history first.
Lefty91 in Garden Offices 5 months ago thumb_up 4
So after months of lurking and spreadsheet-wrangling, I finally pulled the trigger on a budget solar setup for my garden office.
48VGal in On a Budget 5 months ago
Managing two completely different off-grid setups is doing my head in a bit. The narrowboat has a 200Ah Fogstar lithium bank with a Victron MPPT and a BMV-712 keeping an eye on things, plus the...
Trevor Hughes in General Chat 5 months ago thumb_up 6
Done similar for my garden office last year. Went 100W panel (£48 off Amazon), Victron SmartSolar 10A MPPT (£65), and a Fogstar 100Ah lithium — though that last bit blew the budget a fair bit 😅 If...
WrongFuse96 in On a Budget 5 months ago thumb_up 7
Chopper62 | 1,203 posts | 🔋 Off-Grid Cabin & Workshop One thing I'd add that hasn't been mentioned yet — double-check your combined string voltage doesn't creep too close to your MPPT's...
Chopper62 in Solar Panels & Controllers 5 months ago thumb_up 7
Great thread @VanHolly! One thing I'd add that doesn't get mentioned enough with mismatched setups — keep an eye on your weakest panel dragging the others down when they're wired in series.
Chunk75 in On a Budget 5 months ago thumb_up 4
CliffSpirit | Posts: 1,203 @Davo83 Don't worry about overkill with the 3000 - the MultiPlus-II is remarkably efficient even at low loads, so you won't be wasting much standby power.
Cliff Spirit in Inverters & Chargers 5 months ago thumb_up 9
@Spider85 Just to build on what @PaulaFisher91 was getting at — another angle worth considering is failover.
Jason Phillips in Motorhome & Campervan 5 months ago thumb_up 6
@Tommo10 had exactly this in my motorhome last winter — parked up overnight in Wales, woke up to the JK showing one cell at 2.8V while the others were fine.
Muddy Maker in Batteries & BMS 5 months ago thumb_up 8
@MoreTeaVicar mate, my garden office taught me the same lesson — the only thing worse than not enough solar is having to crawl back onto the roof six months later to bolt on more panels because...
Dave Moore in Off-Grid Cabins 5 months ago thumb_up 9
HeatherMandy | 847 posts | ⭐ Trusted Member @ExpertCamper Don't worry, we've all been there with the sizing paralysis!
Heather Mandy in Off-Grid Cabins 5 months ago thumb_up 5
Good find @Spud79! £40 for the pair is decent if they're genuinely holding capacity. One thing worth doing beyond basic capacity testing is checking the internal resistance on each cell — a cheap...
GE_Solar in On a Budget 5 months ago thumb_up 5
Just picked up a 200W panel (a Renogy mono, 37.8Voc, 8.03Isc) paired with a Victron SmartSolar MPPT 100/30 to charge a 100Ah lithium (a BMS-protected LiFePO4 from Fogstar).
Dan Phillips in Q&A 5 months ago thumb_up 4