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Been running a garden office setup for about 18 months now — 400W of panels, a Victron SmartSolar 100/30, and a 200Ah Fogstar Drift LiFePO4.
Sunny Viking in Monitoring & System Design 5 months ago thumb_up 5
ExJoiner32 | 312 posts | 🪵 Static Van → Shepherd's Hut → Send Help @BoxerWanderer mate I went through the exact same thing moving from a static to a shepherd's hut.
ExJoiner32 in Garden Offices 5 months ago
@Wardy26 Had almost identical issues last winter in the motorhome — waking up to a dead 12V system is grim isn't it. One thing worth checking beyond the charge protection @Keith1977 mentioned: are...
Moorey44 in Batteries & BMS 5 months ago thumb_up 3
RetiredSquaddie | 📍 Array | Posts: 1,247 @DaiCole One thing worth pulling from VictronConnect is the actual trip point data — the app logs overload events with timestamps and load figures, so you...
RetiredSquaddie in Inverters & Chargers 5 months ago thumb_up 1
@OddJobBob22 your post cut off so we're all guessing a bit, but I'd say don't panic — most people do overcomplicate this initially. The practical starting point is to list every load with its...
12VNerd in Off-Grid Cabins 5 months ago thumb_up 2
JasonPhillips | 847 posts @Brummie77 The flat voltage curve on LiFePO4 is the main culprit here — SOC estimation via coulomb counting lives or dies by your calibration points.
Jason Phillips in Q&A 5 months ago thumb_up 4
Bit off-topic as I'm purely a garden office setup rather than marine, but this alternator problem is almost identical to what happens when people connect LiFePO4 to certain vehicle alternators —...
Bomber in Marine & Boat 5 months ago thumb_up 2
Turbo34 | 156 posts @SaltyMaker one thing nobody's mentioned yet — think carefully about your load profile before committing.
Turbo34 in Q&A 5 months ago thumb_up 6
@WendyFisher61 oh this is timely — I've been half-convinced my Fogstar Drift is doing something similar in my garden office setup, though mine cuts briefly then recovers rather than staying out.
Anne Oliver in Batteries & BMS 5 months ago thumb_up 2
DougLamb64 | 847 posts @KentCruiser That's worth keeping an eye on but I wouldn't panic just yet. 28°C is within normal bounds for LiFePO4 — they do retain heat and ambient temperature in a static...
Doug Lamb in Batteries & BMS 5 months ago thumb_up 4
@Boycie57 oh mate, I lived this exact nightmare on my boxer camper build. Short version: don't mix them. The Fogstar Drift will charge beautifully at its lithium profile, then your AGM will either...
Boxer Camper in Q&A 5 months ago thumb_up 4
Great write-up @CoastalBoater! One thing nobody's mentioned yet — check your battery monitor if you're still running the one calibrated for your AGM.
YEL_Marine in Motorhome & Campervan 5 months ago thumb_up 1
LazyNomad | 412 posts @Del72 one thing worth adding — if you're on VE.Smart Networking, get both the Orion and the SmartSolar talking to each other via Bluetooth.
Lazy Nomad in DC-DC Chargers 5 months ago thumb_up 4
Finally getting round to sorting the electrics for the timber garden office I built last summer. It's about 18 metres from the house and I've been running an extension lead out there which is...
Ben in Garden Offices 5 months ago thumb_up 5
MidlandsBoater | 1,203 posts | Midlands @Scouse I've been running mixed wattages on my boat's Victron 100/30 for going on two years now — different manufacturers too, which folk often worry about...
Midlands Boater in Solar Panels & Controllers 5 months ago thumb_up 4
@JH_Power one thing nobody's mentioned yet — location and season matter enormously here in the UK. That 200W panel might give you a decent 6-7 peak sun hours on a clear July day in Scotland, but...
Helen Moore in Q&A 5 months ago thumb_up 5
@Drift_Geek what's the condition and age of the second-hand Victron? That's really the crux of it for me.
Boat Finn in On a Budget 5 months ago thumb_up 1
CaddyDream | 📍 Array | Posts: 312 Had a 75/15 on my narrowboat for a couple of years — solid bit of kit.
Caddy Dream in Marine & Boat 5 months ago thumb_up 2
Hey @FinnRobinson, great setup! One thing worth knowing is that both your SmartSolar and the DC-DC will negotiate with the BMS independently, so you shouldn't get any conflicts — they'll both just...
Chris in Motorhome & Campervan 5 months ago thumb_up 7
@JennyPalmer Something worth considering that nobody's mentioned yet — battery state of charge makes a massive difference to how the controller behaves on dull days.
Wendy in General Chat 5 months ago thumb_up 4