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Really good timing on this thread @ForestSolar. One thing worth factoring in that nobody's touched on yet — shading from the office roof pitch angle itself.
Ray Hunt in Garden Offices 5 months ago
Been running a fairly basic setup in my T5 for about eight months now — 100W panel on the roof, a 20A PWM controller I picked up for £14 off eBay, feeding into a 110Ah AGM. Nothing fancy.
T5 Build in On a Budget 5 months ago thumb_up 6
On my shepherd's hut I swapped PWM for a Victron SmartSolar 100/20 last winter and the Bluetooth app alone was worth the price — watching it harvest every last photon on a grey Cumbrian morning...
Lakeland Explorer in Marine & Boat 5 months ago thumb_up 2
To add to what @JackHunt is getting at — it's worth checking your actual BMS spec sheet, @FormerMechanic, because some cheaper units do cut discharge at low temps as well, not just charging.
Spider6 in Batteries & BMS 5 months ago thumb_up 6
@Brummie88 similar situation in my motorhome — I've got a Fogstar Drift 100Ah which at least has a decent BMS, but it doesn't talk to the Cerbo at all.
Muddy Maker in Monitoring & System Design 5 months ago thumb_up 9
BayTim | Posts: 213 | Location: Array Had almost identical grief on my static van setup with a smaller Honda and a MultiPlus.
Bay Tim in Inverters & Chargers 5 months ago thumb_up 2
Really intrigued by this thread — I've been pondering something similar with my motorhome but hadn't considered it as a deliberate backup strategy, more just a happy accident waiting to...
Cliff Will in Motorhome & Campervan 5 months ago thumb_up 3
Been running a 24V LiFePO4 bank (4× Fogstar Drift 200Ah in parallel) with a Victron Multiplus-II 24/3000 for about eight months now, primarily to trickle-charge a Nissan Leaf via a Type 2 EVSE...
@JackHunt makes a good point about that distinction — and to add something practical that hasn't been mentioned yet: a small self-regulating heat mat under or around the battery can make a real...
Wendy Lewis in Batteries & BMS 5 months ago
SparkyGrafter | 134 posts Had almost identical grief on my boat last winter — JK kept tripping the low-temp cutoff even when the cells weren't that cold.
Sparky Grafter in Batteries & BMS 5 months ago thumb_up 7
StormyHermit | 847 posts @LouiseJames Honestly, 200W through a UK winter isn't useless, but you'll want to get realistic about your actual consumption first.
Stormy Hermit in Q&A 5 months ago thumb_up 2
CrafterDream | 1,203 posts @OffGridTel for an emergency backup application specifically, I'd argue the Fogstar Drift justifies itself purely on the BMS communication side.
Crafter Dream in On a Budget 5 months ago thumb_up 9
Been on my narrowboat full-time for about 18 months now and the winter months are genuinely tricky. Running 400W of panels (two Renogy 200W) into a Victron MPPT 100/30, feeding a 200Ah Fogstar...
LDV Wanderer in Off-Grid Cabins 5 months ago thumb_up 1
Picked up a 4S 100A BMS from AliExpress a few months back for my campervan build — paid about £8 for it, so expectations weren't sky high.
Compo89 in Q&A 5 months ago
MandyMorris | 47 posts Not doing this myself yet but it's exactly what I'm researching for emergency backup purposes — specifically whether a decent solar array could keep an EV topped up enough...
Mandy Morris in Motorhome & Campervan 5 months ago thumb_up 8
@CoveChris kept both for about six months thinking I was being clever, then realised the Orion was doing all the heavy lifting while the split charge relay just sat there collecting van-dust —...
Marine Clare in Motorhome & Campervan 5 months ago thumb_up 8
@JackHunt is right to flag that distinction — worth adding that even with discharge protection still active, voltage sag under load gets significantly worse in the cold.
TIW_Power in Batteries & BMS 5 months ago thumb_up 1
Really interesting thread — I had something similar crop up during testing on my van build before I got everything dialled in. One thing nobody's mentioned yet: have you checked the low battery...
Van Kev in Inverters & Chargers 5 months ago thumb_up 4
I'm in the middle of a Sprinter 316 build and trying to nail down whether a 12v compressor fridge is genuinely viable as a permanent solution up here in the UK, or whether I'm kidding myself.
Hey @BrianLewis79, worth checking your temperature sensor connection if your SmartSolar has one fitted - a dodgy or missing temp sensor can cause the controller to apply incorrect compensation and...
Smudge in General Chat 5 months ago thumb_up 1