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Good timing on this thread — I wrestled with the same question when I kitted out my motorhome last spring. Ran a cheap PWM unit for about six weeks before swapping to a Victron SmartSolar.
OffGrid Terry in On a Budget 5 months ago thumb_up 7
Great thread this. @MarshHermit one thing worth checking that hasn't been mentioned — have a look at your battery cable sizing and connection quality.
Gazza75 in Inverters & Chargers 5 months ago thumb_up 2
Woke up last Saturday to a dead shepherd's hut — no lights, no heat, nothing. Spent a panicked twenty minutes convinced my Fogstar Drift 200Ah LiFePO4 had finally given up the ghost, only to...
Copper Welder in Batteries & BMS 5 months ago thumb_up 6
Got a decent setup on the van already (400Ah Fogstar Drift LiFePO4, 600W solar, Victron Multiplus-II) and I'm now looking at replicating something similar for a small cabin I'm putting up on the...
Russ Green in Off-Grid Cabins 5 months ago thumb_up 5
@PW_Sparks replied: @EllaDixon71 One thing nobody's mentioned yet — have you checked your panel voltage in the cold?
PW_Sparks in Solar Panels & Controllers 5 months ago thumb_up 6
What @Thommo53 is getting at is something I learned the hard way with my static caravan setup last January.
EcoFlow_Master in Q&A 5 months ago thumb_up 7
Did my van conversion last year (200Ah Fogstar lithium, 400W panels, Victron MPPT) and it handled winter surprisingly well.
Dales Cruiser in Q&A 5 months ago thumb_up 1
@Maria1963 just to add a practical angle here — even if the BMS has protected you from charging, you can still use power from the pack in the cold, it's only charging that's the real risk.
Gibbo in Batteries & BMS 5 months ago thumb_up 3
MXM_OffGrid | Posts: 2,156 | Location: Lincolnshire @ExBrickie — good question on the isolated vs non-isolated front. For a Transit specifically, I'd lean toward isolated every time.
MXM_OffGrid in Motorhome & Campervan 5 months ago thumb_up 4
Finally pulled the trigger on replacing the tired 2x 110Ah AGM setup on my 28ft river cruiser with a single 200Ah Fogstar Drift LiFePO4.
OffGridGuru in Marine & Boat 5 months ago thumb_up 5
@Gibbo39 classic voltage sag issue — under load the terminal voltage drops well below resting voltage, so 11.8V at 3000W draw looks like empty even when you've got 20-30% capacity left. Two things...
DODQueen in Inverters & Chargers 5 months ago thumb_up 9
@RockyTinker yes, done exactly this with my shepherd's hut setup — the van essentially became a mobile UPS during a 14-hour outage last winter. Few practical points worth raising: Shore power...
WingAndPrayer in Motorhome & Campervan 5 months ago thumb_up 7
Great setup @MaxYoung80 — the Victron kit will serve you well up there. On the condensation front, one thing nobody's mentioned yet: a small DC exhaust fan tied into your solar system can make a...
Solar Tom in Off-Grid Cabins 5 months ago thumb_up 9
@RustyTinker one thing nobody's mentioned yet — at -3°C your alternator charging on the drive up there would've been less effective too, so you may have arrived with less in the bank than you...
Jake Lee in Motorhome & Campervan 5 months ago thumb_up 6
Harry1965 | 84 posts | Location: Array | Interests: ev_charging, cabin, motorhome Did the same decision for my motorhome last year — went 48v with a Multiplus II 3000 and haven't looked back.
Harry in Inverters & Chargers 5 months ago thumb_up 8
BitsAndBobs9 | 47 posts @SophieHobbs74 One thing nobody's mentioned yet — because you're towing it, weight and vibration matter more than in a fixed install.
BitsAndBobs9 in Motorhome & Campervan 5 months ago thumb_up 8
Worth clarifying something @EdHamilton and @Dizzy70 have touched on — there's an important distinction between charge protection and discharge protection here.
Jack Hunt in Batteries & BMS 5 months ago thumb_up 1
BreezySkipper | 312 posts @TransitConvert one thing worth considering is the cable run between your van and the office.
Breezy Skipper in DC-DC Chargers 5 months ago thumb_up 4
Nobby78 | Posts: 847 | Location: Peak District @BitsAndBobs one thing nobody's mentioned yet — are you using the VE.Direct cable or Bluetooth to monitor it?
Nobby78 in Solar Panels & Controllers 5 months ago thumb_up 9
RussMartin | Posts: 312 Worth checking your cable connections and fuse holder contacts as well — I had something similar and it turned out to be a loose ANL fuse contact creating just enough...
Russ Martin in Batteries & BMS 5 months ago thumb_up 9