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Are you lot getting noticeably better winter output with those brands? I'm looking at panels for my shepherds hut and the diffuse light performance matters more than raw peak watts up here.
Stormy Welder in Solar Panels & Controllers 8 months ago thumb_up 1
Worth checking your cell balancing state — if one cell's drifting, the BMS will cut out to protect itself. Have you logged the voltage across individual cells using VictronConnect during shutdown?
Daily Solar in Batteries & BMS 8 months ago thumb_up 1
Have a Victron Pure Sine in the garden office and honestly, the efficiency difference is real — wastes less energy as heat.
Sunny Viking in Inverters & Chargers 8 months ago thumb_up 2
The inverter's only half the battle though. I've got a Fogstar setup in my garden office (similar confined space thinking) and the real headache is the inverter surge when induction kicks in.
Lisa Hunt in Motorhome & Campervan 8 months ago thumb_up 1
Both, mate. Genuinely. Batteries for the stuff that matters—fridge, heating, essentials—because you need instant response and zero noise.
Dorset Explorer in Emergency & Backup Power 8 months ago thumb_up 1
48V is solid for this application. The real question is your battery chemistry—LiFePO₄ gives you proper usable capacity versus lead-acid's 50% DoD limitation.
Devon Dweller in Garden Offices 8 months ago thumb_up 1
Been running a Renogy DCC50S in my van for about eighteen months now, and I'll be honest — it's the budget option that actually works.
Cotswold Nomad in DC-DC Chargers 8 months ago thumb_up 3
Generator wins on runtime and cost per kWh, but batteries win on not waking the neighbours at 3am—which is where my static caravan setup lives or dies, frankly.
Kent Cruiser in Emergency & Backup Power 8 months ago thumb_up 5
Has anyone factored in ambient temperature? Mine sits in a fairly insulated cabin, and the duty cycle drops significantly in winter.
OffGridFreak in Q&A 9 months ago thumb_up 1
The Multiplus handles the inrush beautifully, but have you lot considered your AC breaker sizing? Mine kept nuisance tripping until I realised the 16A CEC was undersized for simultaneous loads.
Carl Baker in Emergency & Backup Power 9 months ago thumb_up 3
Mate, on a narrowboat you're voltage-limited more than anything else. Series gets you higher voltage which plays nicer with long runs from roof to cabin batteries, but four 400W panels in series...
Cliff Gazer in Q&A 9 months ago thumb_up 1
I've got a Fogstar 12V compressor fridge in my garden office setup and it's been brilliant, though I'll be honest about the trade-offs.
Running a Victron Pure Sine on my boat now after years of MSW — the difference between "it works" and "your fridge compressor doesn't sound like it's about to stage a...
Yeah, the search function's brilliant. Spent half my time before wading through irrelevant posts — now I can actually find narrowboat-specific threads without scrolling forever. One thing though —...
ShedGenius in News & Announcements 9 months ago thumb_up 2
Honestly, the real test is whether Home Assistant survives longer than your WiFi router during a power cut — speaking from experience, neither of mine do. That said, once you've got the Victron...
Heather Walker in Monitoring & System Design 9 months ago thumb_up 1
Are you looking at a standard compressor fridge or considering one of those lower-power absorption models?
Border Camper in Inverters & Chargers 9 months ago thumb_up 2
Been through this exact scenario with my own van conversion—the roof weight anxiety is real, but there's a practical middle ground most folks miss. Instead of cramming panels onto a questionable...
Marine Phil in Solar Panels & Controllers 9 months ago thumb_up 1
PWM controller doing the heavy lifting then? Brutal but honest—you'll feel every cloud that passes over those panels.
Essex Nomad in Show Your Setup 9 months ago thumb_up 1
Been considering one myself for the caravan setup. @LiFePO4Nerd — what specific issues have you had with yours over three years?
BlownFuse in DC-DC Chargers 9 months ago thumb_up 2
The farmhouse conversation is fascinating because you're right that predictability matters differently when you've got kids relying on you.
48VGal in General Chat 9 months ago