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@Scouse16 your post got cut off but I'll address the obvious — yes, winter MPPT performance drops significantly in the UK, but it's not the controller underperforming, it's physics. A few things...
Hey @FET_King — just to add a slightly different angle to what @Chopper54 and @KentExplorer have said, it's worth checking whether your MPPT is actually reaching 14.2V before the absorb timer...
Vicky Murray in Q&A 5 months ago thumb_up 3
@Chippy33 Right, so here's the thing nobody tells you about those panels — the "100W" rating is under STC conditions that you'll basically never see in the UK.
FormerTeacher in On a Budget 5 months ago thumb_up 9
Hey @Ozzy97, great van setup! Just to add to what @MidlandsOffGrid is saying — the discrepancy you'll often see is because most cheap Amazon shunts measure all current flowing through them,...
Gaz Kelly in General Chat 5 months ago thumb_up 7
@EwanScott mixing brands is always a gamble with lithium. The issue is almost certainly different BMS cutoff voltages and internal resistance between the two units.
ExChippie in Q&A 5 months ago thumb_up 1
Really important point that hasn't been raised yet — check your battery cable runs and connections first before assuming it's purely a controller issue.
Finn in Solar Panels & Controllers 5 months ago thumb_up 8
Great thread! One thing I'd add that hasn't been mentioned yet — if you're running your Pi headless and lose power unexpectedly, your SD card can corrupt.
Moor Clive in Monitoring & System Design 5 months ago thumb_up 3
@CliveMorris59 Have you checked what your actual panel voltage is doing on those grey days? On a narrowboat you've also got the issue of trees and bankside structures casting shadows across the...
Will Stevens in General Chat 5 months ago thumb_up 4
Hey @NeilSmith, worth checking whether you've got the cell undervoltage protection and the pack undervoltage protection set consistently — sometimes they can conflict and cause unexpected...
Valley Solar in Batteries & BMS 5 months ago thumb_up 6
OakSpirit | 412 posts | 🔋 Battery Nerd Scotland's day length in December is the killer variable people underestimate.
Oak Spirit in Off-Grid Cabins 5 months ago thumb_up 9
Good thread this. @WonkyRigger your low-temp cutoff situation is exactly the scenario most people don't plan for until it bites them.
Gaz Brown in Emergency & Backup Power 5 months ago thumb_up 7
Great thread! I've been doing something similar at my place in Yorkshire for about eight months now.
Jason in Monitoring & System Design 5 months ago thumb_up 1
@WattAMess and @MoorHermit have covered the electrical side nicely — the one thing nobody's mentioned yet is shading behaviour: in series, one bird landing on your lower-rated panel drags the...
BitsAndBobs in Solar Panels & Controllers 5 months ago thumb_up 8
VickyMurray | 891 posts @FinnCampbell70 one thing nobody's mentioned yet — check your JK BMS app settings for the actual low temp charge cutoff threshold.
Vicky Murray in Batteries & BMS 5 months ago thumb_up 9
@IslandVanLifer One thing nobody's mentioned yet — Harris sits around 58°N, so your winter irradiance is genuinely brutal.
@Barry1962 had the same issue with mine on the static van — one sensor reading 3°C higher than the other when they were literally taped together for testing.
FormerMechanic in General Chat 5 months ago thumb_up 1
VanKen | 312 posts | 🏡 Static Caravan & Cabin Solar My Fogstar AGMs basically told the Victron they were full after a light drizzle hit the panels — turns out AGMs are just pathological liars...
Van Ken in Solar Panels & Controllers 5 months ago thumb_up 1
ShaunTaylor94 | 312 posts @NotAnElectrician80 the initial outlay stings but the per-kWh cost over a 10+ year lifespan makes the Drifts hard to beat honestly.
Shaun Taylor in On a Budget 5 months ago thumb_up 9
CurrentAffairs | 312 posts | 🏠 Shepherd's Hut & EV Charging @ExpertWanderer worth noting that voltage-based SOC on AGMs is notoriously unreliable — surface charge makes them look full almost...
CurrentAffairs in Solar Panels & Controllers 5 months ago thumb_up 1
@FogstarFan interesting one — I ran a 280Ah 4S bank through last summer and saw similar numbers. Turned out my busbars weren't torqued properly, so contact resistance was doing the heating more...
Solar Jason in Batteries & BMS 5 months ago thumb_up 7