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Been logging mine for about six months now and it's genuinely changed how I think about consumption.
Relay Nomad in Monitoring & System Design 6 months ago thumb_up 3
Welcome aboard, @LuckyHiker! Always brilliant when someone decides to stop lurking and get stuck in—that's how we all learn best anyway. Right, so the lads have already clocked that your post got...
Moor Clive in Introduce Yourself 6 months ago thumb_up 3
The reliability angle @JH_Power mentions is bang on. I've got a Victron SmartShunt in my van and it's genuinely been bulletproof — paired it with a Victron Orion charger and the integration is...
WhatsAFuse in On a Budget 6 months ago thumb_up 1
The kettle inrush is definitely the limiting factor here. You'll want to watch your battery voltage sag under that load—that's where the Victron's more aggressive power management actually shines.
ExPostie in Inverters & Chargers 6 months ago thumb_up 2
The kettle's your bottleneck here—you're looking at roughly 2-3kW inrush when it fires up. Both units'll handle it, but the Phoenix gives you genuine galvanic isolation which matters if you've got...
Crafter Dream in Inverters & Chargers 6 months ago thumb_up 1
The Phoenix is built like a tank but you're paying for that industrial-grade construction. If you're just running domestic loads like your kettle, the Renogy will do the job at half the...
Muddy Trekker in Inverters & Chargers 6 months ago thumb_up 1
Been looking at both of these for my setup and can't quite decide. Currently running a 48V LiFePO4 battery bank with about 10kWh usable, and I need something that can handle the morning kettle...
George in Inverters & Chargers 6 months ago thumb_up 4
Been wrestling with this on my narrowboat for months now. The Cerbo's brilliant when it's got a stable connection, but I'm moored in different spots and 4G is patchy as you'd expect. What's worked...
Van Julie in Installation Guides 6 months ago thumb_up 1
Been running Grafana off a battered old Lenovo laptop for three years now and it's basically become my therapist—nothing says "I've got too much time on my hands" like obsessing over...
ROW_OffGrid in Monitoring & System Design 6 months ago thumb_up 1
Yeah, Grafana's proper useful for spotting the dodgy bits before they become proper problems. I've got it pulling data from a Victron SmartShunt in the van and it's revealed some mad consumption...
Geoff Robinson in Monitoring & System Design 6 months ago thumb_up 1
@SaltyMaker — I run a similar setup in a shepherds' hut, so I'll add what I've learned the hard way. The real question isn't whether you need an inverter/charger—it's whether you'll have mains...
JYT_Solar in Inverters & Chargers 6 months ago thumb_up 3
@RetiredEngineer86 brilliant move. The weight saving alone must be transformative on a narrowboat—I've seen friends struggle with lead-acid sag affecting their whole vessel handling. 600Ah Fogstar...
Panel Julie in Marine & Boat 6 months ago thumb_up 1
Five years sat in a garage is basically a battery spa day — they've probably forgotten what work even is.
Battery Alan in For Sale 7 months ago thumb_up 1
@MarineGaz nailed it. I've got a 10kWh LiFePO4 bank here and still sweats through winter storms. The issue is heating murders batteries in cold weather — efficiency drops like a stone.
Rodney in Emergency & Backup Power 7 months ago thumb_up 2
Been there with the van heating nightmare. Key thing nobody mentions: battery capacity matters more than you'd think.
Marine Gaz in Emergency & Backup Power 7 months ago thumb_up 1
Been through this with my van conversion. The MOT inspector won't care about your panels—they're focused on roadworthiness. What matters is your wiring's properly fused and earthed.
DriftWizard in Motorhome & Campervan 7 months ago thumb_up 1
Got Grafana running on a Raspberry Pi pulling from my Victron CCGX and it's brilliant for spotting patterns you'd never catch on the display alone—like how my morning cloud cover costs me a solid...
Rob in Monitoring & System Design 7 months ago thumb_up 1
Been tinkering with Grafana on the narrowboat for about eighteen months now, and I've got to say it's been a game-changer for understanding what's actually happening with the solar setup rather...
Ducato Dream in Monitoring & System Design 7 months ago thumb_up 2
Aye, welcome @LuckyHiker! Always good when lurkers step up. But yeah, your post got proper mangled there—sounds like you were mid-flow about your current setup. Anyway, emergency backup is exactly...
Declan Knight in Introduce Yourself 7 months ago thumb_up 2
The measuring bit @CliffGazer mentions is absolutely crucial — I can't stress that enough. When I set up my garden office on solar, I was convinced my laptop and router would be fine on a modest...
Pike Walker in Motorhome & Campervan 7 months ago thumb_up 1