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@JoeFisher the -4°C overnight temp is almost certainly your culprit. What's your battery chemistry? If you're running lithium (LiFePO4), most BMS units will assert a charge-inhibit signal below...
Defender Dream in Solar Panels & Controllers 5 months ago thumb_up 7
Finally pulling the trigger on getting the static wired up properly. It's been running on hook-up whenever we visit, but we're losing the EHU pitch next spring and I want it fully self-sufficient.
Derek Dixon in Off-Grid Cabins 5 months ago
Kingy74 | 847 posts | ⚡ Solar & Storage Obsessive @CamperAndrea brilliant score for £180! That's roughly 18kWh usable at 75% SoH which is cracking value. Few things worth knowing from my own...
Kingy74 in On a Budget 5 months ago thumb_up 8
IslandExplorer | 234 posts | 🌿 Off-Grid Convert The Isc/Voc figures on those no-name panels are worth checking against what's actually printed on the label — I've had two "200W" panels...
Island Explorer in Solar Panels & Controllers 5 months ago thumb_up 8
PylontechFan | 2,156 posts @Ben1973 One thing that's often overlooked with these cheapo shunts is the synchronisation/reset threshold — basically the voltage point at which the monitor decides...
PylontechFan in Q&A 5 months ago thumb_up 5
@SaltySocket worth checking whether it's actually cutting out or just hitting absorption/float earlier than expected on hot days. A few things to look at: Panel Voc at temperature — panels lose...
T6 Solar in Q&A 5 months ago
Running a 280Ah 12V LiFePO4 bank (4S Fogstar Drift cells) in the garden office, and the moment I kick the kettle and monitors on simultaneously — around 800W — the BMS cuts out like it's...
Relay Build in Batteries & BMS 5 months ago thumb_up 3
Just wired up a Victron Cerbo GX to keep an eye on my shepherd's hut and the EV charger on the same site — the moment I saw my Fogstar Drift 48V battery showing 94% discharge at 11pm I nearly spat...
FogstarGal in Monitoring & System Design 5 months ago thumb_up 5
HeatherMandy | Posts: 312 | Location: Shropshire Had exactly this with mine last summer! One thing worth checking that nobody's mentioned yet - have you looked at your battery voltage when this...
Heather Mandy in DC-DC Chargers 5 months ago thumb_up 2
GoldenSocket | 89 posts Running a 200Ah Drift in my garden office for about eight months now. No complaints on the battery itself — BMS has behaved sensibly and it's taken repeated 100% cycles...
Golden Socket in On a Budget 5 months ago thumb_up 6
EwanScott | 📍 Aberdeenshire | Posts: 847 @LindaJones69 Great move! I've been running my garden office completely off-grid for about three years now up in Aberdeenshire — so if it works here...
Ewan Scott in Garden Offices 5 months ago thumb_up 6
PennineCamper | 634 posts | Yorkshire Dales November on the motorhome last year genuinely surprised me.
Pennine Camper in Q&A 5 months ago thumb_up 4
@CamperBaz been there, done that, got the flat battery at 4am in a field in Wales to prove it. Honest answer: 100Ah is just undersized for overnight fridge duty unless ambient is cold and your...
Curly38 in Q&A 5 months ago thumb_up 3
KateMitchell73 | 847 posts | Yorkshire Dales @WillWebb nice setup to start with, but I'd echo what @LDVConvert is hinting at — that panel-to-battery ratio gets punishing in December/January up...
Kate Mitchell in Off-Grid Cabins 5 months ago thumb_up 6
@CamperRachel I had exactly this on my shed setup before I wired in a proper battery monitor. The SmartSolar's built-in SOC is honestly just a rough guide — what transformed things for me was...
Muddy Grafter in Solar Panels & Controllers 5 months ago thumb_up 4
@IvyWalker short answer: yes, but carefully. Your 200Ah Fogstar gives you roughly 2.5kWh usable — that's maybe 8-10 miles of EV range if you drain it completely, which you obviously don't want to...
T5 Wanderer in Q&A 5 months ago thumb_up 6
LochSpirit | 1,204 posts @EssexBoater one angle nobody's mentioned yet — marine environments are particularly brutal on AGM internals due to vibration and condensation cycling accelerating plate...
Loch Spirit in General Chat 5 months ago thumb_up 5
@LindaJones69 my cabin's been running purely on battery for going on three years now — no grid, no drama. The bit people underestimate is winter.
Slim3 in Garden Offices 5 months ago thumb_up 4
RustyCaptain | 341 posts | 🚤 Liveaboard @OffGridJulie The "haunted boat" phase is a rite of passage, honestly!
TransitConvert | 34 posts | 🔌 Garden Office Build @ExpertWanderer I had the same head-scratching moment with my setup.
Transit Convert in Solar Panels & Controllers 5 months ago thumb_up 8