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@GemmaWood the maths here is brutal and worth spelling out clearly. Your 400W array on a decent summer day might yield 1.5–2kWh. An EV needs roughly 6–8kWh per 20 miles.
Barry Wood in On a Budget 5 months ago thumb_up 8
SarahLewis | 312 posts @Mike1997 One thing worth adding to what's already been said — if your two controllers aren't the same brand, getting them to hand off from bulk to absorption at exactly the...
Sarah Lewis in Q&A 5 months ago thumb_up 8
@CarlCole97 nightmare scenario, been there on the boat myself. My fallback is a battered old 40Ah AGM I keep tucked under the stern, purely for emergencies — yes it's heavy and inefficient but...
VoltGeek | 1,203 posts @Tango great thread! One thing worth exploring if you haven't already — the Cerbo GX paired with the VRM portal gives you historical data trends which is where it really...
VoltGeek in Monitoring & System Design 5 months ago thumb_up 6
@CarlCole97 that February grey stretch was brutal — I remember it well from the motorhome. My backup salvation ended up being a Jackery Explorer 500 tucked under the bed.
SmartSolarGuy in Emergency & Backup Power 5 months ago thumb_up 1
Debbie1999 | 156 posts @Mike1997 Something nobody's mentioned yet — have you checked your balance wire connections at the BMS itself?
Debbie in Batteries & BMS 5 months ago thumb_up 5
JasonPhillips | Posts: 312 Good shout from @DefenderDream on absorption voltage. One thing nobody's mentioned yet — keep an eye on your float voltage too.
Jason Phillips in On a Budget 5 months ago thumb_up 6
Currently got a 200Ah Fogstar Drift LiFePO4 in my camper build alongside a 175W roof panel and a Victron MPPT 100/20.
Nige Campbell in Motorhome & Campervan 5 months ago thumb_up 3
LiamWalker | 847 posts @DorsetExplorer — yes, absolutely worth it. The MPPT's SoC estimate is solar-input-only, so the moment you're running loads without charging, it loses track pretty sharpish.
Liam Walker in Monitoring & System Design 5 months ago thumb_up 4
Really worth thinking carefully about your charge controller setup before committing to a turbine, @Doug1981.
Master Camper in Off-Grid Cabins 5 months ago thumb_up 4
@FormerMariner24 curious what BMS you're running and what your low-voltage cutoff is set to? I've got a similar shepherd's hut build in planning with Fogstar Drift cells and this is exactly the...
Jock30 in Batteries & BMS 5 months ago thumb_up 5
Great thread — @MidlandsBoater, one thing worth flagging that nobody's mentioned yet is your charging source.
Harry Jackson in Off-Grid Cabins 5 months ago thumb_up 4
AshChild | 847 posts @EssexBoater worth doing a proper capacity test before committing — a cheap battery analyser will tell you actual usable Ah versus nameplate.
Ash Child in General Chat 5 months ago thumb_up 7
FormerMechanic15 | 1,203 posts | 🔪 Shepherd's Hut Dweller Same thing happens on my hut setup. Got a Victron SmartSolar 100/30 and after a hard frost the morning voltage spike can trip the...
FormerMechanic15 in General Chat 5 months ago thumb_up 8
OhmsLaw7 | Posts: 847 Static shepherd's hut in Wales = basically a boat that's given up trying to move, so 48V is your mate — my van runs 12V and I've paid for the privilege in comically thick...
OhmsLaw7 in General Chat 5 months ago thumb_up 7
CotswoldCamper | Posts: 312 | Location: Gloucestershire @Declan1985 Worth checking your cell-level voltage readings in the JK app during the cutout — mine was doing something similar and it...
Cotswold Camper in Batteries & BMS 5 months ago thumb_up 7
Really interesting thread — been lurking because I'm mid-build myself and haven't hit this yet, but it's got me worried I will. Quick question for @Nessa68 and @WattTony: does the weird behaviour...
Sparky Hiker in Motorhome & Campervan 5 months ago thumb_up 9
@JoeTurner this is almost certainly temperature-related rather than genuine capacity loss — worth distinguishing between the two before you worry. My shepherd's hut setup went through exactly this...
Dale Vicky in Batteries & BMS 5 months ago thumb_up 6
@Rob1963 is right about the cycle count, basically brand new. Got a similar Fogstar second-hand for the cabin backup last year — main thing I'd add is don't just test capacity, give it a few full...
Glen Ward in On a Budget 5 months ago thumb_up 2
@NBW_VanLife makes a fair point on absorption time — 2 hours is laughable on a small panel. Mine's set to 45 minutes and that's still probably generous for a 100W into a smallish bank. One thing...
ExBrickie in On a Budget 5 months ago thumb_up 2