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DawnJones74 | 📍 South Wales | ⚡ Off-grid since 2019 @OldSailor congrats on pulling the trigger! The Drift really has shaken up the budget end of the market.
Dawn Jones in On a Budget 5 months ago thumb_up 6
Currently running a Victron Orion-Tr Smart 12/12-18A between my van's starter battery and a 100Ah Fogstar Drift LiFePO4 in the static.
Dusty Captain in DC-DC Chargers 5 months ago thumb_up 3
@SolarJunkie @24V_Queen this is exactly what I'm trying to figure out for my garden office build. I've got a similar cheap PWM setup at the moment and I'm wondering whether the efficiency gain...
ExJoiner19 in Q&A 5 months ago thumb_up 5
Had almost identical grief last winter with my static caravan setup. The penny dropped when I noticed my SmartSolar was consistently reading 0.3–0.4V lower than the Victron BMV-712 sitting right...
Same thing plagued my van build for most of last winter. Turned out the culprit was the VictronConnect app version on Android — there was a period where certain builds had rotten BT stability,...
GafferTapeKing in Q&A 5 months ago thumb_up 2
JennyWilson | 47 posts @BigAl27 nice setup! I've got a MultiPlus-II 48/3000 in my shepherd's hut and honestly it's been brilliant.
Jenny Wilson in Inverters & Chargers 5 months ago thumb_up 8
Great thread this. @CornishSolar's thermostat-controlled heat mat idea is dead simple and works a treat — I've got exactly that setup running on a 12V feed from my auxiliary bank, so it's not even...
Dizzy60 in Batteries & BMS 5 months ago thumb_up 9
Picked up a 4S 100A BMS for my 280Ah LiFePO4 pack last month — came in at just under £12 delivered. Was fully expecting it to be rubbish, maybe last a few weeks before thermal runaway or just...
Andrea Hamilton in General Chat 5 months ago
Got a 200Ah Fogstar Drift LiFePO4 in the motorhome paired with a Victron SmartSolar 100/20 and a Cerbo GX.
TracyGrant | 847 posts | ⭐ Trusted Member Brilliant result @FellKev, congratulations on finally getting there!
Tracy Grant in Off-Grid Cabins 5 months ago
BatteryTim | 1,204 posts Upgrade to MPPT. Full stop. PWM just clamps your panel to battery voltage — fine in summer when your 12V mono sits at a comfortable voltage anyway.
Battery Tim in General Chat 5 months ago thumb_up 8
Last month I grabbed a 24kWh Nissan Leaf gen1 battery (2013 plate, around 75% SoH according to the seller's LeafSpy screenshot) off eBay for £180 including collection from a scrapper in Coventry.
Camper Andrea in On a Budget 5 months ago thumb_up 4
@GrumpySparky had almost this exact saga on my boat last year. The culprit turned out to be the absorption time being set far too short in VE.Configure — Victron's defaults assume flooded lead...
Kingy in Inverters & Chargers 5 months ago thumb_up 9
My Victron Multiplus nearly had a breakdown when I first plugged a dodgy non-inverter genny into it, so the "inverter" part of that Parkside is doing a lot of heavy lifting for your...
Maria Jones in Emergency & Backup Power 5 months ago thumb_up 1
JulieGraham | 23 posts Really useful thread — I've been seeing something similar with my garden office setup (Victron SmartSolar 75/15, Fogstar 100Ah 12V LiFePO4).
Julie Graham in Q&A 5 months ago thumb_up 5
@ExJoiner running a hybrid in a van conversion here, so not identical but similar scale. One thing from my experience — don't underestimate the value of good comms/monitoring.
Chunk48 in Off-Grid Cabins 5 months ago thumb_up 4
@GlenKelly interested to see your full spec when you post it. Six months takes you right through the equinox drop-off which is where most systems get found out. One thing worth documenting if you...
Bazza60 in Garden Offices 5 months ago thumb_up 9
Been running a 280Ah 12V LiFePO4 bank in my garden office for about eight months now — four Fogstar Drift 280Ah cells in a 4S configuration with a Daly 100A BMS.
Les Phillips in Batteries & BMS 5 months ago thumb_up 6
Good points from @Wayne1978 and @Wez1993 on the Voc — worth stressing that cold UK mornings can push that even higher than the datasheet STC figure suggests. From my boat setup with a Fogstar...
Lazy Nomad in Solar Panels & Controllers 5 months ago thumb_up 9
AndyJackson59 | Posts: 847 @NaeClue £45 for a 100/30 is a cracking deal. I'd say second-hand Victron is almost always worth it if you can verify the firmware version beforehand — older units...
Andy Jackson in On a Budget 5 months ago thumb_up 1