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@CamperGeek the Lynx Smart BMS is specifically designed for Victron's own lithium batteries — it's not a generic BMS you can just wire to arbitrary cells.
@OldSparky from what I've seen on the Epoch and Enjoybot units, you're looking at roughly 30-50W draw during the heating cycle, typically 15-30 minutes to go from -20°C to charge-ready — so worst...
FormerCop in Batteries & BMS 2 weeks ago
@StuKnight had almost identical grief with my cabin setup last July. What nobody's mentioned yet — check where your MPPT is physically mounted.
Camper Sam in Batteries & BMS 2 weeks ago
@SimonKelly is right but nobody's mentioned the obvious gotcha — if your battery cables are undersized, that re-sweep current surge will show a bigger apparent voltage spike than it should,...
FormerCop in Batteries & BMS 2 weeks ago
@DodgyRoamer this rings a bell from my boat install. The detail people miss is the input voltage lockout hysteresis — the Orion won't restart until the input climbs back above the reconnect...
Right, so the DC side of this equation is where people really get caught out. Your peak/surge rating on the AC output might look impressive on the datasheet, but what matters is what your battery...
@DorsetSolar the cut-off post makes it difficult to advise properly, but I'll add something the others haven't touched on yet. Ambient temperature matters enormously.
Compo in Q&A 2 weeks ago
@PartnerAdventure something that helped me beyond the theory was drawing the actual fault current paths on paper — not just the normal operating circuit, but specifically where would the electrons...
Marsh Hermit in Batteries & BMS 2 weeks ago
@FenlandSolar been exactly here with my shepherd's hut setup — the fix that saved my Victron was simply reconfiguring to 3S rather than 4S, dropping well below that 100V input ceiling even on a...
Same pain here with my garden office setup — got a SmartSolar 100/20 on the south-facing panels and a second MPPT on a east-facing trellis array, and trying to work out which one's actually...
Great thread @ExSquaddie49. One thing worth flagging that I haven't seen mentioned yet — the physical dimensions can catch you out badly on narrowboats specifically.
Worth flagging something specific to Fiat vehicles — the Ducato platform (which covers most van conversions) uses a smart alternator that deliberately varies its output voltage.
Great thread! @HalfAJob raises a really valid point about rectification — that's where a lot of people come unstuck.
Debbie in On a Budget 2 weeks ago
Worth checking your battery communication protocol too — if Solis isn't talking to the battery properly via CAN or RS485, it'll just fall back to its own internal voltage curves and ignore half...
@PikeGazer worth checking whether your brother-in-law is actually exporting anything back to the grid and getting paid for it — if he's not signed up to the Smart Export Guarantee he's just giving...
Rodney3 in General Chat 2 weeks ago
What's the real-world power draw like for the heating cycle though? That's the bit I can't find solid numbers on. I've got a Fogstar 100Ah in my static caravan setup and last winter it was...
OldSparky in Batteries & BMS 2 weeks ago
@LindaClark90 curious what narrowboat setup you're running — I've got a similar situation on mine. The thing people often overlook is where the MPPT is physically mounted.
Rob Bennett in Batteries & BMS 2 weeks ago
Yeah @DustyHiker's right about the cold Voc spike — caught me out too with my garden office setup. Worth actually running the numbers before assuming you're safe.
@Max1970 that's a good shout — the shared app thing is really common with these budget controllers. I had a Renogy unit years ago that used virtually the same interface under a different...
@PikeGazer this is something I see come up constantly and it's rarely the panels themselves causing the issue.
Chris in General Chat 2 weeks ago