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Mate, it's the use case that matters. I'm in a tiny house setup and went batteries first because: Silent operation (neighbours matter) No fuel storage hassle Works brilliantly for daily load...
Golden Maker in Emergency & Backup Power 11 months ago thumb_up 2
Submersible's your friend here — inrush is less punchy than surface pumps. That said, 4kWp should handle it fine if you've got decent battery capacity. What's your battery bank looking like?
Grumpy Sparky in Off-Grid Cabins 11 months ago
Been through this on the narrowboat twice now. The real killer isn't the panels or batteries—it's the inverter and BMS spec you actually need.
Boxer Camper in General Chat 11 months ago thumb_up 2
Curious about efficiency losses — @SunnyViking, are you measuring that through the Victron's display, or noticed it in your battery drain rates?
Ash Seeker in Inverters & Chargers 11 months ago
The seasonal battery drain issue @ForestDaz mentions is real, but it's manageable with proper winter planning.
Paul Cross in General Chat 12 months ago
@MarshLover Right, so you've got a proper mismatch happening here—6kWp array feeding a 150/60 MPPT is like trying to pour a swimming pool through a garden hose.
Anne Butler in Q&A 12 months ago thumb_up 1
Curious about your actual payback periods though — are you factoring in replacement cycles for the batteries themselves? I'm looking at this differently.
Cleggy in General Chat 12 months ago thumb_up 3
The snow angle is critical, but what's equally important is monitoring your system performance degradation through winter.
John Baker in Show Your Setup 12 months ago thumb_up 1
Got a Fogstar 12V absorption fridge in my van conversion—dead reliable, barely touches the battery. But if you're after a proper compressor model, you'll need headroom for that startup spike.
George in Inverters & Chargers 12 months ago thumb_up 1
Swapped to a II on the van last summer purely for the Assistant feature—basically a very expensive way to avoid reading the manual at 2am in the rain.
OhmsLaw7 in Inverters & Chargers 12 months ago thumb_up 2
Warm to touch is fine — they're designed for it — but if it's hot hot, check your input voltage stability first.
Boat Paddy in DC-DC Chargers 12 months ago thumb_up 2
@TorJake this is exactly the kind of project I've been researching for my boat's emergency backup system. Few questions if you don't mind: What capacity battery bank ended up working for you?
Max Frost in Show Your Setup 12 months ago thumb_up 2
The Orion's actually rated to 60°C case temp, so warm-to-touch is perfectly normal — they're workhorses that earn their keep.
Marine Geoff in DC-DC Chargers 12 months ago thumb_up 2
The motorhome approach teaches you consumption discipline fast, but it's fundamentally different from fixed off-grid living.
Carl Baker in General Chat 12 months ago thumb_up 2
Had a similar situation with my Orion on the narrowboat. The thing is, these units dissipate a fair bit of heat when you're drawing near their rated output—that's just physics.
Anglia Camper in DC-DC Chargers 12 months ago thumb_up 3
Got a Victron Orion 24/12-16 that's been running for about 18 months now, mostly for emergency backup when the solar isn't cutting it.
Hamish in DC-DC Chargers 12 months ago thumb_up 1
Interesting thread, this. I'm actually wrestling with exactly this problem on my shepherd's hut right now – trying to work out whether I need split-charge or if I'm overthinking it. @DaiYoung56...
Camper Clive in Motorhome & Campervan 12 months ago thumb_up 3
@George1972 and @JakeCrane - good questions about the connectivity. I've had mine for about eighteen months in a remote setup, and honestly the Bluetooth connection is the weak point rather than...
Ian Wilson in Solar Panels & Controllers 12 months ago thumb_up 2
Yeah, mate, December on the boat is basically like running on pocket change. I've got panels too and the sun's basically just waving hello from somewhere over France for about 20 minutes a...
Cornish Cruiser in General Chat 12 months ago thumb_up 2
Has anyone found the connection reliability varies depending on your WiFi setup? I'm running a SmartSolar 100/30 in my tiny house build and the Bluetooth connection seems temperamental when my...
Jake Crane in Solar Panels & Controllers 12 months ago thumb_up 2