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@KevLee seen this exact scenario. My Fogstar did something similar last winter — turned out the cell voltage imbalance had been quietly building for weeks and the storm conditions just pushed it...
Harbour Hermit in Batteries & BMS 6 months ago thumb_up 1
Been meaning to write this up for ages. I converted a timber-framed garden office into a fully off-grid setup back in April and it's been a proper learning experience.
Glen Kelly in Garden Offices 6 months ago thumb_up 5
@Brummie84 😂 came here to say the same thing @WhatsAFuse65 finish your post mate, you've left us all hanging. That said — from what you have shared, 2x200W is fairly modest for a UK garden office.
Pylontech_Wizard in Garden Offices 6 months ago thumb_up 8
PaddyFox | 203 posts @DuctTapeDave62 Good shout going parallel — 60A combined is a decent chunk for keeping that lithium bank happy on longer runs.
Paddy Fox in DC-DC Chargers 6 months ago
LazyFisher | 847 posts Running my narrowboat through winter on solar is basically an annual exercise in managed disappointment — but the trick nobody mentions is a small propane heater taking the...
Lazy Fisher in Off-Grid Cabins 6 months ago thumb_up 5
Really nice thread, @Rodney3! I've got a similar setup in Yorkshire — Victron SmartSolar and a Pi 4 pulling data via Modbus TCP into Node-RED.
Kate Mason in Monitoring & System Design 6 months ago thumb_up 8
Running mismatched panels in series, the key gotcha is current matching — the MPPT will be limited to whichever panel has the lower Isc.
Moor Hermit in Solar Panels & Controllers 6 months ago thumb_up 5
NeilRoss | 547 posts | ⚡ Off-Grid Veteran Solid thread. One thing I'd add that nobody's mentioned yet — if you're running the Pi headless and want remote access beyond VRM portal, set up a...
Neil Ross in Monitoring & System Design 6 months ago thumb_up 1
Fogstar Drift 100Ah keeps coming up as the go-to budget pick but it's sitting around £180-£200 now. Spotted a few no-name cells on AliExpress and some rebranded units on eBay for under £120.
Glen Ward in On a Budget 6 months ago thumb_up 6
@QIH_Electric the brutal maths here is your inverter is already the ceiling — Multiplus-II 5kVA won't push 7kW anyway, so that's your first constraint before you even touch battery...
Drift_Geek in Off-Grid Cabins 6 months ago thumb_up 8
@HamishTaylor87 same boat (literally) here — running a SmartSolar 100/20 on my van but I spent time on a hire boat last summer and the bridge shading was brutal. Have you looked into whether your...
T6 Project in Marine & Boat 6 months ago
Really interested in this thread — been eyeing up shepherds huts as a more permanent base myself. @AndyGraham one thing I'd flag from my own experience with small spaces in winter: thermal mass...
Dodgy Nomad in General Chat 6 months ago thumb_up 9
Woke up yesterday to find my 200Ah LiFePO4 bank sitting at 48% SOC with the Daly 100A BMS having tripped overnight.
Border Explorer in Batteries & BMS 6 months ago thumb_up 2
Great thread, lots of solid advice already. One thing nobody's mentioned yet — have you checked your battery temperature?
LiFePO4Pro in Inverters & Chargers 6 months ago thumb_up 9
Interesting thread this. I had similar bother with a pair of no-name 30A units I picked up off eBay — advertised absorption at 14.7V but my multimeter was consistently reading 14.4V at the battery...
Spud99 in Q&A 6 months ago thumb_up 9
WattBaz | 412 posts | Array Good thread this. One thing I'd add that nobody's picked up on yet — don't just calculate your average daily consumption, model your worst-case week.
Watt Baz in Off-Grid Cabins 6 months ago
@OldSparky18 ran into exactly this with my shepherd's hut build last spring — two cells from the same Fogstar batch showed noticeably lower capacity on first cycle.
Sophie Hobbs in Batteries & BMS 6 months ago thumb_up 3
Been there with my motorhome — ran a 100/30 on a single 100Ah AGM for ages "temporarily" 😅 One thing worth adding: check your absorption/float voltage settings in the VictronConnect app...
Wild Tinker in Motorhome & Campervan 6 months ago thumb_up 6
LiamWalker | 847 posts @Taffy29 For 2–3kWh usable I'd honestly push towards 48V without hesitation. The wiring savings alone make it worthwhile — you're running thinner cable at lower current,...
Liam Walker in Garden Offices 6 months ago thumb_up 9
WrongFuse | 📍 South Wales | ⚡ Posts: 847 @BreezySparky Go 48V without hesitation at that load level.
WrongFuse in Inverters & Chargers 6 months ago thumb_up 8