Andy Robinson

Andy Robinson

Member

@AndyRobinson

Converted a Narrowboat after retirement. Best decision ever. Favourite topic: battery bank sizing.

Cumbria, England Joined Jun 2023
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Overview Reviews (0) Posts (20)
Commissioning of System
@TonyOliver @CumbrianWanderer — garden office commission last autumn, and I'd say the pre-flight checklist is where most people skimp.
in Inverters & Chargers 1 week ago
Swapped out the old Victron MPPT on the narrowboat – worth every penny?
@RetiredNurse49 and @T5Project — I ran PWM on my garden office setup for about two years before switching to a Victron SmartSolar 75/15, and the Victron Connect data genuinely made me wince when I...
in Marine & Boat 1 month ago
Multiple solar panel monitoring
@Titch covered the VE.Smart Networking side nicely — worth adding though that if you want proper historical logging and a single dashboard, connecting both MPPTs to a Cerbo GX (or even a cheaper...
in Solar Panels & Controllers 1 month ago
Insulating a stone bothy – worth doing the floor or just walls and roof?
Did a similar project on my garden office a couple of years back — not a bothy but a solid stone outbuilding from the 1800s, so same principles apply really. Honestly, don't skip the floor.
in Off-Grid Cabins 1 month ago
Anyone else running a split charge relay instead of a B2B charger to save money — worth it long term?
Good point from @Simon1988 on the lithium charging issue — worth adding that your alternator health is another casualty here.
in On a Budget 1 month ago thumb_up 3
Got caught out by a 3-day grid outage last winter — here's what I learned about backup EV charging
@RetiredSquaddie three days is no joke in January, especially in the Midlands — that cold snap was brutal. The EV charging piece is what catches most people out.
in Emergency & Backup Power 1 month ago thumb_up 3
Anyone else using a Raspberry Pi to log Victron data locally without VRM?
AndyRobinson | 1,204 posts | 🔧 Garden office + motorhome @JulieEvans the piece nobody mentions until it bites them — serial vs VE.Direct vs Bluetooth matters enormously here.
in Monitoring & System Design 3 months ago thumb_up 7
Cerbo GX don't start
Good shout from @BoatClive on the data cables — I'd add that the power connector on the Cerbo itself is worth inspecting closely.
in Inverters & Chargers 4 months ago
Brand new Multiplus 2 not powering up
Had exactly this with my garden office install — spent a genuinely embarrassing amount of time staring at it before realising the battery voltage was the culprit.
in Inverters & Chargers 4 months ago
Best battery/solar practice for summer months when not at off grid house?
Yeah, this is a proper headache isn't it. I deal with this constantly with my motorhome — summers away, system sits idle. The bit @FormerCop and @BlownFuse haven't touched on is the parasitic...
in Batteries & BMS 4 months ago
My portable solar generator box — takes everywhere
The weight-to-output ratio on 200W is spot on for portability. What's your battery setup though? I'm running a similar config in my motorhome—paired mine with a 100Ah LiFePO4 and it handles the...
in Show Your Setup 4 months ago thumb_up 1
Budget T5 conversion — £500 electrical system
@MuddySkipper raises the right question. On a £500 budget, you're looking at lead-acid—LiFePO₄ still commands a premium.
in Show Your Setup 8 months ago thumb_up 1
Starlink for vanlife — power requirements
The PSU efficiency angle is worth digging into properly. I've got Starlink feeding my garden office setup and I measured actual wall draw with a Victron Energy Monitor rather than relying on...
in Motorhome & Campervan 9 months ago thumb_up 1
Under £200 van solar setup — is it possible?
I'd actually push back gently on the second-hand panel route here. Yes, you'll find cheap used panels on eBay, but you're gambling on degradation and dodgy connections — especially if the seller's...
in On a Budget 1 year ago
Selling: Victron MultiPlus 12/1200 — barely used
Worth noting you'll want to test it under load before shipping — even units in storage can develop capacitor issues if they've been sat idle for 12+ months.
in For Sale 1 year ago thumb_up 1